​There are those poems and prayers that one returns to again and again.  This is one of those for me.  Patient Trust was written by Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit biologist, philosopher, and paleontologist. 

Paleontology is the study of ancient life and its changes through the fossil record.  Fossils take  a long time to form.  The processes Chardin observed in nature, he also observed in the soul.  Let's not forget that we, too, are part of nature!  And the Earth has wisdom to share with us who are often hurried and harried.  

Patient Trust

Above all, trust in the slow work of God.
We are quite naturally impatient in everything
             to reach the end without delay.
We should like to skip the intermediate stages.
We are impatient of being on the way to something
             unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progress
             that it is made by passing through
             some stages of instability--
             and that it may take a very long time.

And so I think it is with you.
             your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,
             let them shape themselves without undue haste.
Don’t try to force them on,
             as though you could be today what time
             (that is to say, grace and circumstances
             acting on your own good will)
             will make of you tomorrow.

Only God could say what this new spirit
            gradually forming within you will be.
Give our Lord the benefit of believing
            that his hand is leading you,
and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself
           in suspense and incomplete.

-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, 1881-1955, French Jesuit, paleontologist, biologist,
and philosopher. Found in Hearts on Fire: Praying with Jesuits, p. 102-103.

________________________________

• Read through the poem-prayer 2-3 times.
• What word or phrase sticks out to you?
• Reflect on and "rest with" that word/phrase for a few moments (or throughout your day).  How does it speak to life right now? What is God's invitation to you through that word or phrase?

Live with this poem-prayer for an extended amount of time.  Notice if you are drawn to the same word or phrase or different ones.  What is Patient Trust's impact on you? Do you detect any soul shifts (even if subtle)?  

What happens if you simply can’t receive the gift that’s being offered to you?
 
During a guided prayer with my kids, I had them imagine being a follower of John the Baptist when Jesus shows up on the scene. 

Out of curiosity and heeding John’s words that this is the One who is mightier than he, baptizing and gifting people with the Holy Spirit, they follow. 

​Then Jesus turns and makes eye contact and asks, “What do you want?  What is your heart’s desire?” 
 
We paused in silence.  Then we took a moment to share our answers.

"I don't know," said my 5th grader, "It's hard for me to think if it's a want or a need."   
"Okay, consider what your heart's biggest need or desire is for this week," I replied.
 
Interestingly enough, my kids both answered the same, “Confidence.”
They went on to share stories of where they felt a lack of confidence, especially with the start of school.
 
I had them close their eyes again and imagine answering Jesus, asking him for confidence and allowing him to respond.
 
My 10th grader shared how Jesus’ response was, “It’s a process.”
She let the scene unfold and replied to him, “I don’t want to have to try hard to be confident, it’s exhausting.”
Answered Jesus, “Maybe trying hard is the problem.”
 
This made her smile.  She was curious as to what it might look like to not try so hard to be confident but simply allow the confidence already in her to be, to surface.
 
My son said, “I couldn’t receive it.” 
I asked him to say a little more.  “I couldn’t take it in, I just couldn’t.”
 
When asked why, he had no idea.  However, when asked, “What is part of you afraid will happen if you receive it?”  (Remember, another part of him wanted and desired confidence.)
He responded, “If I take it in, I’m afraid I’ll take too much.”

This part had a fear that being confident would make him arrogant.  
It helped to  discuss the difference between the two by thinking of baseball players who exude confidence without arrogance. 

We went onto acknowledge that sometimes we have no control over how others perceive us.  Sometimes we have to let them think what they’re going to think.  Unfortunately some may see arrogance where there is simply confidence.  What matters is what is in our hearts.    
 
Once again, the words spoken to my children by Jesus, spoke to me.  Perhaps they speak to you, too.
 
How would you answer Jesus’ question? 
 
Now close your eyes and imagine Jesus’ response (but don’t try too hard!). 
 
Perhaps the gift you are looking for is already within you!  Or if you find yourself struggling to receive the gift being offered, you just might ask, “What is part of me afraid will happen if I receive it?”  

Feeling stuck with a looming decision? 

Stuck in or overwhelmed with a feeling? 

Curious to discover the wisdom in your nighttime dream (perhaps about your looming decision!)? 

