Prayer Diary

My own Bible study

10/16/2018

     Although I’m aware of the many benefits to joining a Bible study, I’ve decided to create my own private one. At the moment I don’t want another defined commitment on my calendar, nor do I want to go out to a meeting in the evening. The opinions and musing of others, therefore, will have to come from what I read. Plus, I want to get started now. In fact, I’ve already begun.
    I’m studying the Gospel of John. The text is The New Interpreter’s Bible, Each gospel section is divide into three parts: Scripture, Reflection, and Commentary. I started with Chapter 20, because I was drawn to Mary’s encounter with Jesus at the empty tomb. I’m planning to continue through the chapter to the end of the book and then start at the beginning: In the beginning was the word….
     I want to keep this study going at a steady pace, pondering and praying the entire way. I mention this because I have a tendency to rush and decide I’ve had enough before coming to the end. We shall see.

Power of love~

10/11/2018

Richard Rohr offers the words of The Cloud of Unknowing in his meditation today.cac.org/sign-up/

     Look. Every rational creature, every person, and every angel has two main strengths: the power to know and the power to love. God made both of these, but [God is] not knowable through the first one. To the power of love, however, [God] is entirely known, because a loving soul is open to receive God’s abundance. . . . [God’s] very nature makes love endless and miraculous. God will never stop loving us. Consider this truth, and, if by grace you can make love your own, do. For the experience is eternal joy; its absence is unending suffering.

     I long always to say ‘Yes’ to this message of love but I fail whenever I feel justified in placing restrictions on that love. “I will love everyone except ______, because, after all, I know he/she is really bad.”
    And yet I know better. Jesus’ message is to love unconditionally. The Gospels are replete with him telling us to love everyone, even our enemies. Hard to do, and yet the message that God shows no partiality, shows me how radical God is requiring me to be. Jesus definitely turns the world upside down with this one. Unless I return to the love idea I tell myself, I can’t do it. But, wait, I can do it, one moment, one situation,, one person at a time. When I do, I experience the Cloud’s invitation to eternal joy.

No more news; pray instead

10/8/2018

This morning my post on acottagebythesea told of my commitment to stop watching the news, stop being obsessed with it, stop letting politicians run my life. I have no chance of being the person God wants me to be if I spend my waking hours being judgmental and angry, and for sure the news will lead me along that path.
Specifically, if God is calling me to prayer for people, I have to do my part to keep my heart open. Being angry and judgmental closes my heart, closes out God, closes out communication between God and me, which is where true prayer lies. It’s as simple as that, and as challenging as that. Focusing on God, not on the news, is a way to start.

Prayer matters

9/29/2018

I’ve posted the following on my acottagebythesea blog. I want to add here that these two men have reminded me to pray for situations that seem so fraught with negativity and hopelessness.

      One of my takeaways from the Supreme Court hearings this week has been the relationship between Senators and Coons and Flake. Here are two men from opposite sides of the aisle and with differing political views coming together because of their faith, demonstrating that their faith guides what they say and do. Each has a deep moral compass.
     Embedded in his public comments before the committee vote yesterday, Coons shared that the evening before he specifically prayed for both Cavanaugh and Ford, and for the country, and that he would do so again this evening. In admitting this publicly, it is clear that prayer isn’t a throw away for him. Rather, it is central to how he leads his life, both personally and as a senator. His comments were palpable.
     In the past week Senator Flake’s words and actions indicated that his faith guides what he does and says. His speech September 26th on the Senate floor offered compassion and civility for everyone involved and for our country. Yesterday, standing in the private elevator for senators, he listened to the impassioned women who caught his attention; he looked them in the eye; he didn’t shut the door on them.
     The comity between these two men gives me hope. Comity, a new word entering public discourse: 1. an association of nations for their mutual benefits; 2. courtesy and considerate behavior toward others (Google search). I believe that comity happens when we give up acting out of ego, out of believing we have all the answers, out of thinking we are God.

Morning in Florence with God

9/16/2018

I’m more conscious of walking around with God in the early morning, at least when I’m in Florence. There are fewer distractions to draw my thoughts away. The streets are relatively clear of traffic, the sidewalks sparse save for a few runners; I don’t have to concentrate on maneuvering my way from spot to spot, from café to cafe. And then there is the heat; even in September there is the omnipresent sun.
Very grateful for this morning.

