Often, in spiritual direction sessions, or when I teach, I remind people that God is always, already present and communicating Love. There is nowhere and no time that the Holy One is not at work, powerfully creating and loving. At times, however, it feels like the contrary. God seems absent, the force of Love from the Holy One seems to have waned and the sweet droplets of grace have dried up.
Prayer is Enough
There are days—many, in fact—when despite my grandest intentions, my discipline of prayer does not turn out as I would like. Sometimes the day gets too full. Sometimes my energy and motivation are low. Sometimes I am sick. Sometimes others’ needs press in on my schedule.
Topics:
Contemplative Practice
Holy and Wholly
Growing up, I was taught that the Saints were a special class of people who, because of their intense goodness, were especially close to God. These people were to be emulated, since they were highly esteemed, but really, not actually were they to be imitated. Us regular, ordinary folk should not be inclined to think that we could actually achieve becoming holy, like them. Rather, in a practical sense, they were treated more like those special dolls placed on the top shelf—the ones we liked to look at because they were so pretty, but that we never actually took down to play with. Becoming holy was considered just a little too fancy for ordinary folk to aspire to.
Topics:
Contemplative Practice