Or maybe you resonate with my daughter who recently said, "I just can't do words or thinking right now."

No matter how old you are, it's time to get out the playdough!  (or clay or Model Magic, your choice) 

And no, you do not have to be an artistic type of person!  Let that inner kid of yours who knows how to squish, twist, pull, flatten, bend, and roll grab a handful of playdough.

Now pick one of these 3 practices and see what happens: 
Awareness Examen with Playdough
Notice what literally and figuratively emerges as you enter into this 16th century prayerful review of your day or week. 

1. Hold your lump of playdough or clay in your hands (you might hold it close to your heart) as a prayer of openness to God and to God's wisdom within you.
2. Looking over your day or week, when have you experienced heaviness, darkness, being stuck or blocked? How would you image that moment?  Begin to move and shape the playdough in response to the feelings &/or image.  Your eyes can be open or closed. 
3. When you are ready, stop, and let your creation "speak."  What did you notice in the process? What meanings, feelings, connections stir through your shape/image?
4. Either mash and roll it up into a ball or take another handful of playdough or clay.
5. What moment felt light, flowing, open, or effortless today or this week?  How would you image that moment?  Begin to move and shape the playdough in response to the feelings &/or image. 
6. After a bit of time in the silence, stop and let your creation "speak."  Again, notice what you felt in the process. What meanings, feelings, connections are stirring (or being stirred up) through your creation?
7. How do the two images "dance"?  Does the heavy speak to the light (or vice versa)? What wisdom is being offered to you?  Give thanks for whatever you receive.

Moving Through Feelings with Playdough
Rather than trying hard to let go, discover what happens when you move through your emotions.

1. Decide to set a timer or "go with the flow."  
2. Connect with whatever feeling you are stuck in and begin moving the playdough in response (as slow or quickly as you desire).   -Or-  If you are feeling numb, just begin moving the playdough however it feels natural for you to do so.  Maybe you form a shape or simply continue to mold & move, whichever is fine.  
3. After the timer goes off or you come to a natural stopping place, spend a few moments reflecting on the experience.  Compare how you feel now to when you first started.  Looking at your playdough, what do you notice?  Is there an invitation being offered to you through the image &/or process?  You might let it shape your prayer &/or journaling.

Sculpt a Dream Image
Dream images are often metaphors and symbols of different parts of ourselves/our lives.  They offer us wisdom for waking life as we tend to them.

1. Pick an image you are curious about, afraid of, or desire to know more about from your nighttime dream.  Then sculpt it!  If using white clay, you might add color with markers or gel pens or paint it after it dries. 
2. After sculpting, consider how the sculpture reflects your dream image (how is it similar or different?).  What additional information does it hold for you?  What did you notice about yourself during the creative process?
3. Set it in a place where you will see it often, allowing for deeper insight as you continue to rest your gaze and awareness on it throughout the day.

Who knew playdough could be part of our spiritual practice and way of discernment?!  Playdough is not just for kids!  Actually, it's for all of us kids at heart who often get stuck in our heads yet are open to the creative, childlike ways the Spirit offers freedom and wisdom.  

Spiritual practices, like meditation and even church-going, can become spiritual bypass—ways of bypassing reality both outside and inside of us, dissociating from wounds within and without, ignoring the healing work that needs to be done in our inner and outer world. 

But spiritual practices can also be vehicles for transformation of both ourselves and our world.
 
How?—by giving us new ways of seeing and being (which is the whole point of authentic spiritual practice). 
 
Let’s take a look at a few practices... 
  
Conscious Breathing: With as little as 10 slow, complete exhales and 10 full, relaxed inhales, we can calm the fight, flight, freeze survival impulse, allowing us to move from a reactive, closed off, defensive place to a receptive, open, deeper place.

Centering Prayer: Through daily practice of 20 minutes of silent surrendering to God’s presence & action, we let go of our ego-drivenness and receive inner healing of compulsions and soul wounds.  Not only does this bring personal freedom but it releases us from projecting our compulsions and wounds on others and passing them down to our children.

Lectio Divina: Spiritual reading allows a word or phrase in a small portion of inspired text, whether sacred Scriptures like the Psalms or a poem, to speak to us. Rather than bringing what we already know or studying it, we allow the text to study us!  As we bring our story, our lives, to it, we humbly listen for the wisdom and guidance being offered (which may be encouragement to see a counselor or write a letter to your senator!).     