Accepting the way things are

9/14/2018

On this visit to Florence I’ve become aware of how different life has become from what I experienced during my childhood and even my parenting years. Cell phones, selfies, wearing attire, hair styles, tattoos are just the way it is these days. Most would agree that the world is changing exponentially.
The good news, at least as far as I am concerned, is that I have no regrets about the past, nor specific desires for the future. As I sit here writing in this little park, I feel myself accepting things just the way they are, and, as the saying goes, just the way they aren’t. I notice I have very few judgments about people and I’m less apt to analyze situations. It’s just the way it is, not good, not bad. Life is changing and people have to adapt. You might say I have a Zen approach in accepting what is.
However, as a Christian I attribute the calm I feel to my meditation and prayer practice. My moral compass is always shimmering and keeping me on track. I try to be honest with myself and others, and follow the Golden Rule.
This is grace, not of my own doing. I just show up to open my heart.

San Marco and Fra Angelico again

9/12/2018

I did it again. I took pictures of Fra Angelico’s frescoes in the monks’ cells at the Convent of San Marco. Before every visit I tell myself I don’t need another set of photographs; during every visit, I take pictures anyway; at the end of the day, I post them. So, here they are for your prayerful enjoyment.

Morning walk with God in Florence

9/9/2018

If you name it a prayer walk, it will becomes one—it happens when t the mind goes to the heart. On this Sunday in Florence the temperature may reach 90, and for sure the streets will be crowded, but right now the early morning is cool and the streets relatively clear. So I start my best prayer walk, inviting my mind into my heart.
My walk began quietly as I wandered across the Piazza della Signoria, along the Arno, over the Ponte Vecchio, and down some side streets. Life picked up at Piazza Santo Spirito, where an antique show was getting underway and where my go-to café was bustling. Final stop, Sung High Mass at St. Mark’s English Church.

With God in Florence

9/6/2018

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything more than a Daily Quote or Word & Image. It’s not that I haven’t been praying, but I couldn’t pull together anything I felt worthy of sharing. Maybe I should have told you that I was all over the place mentally and physically getting ready for this moment when I would be sitting in the garden of the art institute adjacent to the Boboli Gardens in Florence. Maybe I should have told you that I was too involved in the non-stop breaking news to ever imagine that I would be taking a two week vacation from it all.
     The leaves are turning and there is a soft breeze here in the park. How easy it is to feel God’s presence in God’s natural creation and in God’s people enjoying themselves! I say that I go to Florence to walk around with God, because that is truly what I want to do, although I often forget. When I do remember, however, God is clearly present whether I am walking the streets, visiting a church or museum, enjoy delicious food, or watching people (and their dogs) in the park.
    Traveling alone simplifies things; it’s just God and me, no one else. Traveling alone helps me practice what I’d like to have happen all the time—be aware of God. I’m reminded of St. Paul’s suggestion that we pray without ceasing, and the way of the pilgrim repeating the Jesus Prayer.
    I am very grateful that solitary travel works out so well for me, but it’s not the only way to travel or to be in solitude, nor the only way to be in God’s presence. When we follow Jesus, however, we see that a little solitude time with God is part of God’s plan. If Jesus traveled off by himself to be with God, why shouldn’t we?

Being both human and divine

8/27/2018

It is said that Jesus was both human and divine--a concept I easily resonated with on my walk this morning. I set out with the intention of walking with God—to meditate and be in God’s presence by letting go of all my everyday thoughts—the monkey mind, as it is called. At varying intervals I was able to do this, to be with the divine Jesus.
     However, I was also present to the human Jesus. How could I not, with sweat dripping down the back of my neck, with my legs letting me know they were working hard, and with thoughts of thirst?
     I’m glad my faith celebrates both the human and the divine, not just in Jesus but in each one of us humans. Without thought or commitment we all participate in the human. But although the divine is there, we have to chose it and practice bringing it into our consciousness and actions.
     So did Jesus. He was out and about in Galilee walking and talking with people, but he there were times when went off to walk and talk with God. And then there was the cross, where he was fully human, and then in some mysterious, unfathomable way, showed us how also to be fully divine.