Childhood memories of being with God swept through me yesterday as I walked the hilly streets of Fiesole, sat in the park, and prayed at the Chiesa di San Francesco. I was reminded of a recent sermons by one of the Brothers of SSJE who suggested we recall a childhood memory of being with God as a way of tapping into God’s presence in our lives. I filed away the idea, but didn’t consider it until yesterday.
There I was, a three year old playing among the trees, a ten year old in the woods setting up a little private place for myself, and finally as a nineteen year old sitting in the cloister of San Lorenzo here in Florence. Again I was in a place of calm, without obligations or reasons for being other than with God, and that was enough. Yes, I thought, living here in this little monastery would be enough.
The monastic life appeals to me because all that is required is commitment to the Christian message that we love God--the sole message for our souls. And yet, how hard it is to practice, how impossible it is to do on our own. There is no rational way to go through the eye of the needle; only through the Spirit can we feel and experience God’s love; only through the Spirit can we be released from judgments; only through the Spirit can we live only with love. Like the psalmists, we try, we love, we fail, we ask where God is, we plea for help, we love again.
This morning while walking to my favorite café after Centering Prayer, the thought came to me to live through love. Keep love in my mind with everything I do. It’s all about attitude. It started with purchasing a cappuccino.
There I was, a three year old playing among the trees, a ten year old in the woods setting up a little private place for myself, and finally as a nineteen year old sitting in the cloister of San Lorenzo here in Florence. Again I was in a place of calm, without obligations or reasons for being other than with God, and that was enough. Yes, I thought, living here in this little monastery would be enough.
The monastic life appeals to me because all that is required is commitment to the Christian message that we love God--the sole message for our souls. And yet, how hard it is to practice, how impossible it is to do on our own. There is no rational way to go through the eye of the needle; only through the Spirit can we feel and experience God’s love; only through the Spirit can we be released from judgments; only through the Spirit can we live only with love. Like the psalmists, we try, we love, we fail, we ask where God is, we plea for help, we love again.
This morning while walking to my favorite café after Centering Prayer, the thought came to me to live through love. Keep love in my mind with everything I do. It’s all about attitude. It started with purchasing a cappuccino.
RSS Feed