Awareness Examen: Looking over our lives at the end of the day through the eyes of God helps us become aware of God’s life-giving presence and action (and the times throughout the day when we were unaware or resistant).  The patterns of what is life-giving and life-draining help us discern who we are and what we are to offer this world.

Silent Retreats: Extended time in silence and solitude creates space for our souls to rest and play which opens us to better hear the “still, small voice” which may be drowned out by the external noise of daily life or the internal noise of comparing ourselves to others.
 
There are so many practices I could list here but the point isn’t the practice itself, it’s the “fruit.”

Seated meditation may not fit you.  You may desire some kind of moving meditation, like dance or qigong.  Or you may prefer to spend time in nature or doing art. 

What practices have you found that cultivate love in you?  What helps you have eyes to see and tend to the suffering both inside yourself and in others?  Which ways of wisdom help you discern what is yours to offer this world (not out of compulsion but compassion)?  A Spiritual Director can companion you on this journey of discovery of spiritual practices.
 
But remember, it’s not necessarily the practices, it’s the humans who are transformed by these practices, that this world needs.  What do spiritual practices like Centering Prayer offer a hurting world?—YOU!

While they may share silence and look the same on the outside, join me in taking a look on the inside…
 
Different forms of meditation offer the practitioner different gifts depending on their focus.  Some of these forms and gifts are mindfulness, movement, awareness, breathing, insight, chakra-opening, loving-kindness, relaxation, guided, calming, and creativity. 

As one who meditates, I appreciate and practice a variety of methods and even combine some, but I call Centering Prayer my main practice.  However, many do not understand how Centering Prayer offers anything different from other forms of meditation.
 
Centering Prayer was developed by Trappist monks, Fathers William Meninger, Basil Pennington and Thomas Keating, to help bring the ancient practice of contemplative prayer within the Christian tradition to people outside the monastery—which is most of us! 

Inspired by early Christian contemplatives and the medieval text, The Cloud of Unknowing, their process—20 minutes of silence once or twice a day—allows the power of and presence in Silence to be accessed by those of us who live in the “world of words.”
 
This prayer’s nickname, the "Prayer of Consent," reveals how it differs from other forms of meditation.  Rather than focusing solely on being present to sounds and sensations or giving the ego mind something to do like count, follow our breath, or say a mantra, Centering Prayer’s sole focus is surrendering.  We consent to the presence and action of God within us.
 
During the 20 minutes of sitting comfortably, but alert, with head up and eyes closed (or with a resting gaze toward the floor), we introduce a “sacred word” as a symbol of our intention to consent.  This can be a word like “Peace,” “Jesus,” or “Love.” 

Whenever we become aware of our mind being engaged with thoughts (no matter how interesting or enlightening!), we simply and gently say our sacred word.  We come back to surrendering all—every plan, worry, person, to-do list, dream, ah-ha, observation, insight…you get the idea.  We let go of everyone and everything, trusting God with and for all.   
 
Given the focus is learning to trust God, it does not matter how many times we catch ourselves wandering and returning.  Every instance is an opportunity to “come home” and trust the Beloved with each.  Some days we will find ourselves saying our sacred word quite often, for we may have more weighing on our hearts, minds, and bodies than other days. 
 
Notice how relational Centering Prayer is! 
It can certainly expose an unhealthy image of God which may be why a part of us rightly refuses to surrender!  To explore that being a possibility rather than the normal ego tantrum of giving up control, go here.
 
How we enter into Centering Prayer can help us consent. 
We see a model for this powerful and humble consent in Jesus, especially in the Garden of Gethsemane after asking to be spared from suffering but willing to surrender anyway.  His deep trust in the Heart of God leads him to say what he taught his disciples to pray, “Thy will be done.” 

Jesus’ response echoes the words of his mother, Mary, after being told she would bear the Messiah.  To this overwhelming and possibly dangerous news, she says to the angel bringing her the announcement, “Let it be done unto me according to Your Word.”  Perhaps Jesus learned his prayer of surrender from her! 
 
