Blog Archives

No more wallowing~

8/31/2016

    I have a cold—sinus, stuffy nose, nothing overpowering but clearly annoying. I don’t get sick, so what is this all about? It’s been at least five years since I had a cold.
     First reaction. Poor me. What an interruption to the daily life I plan and control. Poor me.
      Prayerful response. How does God want me to respond? What can I learn from this? How might I NOT wallow as poor me and view it as an opportunity, even a God moment. Hmm, just considering such possibility makes it that very God moment.
      Christ possibility. Let go of this wallowing, and see the Christ is all the people who are suffering way beyond a three day cold: those suffering with complex, all encompassing illnesses; those wandering the streets for food and shelter; those living in fear in war torn areas; those hoping their crowded boat will reach the safety of foreign soil. These people have no time to wallow. Wallowing is an emotion of privilege, certainly not a Christian response. I feel better already.

Joan Chittister helps me out~

8/29/2016

Sometimes, no, usually, I keep my faith to myself. Although I often brag about my wonderful church, I rarely mention God. That has got to change, and I believe it is, slowly, but with confidence, with faith. Part of the difficulty is that it isn’t easy to explain God because God is in my heart, not my head. But that’s no excuse.

“Vision and Viewpoint: a weekly newsletter from Joan Chittister” has helped me this morning. Joan Chittister <[email protected]>

I believe in….

Belief is not contrary to fact. It simply transcends it. To believe something is to know its truth not so much in our minds but in the center of our souls.

We believe in goodness, for instance, because, however effective evil seems to be, it contradicts the highest aspirations of humanity. We believe in love rather than hate, because love draws out the best in us, while hate feeds on our smallness. We believe in people whose hearts we hold in our hands, whatever the situations that challenge that certainty, because we ourselves are nourished by that relationship. We believe in the spiritual because the material is simply not enough to justify the sense of the unfinishedness of life that lurks in every human heart.

In sum, belief is the ability to know what we cannot see. None of our beliefs, if they are really “belief,” are sure in the way that chemicals on scales are sure. Belief is sure in the way that truth is sure. It rings in our hearts like tines of crystal….

I’m making a commitment to mention God once a day to people out there in my world who are not part of my church circle. Today I will start with my sister.

Centering prayer report~

8/23/2016

Here’s the current report on my centering prayer commitment. Sorry to admit that I’ve gone from A+ to a B. The grade is for showing up, not for content. Remember those A for Effort, B for Content from junior high school?
Life has been happening—company, sleeping late, any other excuse that I can think of. If I get up early I’m pretty good at getting in that early morning twenty minute session, but if I’m home in the afternoon, I am very good at getting in a nap instead feeling the breath.
All that being said, I continue to hear benefits and will not give up. Here are three awareness that I recently wrote in my journal that I attribute to CP: 1) We all breathe—that is our common identity; 2) Teach me to number my days—living long gives wisdom about life after life; 3) What we want for ourselves we must want for others; 4) Not participating perfectly in CP is humbling.

Prayers answered~

8/18/2016

Prayers answered; my sister had a good report from her ophthalmologist, and Ellen is will be released from the hospital in a few days after successful brain surgery. My cousin, on the other hand, is still waiting for a kidney donation. I must remember to give thanks, and to keep praying. I don’t try to determine exactly how my prayers figure into all of this, but I’m quite certain that my rational brain has very little to do with it. It’s all in getting rid of my thoughts (judgments and fears) and opening my heart so that the channel between me and God is flowing only with love, only with Thy will be done.
Centering prayer has offered me the following understanding. What God created was good. In fact when God created humankind, it was ‘very good’. When we are very good (no judgments or fears, only love), we are at one with God and thus prayers are answered—in God’s time and in God’s way, however. Accepting this is the challenge of faith.

Praying for healing~

8/16/2016

I’m praying for physical healing for a few important people in my life: my sister Margot who has had serious eye surgery; my friend Ellen who had brain surgery yesterday; a cousin waiting for a kidney transplant; and there are others. You have your list, too.
I know that the ultimate prayer is Thy will be done, but I don’t believe God expects me to leave it at that. God wants me to plead and beg, and to picture the healing complete. God doesn’t want me to be passive. God wants me to co-create with Him. God wants to cry out. God wants me to care.

Praying for an open heart~

8/11/2016

I’ve been writing about prayer on this blog for over five years: the who, what, when, where, how of prayer. Here’s today’s summary in the form of a suggestion. Let each of us pray for an open heart. Breathe that prayer right into your heart; don’t think, analyze, or agonize about it; just breathe in and out.
What if everyone in the world did this for one day, only praying to be a loving person? Life would be a miracle.

Pray with a loving heart~

8/7/2016

     The Rule of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist states: it is his (Christ’s) Spirit who calls us to join him there by offering our love in intercessory prayer and action, to be used by God for healing and transformation.
     There is much to discern in this chapter entitled, “The Mystery of Intercession.” Mystery on many levels. But what strikes me most vividly is the phrase offering our love. Is it suggesting that if intercession isn’t offered in love, it has no effect. I know it ‘s not that simple, but I believe that to be true. If I have resentment or judgment toward the person or situation for which I am praying, I am not being honest, and thus God can’t hear me. I say this because God, being love, only hears love.
     So I must continually pray as the Psalmists do: Create in me a clean heart, of God, and put a new and right spirit within me (51:10).

Pray and you will have success~

8/1/2016

     Theophan the Recluse (1815 - 1894), a Russian Orthodox priest and saint who wrote prolifically about the Jesus Prayer, is one of my favorite religious writers. I often start my day reading a short line or two of his in The Art of Prayer: An Orthodox Anthology, compiled by Igumen Chariton of Valamo, translated by E. Kadloubovsky and E.M. Palmer, and edited by Timothy Ware.
     The other morning this got me going quickly:
“If you are not successful in your prayer, do not expect success in anything. It is the root of all.”

     That is a mighty powerful comment, and needless to say, can be extremely frightening. “I can’t do that. I might as well give up and go off into the weeds.”
     On the other hand, it can be extremely comforting. “I can do that. I want my life to be successful. It can be successful. I can get to the root of this.”
     If you read even a little about prayer, you’ll become aware that there are many, many ways to pray. If you pray even a little, you are already aware of the many, many ways. If you don’t pray, you won’t be successful at it. Just do it, and God will lead you to success, God’s success. You’ll be amazed.