PRAY A SIMPLE PRAYER

 

May I be held safe in the arms of God!

May I be open to God's guiding presence!

May I be an instrument of peace at all times!

 

Sr. Helen Cote in Holding on to Hope writes these thoughts  (they appear in GIVE US THIS DAY as the 4/13/13 meditation):

 

Fear, panic, and anxiety touch each of us at certain times in our lives.  For some people these emotions are especially frightening because they open the door to a place of great darkness.  It is no wonder the words "be not afraid" and  "fear not"  are written 365 times in Scripture.   In our fragile human existence, we need daily confirmations of God's presence and provident care.

 

God is indeed present in every cell of our body and is as close to us as our very breath.   Breathing is as essential to spiritual life as it is to physical life.   When we panic,  we forget to breathe.   And so, one way of reminding ourselves that we are always in the presence of the Holy One is to stop, breathe, and listen.

 

Stop whatever you are doing and put a halt to the chatter in your mind.

 

Breathe deeply....

 

Listen to the voice of Holy Wisdom from deep within you.....

 

Pray a simple prayer ....

 

May I be held safe in the arms of God!

May I be open to God's guiding presence!

May I be an instrument of peace at all times!

 

 

 

 

PRAYING THE TRUTH

(chapel here at Ava)

 

 

DEEPENING YOUR FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH HONEST PRAYER

 

I believe that God wants a personal relationship, an adult friendship, with each of us and that prayer is the best way of engaging in that friendship.  By prayer I mean what occurs when I am conscious in some way of God's presence.  So prayer can be as simple as watching a child trying to speak words, looking at sunlight glancing off snow-covered trees, playing with your dog, feeling the wind on your face, hearing birds sing, smelling bacon sizzling in a frying pan, looking at someone you love;  all can be prayer if you're aware of God's presence as you take in these experiences.

 

For Lent of 2010 I decided to ask God every day:  "What do you want for our friendship?"   Almost as soon as I began to focus on this question, I felt God's love for me, and then experienced some tangible examples for that love both in prayer and daily life.   I took these experiences as God's response.   Then my prayer took its usual route of distractions about worries or things to do;  when I noticed this and turned back to God,  I said something like this,  "There I go again."   God seemed to reply,  "Why don't you talk to me about these distractions."    When I did, I noticed how the concerns evaporated;  moreover,  I often knew how to approach, in a more positive and less absorbed way, what I was going to do or the people I was concerned about.  When I began to talk to God about my distractions, they were no longer distractions;  they became openings to dialogue and greater transparency with God.

 

So, in this book, I intend to engage in a conversation with you about what it might mean for your prayer life to engage in a friendship with God, a friendship God wants very much.   To grow in that friendship, you and God will have to tell the truth to each other.  In the process, I believe, you will find yourself slowly transformed.

 

(The quote above in an excerpt from a new book by Fr. William A. Barry, S.J., entitled:  PRAYING THE TRUTH.   It is published by Loyola Press.)

 

 

RESURRECTION: AN EASTER PRAYER REFLECTION

 

 

AN EASTER REFLECTION:   RESURRECTION 

      (by  Fr. James Smith)

 

If you study the Gospel stories about the resurrection, you notice they are not primarily about what happened to Jesus, but what happened to his followers.

 

The Acts of the Apostles is the continuation of the Gospel according to Luke.   If Luke thought the resurrection was about Jesus, he would have explained more how the resurrection happened.  Instead, the story is about how the church, as the body of Christ, survived and expanded.

 

Let's think of some modern images of resurrection that might help us to explore it.

 

The resurrection of Jesus is like the cosmic Big Bang that spewed forth galaxies in every direction.   The Big Bang is not the point of creation.  It simply explains everything else in the cosmos.

 

The resurrection is like the pop of a champagne cork that allows millions of bubbles to escape.

 

The resurrection is like the first words of a baby, which unplug a lifelong torrent of language.

 

The resurrection of Jesus is like an explosion in the center of the earth that reverberates until it erupts in a surface volcano.

 

The resurrection is like a fetus that gradually develops into a full human.

 

The resurrection is like a drop of dye that infiltrates all of the liquid.

 

The resurrection is like a splash of perfume that permeates the atmosphere until every molecule of air is fragrant.

 

The resurrection is like the flu that begins as a tickle in the throat and invades every cell of the body.

 

The resurrection of Jesus is important in itself;  it has a value all its own, even if nothing else had followed it.  Just as a fetus has a value of its own even if it is never born;   and a baby's first word is precious even if she never learns to speak well;  and the Big Bang was an amazing event even if it had immediately fizzled.  My point is not to denigrate beginnings but to emphasize the importance of their aftereffects.

 

Evolution did not stop with the first organism -- evolution is ongoing.   History did not end with the French Revolution -- history is still happening.  The resurrection was not completed 2,000 years ago -- Jesus is still rising.

 

Because Jesus immersed himself totally in humanity, his resurrection will not be complete until every human person is resurrected.   Because every speck of matter is made of the same stuff as the body of Jesus,  his resurrection will not be complete until every molecule of matter is also resurrected.

 

That was the original purpose of God's creation.   That is the final goal of God's providence.

 

 

(This reflection on the resurrection offers something for us to pray with on this Second Sunday of Easter.   It is written by Fr. James Smith, and appeared as the HOMILY in PREACHING RESOURCES for March 31, 2013 published by Celebration.   As you reflect on it,  say a prayer for Fr. James Smith who died this past January 5, 2013.    Fr. James has shared his 'resurrection faith' for many years offering homily after homily Sunday after Sunday in this preaching resource.    He had written this for publication before he died.   May he rest in peace!)