Every time we enter into Centering Prayer, we join Mary and Jesus in this powerful, humble, and holy consent.  For twenty minutes, we practice releasing our grasp on our plans, desires, abilities, and attachments. 

After coming to an end of our own words in prayerful petition, no matter how a situation may look to us (and others) on the outside, we trust in the presence and work of the One who dwells in secret on the inside. 
 
Try this:

• Notice what is weighing on you in this moment.  Whether news you’ve just received or a long-term burden, bring it to mind or write it down. 

 

• Say a simple sentence to walk you into surrender. “Thy will be done.”  “Let it be done unto me according to Your Word.”  “I surrender all to You.”  “I entrust all into Your Heart.”  “I release my grasp and rest in Your presence.”

 

• Surrender by sitting in Silence for up to 20 minutes.* 

 

• Slowly come out of your time of Silence and offer a simple prayer to end.  “Let me embody Your Love today.” “I am Yours.”  “Thank You.”  Or, literally open your hands as a prayer symbolizing letting go and receiving the gift of the day. 

 
*Contemplative Outreach offers an app with a timer and ways to enter into and end your time of Centering Prayer.  And no matter what level of experience you have, you are always welcome to join me for communal Centering Prayer every Friday morning from 9:00 AM- 10:00 AM (Central Time Zone). Contact me for the Zoom link.

Being Holy Week, let's allow the art of German priest and artist, Sieger Köder (1925-2015), to lead us in meditation.  "The Eucharist" or "Communion Table" is the subject for these two paintings that will receive our contemplative gaze.

Look closely at the first, depicting Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper found in Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 13.

Look: What or who catches your eye?  Let your eyes rest there for a moment.  
Notice: What stirs in you?  Feelings, bodily sensations, thoughts/questions/curiosities...    
Ask:  "God, what are you saying to me through this painting?"  
Listen:  Pay attention to any words, images, memories, scriptures, songs, feelings, etc. that may arise. You might choose to journal.  

Now look at the second painting below with those from the 1940's WWII-era with the risen Christ.  A Jew, prostitute, beggar, clown, scholar, rich woman (maybe a widow), and wounded African guest worker with Nazi concentration camp pajamas have been invited (and have come!) to the table.   You might repeat the above questions or focus in on a particular person at the table.       

Look: Who catches your eye?  Or, who do you most identify with or feel resistance towards?    
Notice: What does this person stir in you?  Feelings, bodily sensations, thoughts/curiosities...   
Ask:  "God, what are you showing or saying to me through this person?"  
Listen:  Pay attention to any words, images, memories, scriptures, songs, feelings, etc. that may arise. You might choose to journal.

Now let both paintings dance together.  What do you notice?  Is there a theme in what is being communicated to you through the paintings?  Are you aware of any invitations?  

Like parables, Sieger Köder's paintings contain many layers of meaning.  There are endless ways to engage them, like entering one or both of the paintings through your imagination as an observer, one who joins Jesus at the table, or is the face of Christ for those present.  What happens next? 

Whatever happens next, may your time at the table speak to your soul and lead you further on the path of and toward Life.   

​“The Tao which can be told is not the eternal Tao,” states the opening line of the Tao te Ching.  Try replacing Tao (or Way) with God or Jesus. 

No matter who we are, the image of the Way, of God, even of Jesus, that we hold is not the true or eternal one.  Our image will never offer the whole picture or truth.  A book that is an enjoyable reminder of this is Naming the Unnameable: 89 Wonderful and Useful Names for God …Including the Unnameable God. 
 
So even though God is beyond all images, why do I still often ask people in Spiritual Direction, “When you pray or think about God, how do you image God?” 
 
You can learn a lot from the image of God you hold.  Images are powerful.  
 
As a Spiritual Director, they can let me know why a person may have such a hard time being in Silence, praying, or trusting the Sacred Presence.  They can also help identify particular spiritual wounds.  Some images we hold inspire fear and shame rather than love and trust.  
 
An example from my work:
Most often people describe a masculine image of God (usually a Zeus-like one standing judgmentally outside of them). This is not surprising as religions are chiefly shaped in and by patriarchal culture and language.

Yet one may not (or may not feel the freedom to) stop to think how a strictly masculine image of God can be wounding.  Women, especially, have suffered (the extent is a topic for another time).  But all of Creation (as well as Creator) suffers when parts of them (and in this case, the feminine) is ignored, suppressed, or even despised.    
 
