Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Space ships and sandals

Some thoughts from my prayer time this morning:

Lent begins today; the season is a great gift from God and from the Church.  It goes beyond the ashes we received today.  It is a time to wake up – to take notice – to realize that Lent is a sign of God’s merciful love for us.  Most of us are on a merry-go-round, on a sort-of space ship soaring out of control into outer space. It is hard to slow down, to get off the merry-go-round, to bring ourselves back to earth!  Lent is a time to put on our spiritual sandals and start walking into the desert, the place where we can hear ourselves think, where we can experience our heart beating, where our thoughts can find a hearing, and where we can express them to God.  And, most importantly, the desert is where we can hear Him speak to us.  How would we not want that to happen?! 
Where is our desert today?  It is at Mass, on Sundays and during the week.  It is in the space that we set aside for ourselves in the midst of our busy daily schedule.  We can take time during the day!  No matter how busy we are we can decide, with our will, that God is important and I am important and my relationship with Him is the most important thing in the world.
 Prayer is the language we speak in the desert.  Prayer is simply talking to God and listening as He speaks to us.  How does He do that?  In our thoughts, the way He nudges us to be kind, to forgive, to stop judging, to slow down, to love, to stop feeling sorry for ourselves. He speaks to us through His Word in Sacred Scripture, through good spiritual reading, through the readings and homilies at Mass.  

Prayer is asking the Holy Spirit to show us our sin and for the grace to turn from our sin.   Prayer is thanking God for our life, for our loved ones, for our Faith, for His presence in the Eucharist, for His forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for our health or for our crosses.  Prayer is  being quiet before Him in the tabernacle or in front of the Crucifix.  We don’t have to DO prayer.  Praying should be our way of life. 
Today is the first day of Lent.  This particular Lent will never come again.  We never know when God is going to take us home.  Let’s be ready.  Let's go find our spiritual sandals and let’s set out! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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