Practising the Presence of God

"During our work and other activities, even during our reading and writing, no matter how spiritual---and, I emphasise, even during our religious exercises and vocal prayers---we must stop for a moment, as often as possible, to adore God in the depths of our hearts, to savour him, even though in passing and steathily.  Since you are aware that God is present to you during your actions, that he is in the depths and centre of your heart, stop your activities and even your vocal prayers, at least from time to time, to adore him within, to praise him, to ask his help, to offer him your heart, and to thank him."

~Br. Lawrence of the Resurrection, Carmelite.

A baby is...

A baby is..., a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

A baby is…
God’s living love,
The daily reality
Of His simple Truth.
A step away from Eden,
A dimly lit memory
Of the first creation;
And the sweet way
God dreamed things would be.
Now redeemed, we are given
A new chance at heaven
This little life
A sign of that hope:
Sacramentally present
Little hands, little fingers
The Lord of all life
Is caressing us.

Deo Gratias!

"My vocation is love!"  ~St. Therese of Lisieux

These words from St. Therese have always expressed to me the direction in which I wanted to take my life---but now they're more.  They're a daily, living reality that has simplified everything and made obvious what the direction of our very existence is.  Since our baby's arrival, I do not feel my knowledge of God has especially increased...in fact, I am more of a simpleton than ever.  God's mystery is now enlarged a thousand times over...but, as my husband once said to me, "Love is a state of being."  And He who is Love is Being itself.  In Him we have our being.  Living with God is not a state of knowing---or at least, certainly not of 'knowing about'---but it is a constant motion of doing, of being, of 'living on love,'  as St. Therese expressed it...and this is enough.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers! 

The message for February 15th

This reflection for today comes from the lovely Poor Clare sisters at Ty Mam Duw, in North Wales, UK:

"" I will never tire of praying to Jesus. It is true that my prayers deserve punishment rather than reward, for I have offended Jesus, only too often by my innumerable sins, but in the end he will be moved to pity"- Padre Pio

Dear Little hearts,

Padre Pio's attitudes are so worthy of imitation, he shows such great trust in Jesus, although he is at the same time so aware of his sinfulness and failure. Our whole Christian life is a path of trust, trust when everything appears dark, confusing and uncertain.... that is the trust of the saints, surrendering all to God, we can do it too, we can, not of our own strength but by his grace."

Please visit Ty Mam Duw's homepage at http://www.poorclarestmd.org/2011/start.html, and do get in touch with them if you are in need of prayer!

Request for Prayer

Hello all,

You may have noticed for some time now, in the sidebar of this blog, there's a little image of Sts. Mary and Anne together, that says 'Praying for Marianna.' That's just what my husband and I have been doing for many months now, and today I'd really like to ask for you to do the same with us.  Marianna Grace is now 6 days overdue, and labour will be induced on Thursday, February 16th.  So if you could please pray for a safe and healthy delivery for Mama & Marianna, our family would be so grateful!

St. Anne, 'help of the pregnant,' pray for us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, Amen.

And a happy St. Valentine's Day to all, remember:

“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him” –1 Jn 4:16



Stillness

Stillness, a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

I strewed flowers,
In a garden for my Beloved;
Weaved them into bowers,
Rest for my Beloved;
Birdsong was the canticle I sung:
Peace to my Beloved,
All the day long, I sung
Peace to my Beloved.
The work of my hands,
A gift for my Beloved,
Wound myself in bands
Of love for my Beloved,
Drawing her, calling her
I cried to my Beloved.

Love letters recorded in a Book,
All for my Beloved,
Thousands of years each one they took
To write for my Beloved,
Self-gift, and fraught
With immolated Love,
I thought---to bind myself
Everlastingly, to my Beloved.

In stillness I await
What, of my love, shall be the fate?
What should God call his heaven,
But to freely give:
Joyed to love, and joyed to live;
This garden, My heaven was to be
Where my Beloved once walked with Me...

Springtime in Prayer

An upturned glance, a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

This week's reflection from SacredSpace.ie:

"Is there not a certain springtime in all prayer? Maybe we breathe easier with the passing of winter and its coldness. The time we spend in prayer refreshes both our bodies and our spirits. While all times and seasons are God’s and we can never limit God’s working, yet springtime can enliven us with the youthfulness and newness of the Creator each day.

Spring does not always come easily. For the trees which prepare to blossom afresh, there is pain for the wood as the bud breaks through. Sometimes too there is a bud that doesn’t make it.

Prayer engages us to deepen our welcome and our openness to God. That is its task. Sometimes this will be easy: at other times it will painfully challenge us. Does not all challenge in the name of love have its own special sweet bitterness? There is a letting go of something we treasure in order to make space for something better. Any openness to love is an openness to the immense blessing of the Creator God. Like the spring our prayer brings a certain gentleness and warmth to us, the gentleness and warmth of God. Those who pray are being secretly nourished from within. The sap of divine life runs freely through them. It enables them to cope more generously with the demands of loving."

Ave Maria!

Magnificat, a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

"For those who believe in God, no explanation is necessary.

For those who do not believe in God, no explanation is possible."

~The Song of Bernadette

Happy Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes!

When it comes to waiting

Waiting to open, a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

Just as we're anticipating so keenly the blossoming forth of spring, my husband and I are awaiting with much expectation our own little flower, a rose showered down from heaven. I'm two days past my due date now, and there's no sign Marianna Grace is coming just yet. The only prayer left to say is 'Thy will be done.' But in times of anxious waiting, entrusting all to God's loving will is easier said than done. Learning to do this is a lifelong process.

My mother just passed along to me a lovely prayer she found for those in need of patience. I hope you'll find it useful too, in whatever circumstances you find yourself:

"God of all creation, help me to be patient with myself, that I allow myself to be present in each moment. Teach me patience in such a way that all my worries and fears be not hindrances, but opportunities to trust you more. Amen."

A thought of God

A sign of spring, a photo by theroamincatholic on Flickr.

'Only where God is seen, does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we begin to know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God: each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ; there is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him."

~Pope Benedict XVI