For some, the suffering leads to feelings of resistance to all things around God, Jesus, Church, and Scripture.  Not knowing the soul is crying out for a more holistic, truer image of Divinity, many times the person feels guilty or rejects all things religion-related (but somehow some still find their way to sitting with a Spiritual Director!). 
 
As we listen together in the Silence, the still, small Voice begins to whisper of the Divine Feminine and often images from Scripture itself arise—Lady Wisdom (also known as “Chokmah” in Hebrew or “Sophia” in Greek), Mother Hen gathering her chicks, Mother God holding or nursing her beloved child, Mother Mary who knows suffering...

​Notice the “Mother” theme?  It is both telling as to what the person’s soul is crying out for as well as a needed corrective for an overabundance of Father imagery. 
 
Feel uncomfortable with that thought?  You are not alone, fear can often accompany the idea of turning toward these images (it did for me!).  After all, a patriarchal culture only validates patriarchal images!  Isn’t it amazing these feminine images are to be found at all in the Hebrew and Christian Bible? And by the way, Saint Paul declares Jesus to be the embodiment of Sophia (see I Corinthians 2:7 as one example).  
 
When those in Spiritual Direction allow themselves to embrace (or be embraced by) the Divine Feminine, guess what?  They can pray again.  
 
And they begin to trust in the God who is with them, and in the case of women, a God who resembles and better understands them.  They discover a true Soul Friend.   
 
An example from home: 
My teen daughter is a contemplative at heart. Silence has been her way of prayer since she was tiny.  And for just as long, she has expressed a disdain for overly masculine images of God.  We have talked about Mother God since preschool when we tweaked her school's "God our Father" singing prayer to also include "God our Mother."  But not seeing or hearing the same language in communal worship has left her with little desire for institutional religion.  I cannot blame her.  

While it has not been a cause for worry, I have wondered if Silence is more of an escape from religion or a hiding place from the world rather than a surrendering to the Sacred.  Regardless, I have trusted God would meet her in it, even if I had no idea of the particulars.  But the other day she surprised me by saying she talks to Lady Wisdom and asks for Her help all the time! 

I guess she figured one mother is enough for now!  She has found relating to God as Lady Wisdom to naturally be more soul friendly.  And finding a Friend of her Soul, she cannot help but pray.  

Honestly, I really don't. 

​As a Spiritual Director, I'm listening and looking for life.  

​For some this looks like a daily time set aside for reading Scripture and praying with words (whether silently, written, or spoken).  This can be a very grounding and growing time. 

Or it can be a burdensome box on the spiritual checklist marked by guilt-if-I-don't-do-it. 

Even worse, it can be a time to grow the ego (rather than the mind of Christ). 
Reading the Bible and memorizing Scriptures are not a guarantee that one is on the path of and toward Life.  Some things may have the appearance of life but underneath we find superstition or pride in disguise.    

However Spirit is in the process of utterly transforming our hearts (which impacts the lenses through which we see the world, including Scripture), that is what I am looking and listening for when I sit with a person in Spiritual Direction. 

Let me give an example:
One person felt guilty because they did not want to do a one-year-Bible study initiated by their peers.  I affirmed their resistance which was telling them the truth--should they say "yes" out of obligation, they would only grow resentment, not life, in their relationship with God and others.

As I continued to listen, it became clear that this person would step out of their particular compulsions and into a deeper place the more they spent time in Nature (God's first revelation) and working with wood.  Nature and Beauty were of utmost importance in growing in Love and Life.  Their year would be better spent outside and in their workshop.       

There is no one-size-fits-all contrary to what you may have heard as a child, young adult, or a newbie to tending to the spiritual life.  

Having regular, uninterrupted time on the couch with a cat or dog or sharing a peaceful and delicious meal with one's partner, both are life-giving, love-growing practices. Others may find that silent meditation or reflecting on a poem expands their soul.  Working with a dream from the night before, puzzling over a vision, wrestling with a spiritual question, painting, gardening, playing with children...the possibilities for spiritual practice and experience are endless because God is endless. 

