There has been so much happening this past semester yet I’ve
not been able to share much through posting stories/updates here. I have missed writing since starting my new
job. Blogging helps to keep me centered
and to express my thoughts/prayers in a different way and I’ve missed this
avenue of praying. That’s not to say
that I haven’t been reflecting/praying throughout the day but when I take the
time to write and really listen in the silence I feel more at peace and closer
to God.
I was able to journal these thoughts this morning as I wrote from a basement chapel at a
church downtown. I am usually here on
Monday nights for Adoration at the conclusion of Marathon Monday but a friend called me this
morning asking me to sub for her since she was unable to make her regularly
scheduled Holy Hour. On a whim, I
grabbed my laptop so I could journal through blogging while sitting in this
space of reverence.
Marybeth had sent with me an article she shared with my
students during a guest lecture.
To read
the article in its entirety, click
here.
It is a quick read but here are some parts that really jumped out at me
this morning:
·
“We must
be careful,” St. Thérèse said, “to
keep our hearts detached not only from mutual goods, but spiritual goods, as
well”. Ah, how this hit home for
me. All semester I had been lamenting my
lack of time to blog and how spiritually freeing it is for me to have that
carved out time to write/reflect on God’s word.
I was overly attached to that form of prayer and neglecting the other
ways I could grow closer to God.
·
“We must
not become starched Christians,” Pope Francis said, “discussing theology calmly over tea.” The author of the article then goes on to
speak about how she would prefer her quiet uninterrupted time to pray but what
if that is not what God has in mind for her that day? Yes, I would prefer having my regular time to
blog but with planning and prepping for classes, managing
life, striving to maintain social and familial connections, grading projects/tests/papers while also planning for the upcoming semester, fitting in
daily reading/talking time with Adam, attending meetings, walking the dog, and still trying to
get to bed before too late each night….I’m finding that there is not enough time
to engage in my usual stress relievers.
The author of this article makes the point that “sometimes it [prayer time] is a gift I need to give. It costs me something. It empties me. And in that sacrifice, I can show Jesus that
I love him, whether prayer comes in the scent of an ocean breeze or in the
cries of a tired child”.
Yes, that is what has been happening throughout the last
four months! I may not have had the time
to blog and pray in my own way, my preferred method, but I have been through my
other daily actions. When I drive in to
campus on a Sunday afternoon to meet with a distraught student, Jesus is
there. Spending way too many hours
grading an assignment for one of my classes taking away from the time spent
talking with Adam or communicating with family, Jesus sees that sacrifice. Making time to visit with a neighbor/friend
each Thursday morning for our standing coffee date has brought tremendous
spiritual growth and peace through sharing stories and learning from her
wisdom no matter that I might fall behind in that day's to-do list and chores by having this standing date. Even the missed mandatory new
faculty meeting on Monday morning was not wasted as that time was spent calming
down two students in the midst of panic attacks as end of the semester
deadlines loom. I would hope through
these daily--what were considered distractions at first--are really just other
ways of living out the Gospel and praying through action and the words spoken
in these situations.
For now, in the
times when I’m unable to blog as much as I would like, I will ponder over these
words/thoughts in my heart and continue praying without ceasing throughout the
day. Should you have any prayer
intentions or requests that I can take with me throughout daily activities,
please do share them with me and I will take them to my weekly Holy Hour.
In closing, I will
borrow the prayer, written by St. Thérèse, shared in the article I referenced
earlier:
O my God! I offer Thee all my actions of the day for
the intentions and for the glory of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I desire to sanctify every beat of my heart,
my every thought, my simplest works, by uniting them to Its infinite merits;
and I wish to make reparation for my sins by casting them into the furnace of
Its Merciful Love.
O my God! I ask of Thee for myself and for those whom I
hold dear, the grace to fulfill perfectly Thy Holy Will, to accept for love of
Thee the joys and sorrows of this passing life, so that we may one day be
united together in heaven for all Eternity.
Amen.
