I had some quiet time this morning. I am a late night kind of person and the early mornings are never good for me. This morning I was fully awake and refreshed and it was only 6am! I thought God might be telling me something, so after a coffee hit I spent some time in the conscious presence of the One who loves me. (There are thankfully many who love me, but I am talkning about the One!) After some time with my breviary (official Church prayers required of every priest) I was just open to however God wanted to speak.
Many will ask what's it like? Or, 'teach me to pray.' I can only explain what it is like for me, and like Jesus, I will use a modern parable. A parable is a story that speaks to the heart in a special way, a parable can be familiar or new but a truth is expressed that somehow finds a home in the hear-er.
This story is one from the days before I entered religious life and priesthood.
I remember being invited to a party with a girlfriend. It was in the early days of our relationship when minutes spent apart just seem endless. I went to the party that was full of people that I knew and with whom I was 'at home.' Something was missing. Although happy to be there, something was missing. Then the door opened and there she was ... no words spoken ... just a smile and the knowledge that all I wanted was there. Conversations carried on with friends and the occasional stolen looks across the room. Everything had changed, life was full and the room was was full of the beautiful evening sun.
For me that is what prayer is like. God comes into the room of my life, a life that is so familiar, spent often in the company of people whom I love, and then it is suffused with the presence of the One to whom it all belongs, for whom it is all for.
It can be joyful but silent, companionable with stolen glances to reassure one another that the other is still there.
Prayer is something I need to live. It has to be as real as the communication between lovers.
Be well and happy :-)
1 comment:
I loved your parable. It is one I can relate to easily. I can recall those gentle feelings at the begining of a new relationship well.
I do morning prayers. I've tried a variety of methods(Lectio Divina, St. Ignatius...) but I've settled on a kind of centering prayer to open myself up to the holy. Sometimes I feel a warmth surrounding me and I think this is what it's like, then as I become aware of the feeling, it's gone. I just try to keep at it. Thanks for your post.
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