It also does not have to be either-or when it comes to spiritual practice...either I read the Bible or I spend time in Nature.  You might read the Bible in Nature.  Spending time in Nature may give you new eyes with which to see the Bible when you do read it next (or you might discuss different ways to read Sacred Scripture with your Spiritual Director).    

So how do you know if your "daily quiet time" or spiritual practice is life-giving and growing?
 
Reflect on the practice after you've engaged it for a length of time, at least a month.  Any given day can feel like a slog and the fruit of the practice may show up outside of the time itself!  For instance, after time in Nature, you may be calmer, less reactive, and more patient with others.

Here are some questions to discover the fruit your practice is bearing (or not):

•  Are you more centered and present rather than scattered and overstimulated? 
• Do you find your heart is being softened toward yourself and others?
• Are you seeing situations, people, and things in a different way?
• How is your breathing?--full and relaxed or survival-breathing, shallow and holding your breath  

 
If you come for Spiritual Direction, I'm not going to give you Bible verses to memorize or critique your spiritual life.  I'm going to listen for life within your life so that you may walk in the way that leads to Life (which is what the Bible encourages us to do!).     

Today I facilitated a time of meditation and guided prayer for the Vanderbilt Divinity School community during their online worship.  Since we're all in this 2020 boat together, I'm offering the same to you! ​
__________________________
Mark 4:35-36 (NRSV)
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.
 
Mark 6:31-32 (NRSV)
31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
 ___________________________

After days full of crowds and constant activity (& sometimes during days full of crowds & constant activity!), what did Jesus and his disciples do?  They climbed into a boat. 
 
The boat offered refuge—it was a safe place to teach from, to take a break from the pressing crowds, to find rest.    
 
It was also a safe place to wrestle—to struggle with and against the waves, to puzzle with what had just been learned or witnessed.
 
And it was a threshold place—floating on the surface of the deep unknown, in-between where they’d come from and where they were going (which also meant into the unknown).  It was a vehicle of both transportation and transformation. 
 
If we were to continue on with our particular Scripture passages we would know what they didn't know.  They were about to face a furious storm (although it wouldn't disturb Jesus' sleep which would disturb them even more!) and their plans for their place of rest were going to be thwarted.       
 
Boat-time was liminal space for them, kind of like 2020 is for us. 
The boat itself was a liminal place for them, kind of like Vanderbilt is for many, kind of like this worship time is for us.
 
So what might happen in this time of liminality?  Will we discover an invitation to rest in the middle of the storm?  If we loosen our grasp on our plans for the future, what will we do now?  Let’s climb into the boat for some guided prayer and find out! 
 
I invite you to close your eyes, maybe raise your shoulders and sigh deeply allowing your shoulders to drop and other places of tension in your body to begin to release. Giving yourself permission to continue to be here rather than the task or place you’re headed to after worship.  As you allow for some slow, relaxed breaths, let each one draw you to the present, this place where you experience the Sacred Presence. 
 
Now in the quiet, listen to Jesus speak the same words to you that he spoke to his disciples, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”  (2x)
 
Imagine yourself leaving whatever or whoever has kept you busy, worried or even excited today or whatever or whoever is presently keeping you preoccupied, imagine leaving it, leaving them, and climbing into the boat with Jesus. 
 
Take a moment to notice what the boat and your surroundings look like (they might be old or modern day).  You might notice where you choose to sit, who else may be in the boat, just take in the scene with all of your senses, what do you hear, see, touch, taste… 
 
What is the weather and water like in this moment?  What time of day is it?  What state are you in—mind & body?     
 
While you’re looking forward to going to a place of rest, you don’t know what will be waiting for you in the future, all you have right now is this boat and this moment.
 
What do you need and what is being offered to you?
    
Let the scene unfold.  Maybe you voice your need to Jesus and a conversation happens, or maybe there’s an opportunity to rest awhile in the boat just as you are, or you might become aware of wisdom being offered you in regard to something you’ve been wrestling with.  How is rest being offered to your body, mind, and soul, right here, right now? 
 
After a few moments in the silence you'll hear music playing and once it ends I'll offer a Benediction.  

I was supposed to be traveling today to Saint Meinrad Archabbey for a yearly 4-day Silent Retreat. 

It's one of my favorite places.  I am always excited about facilitating this deep dive into the gift of Silence.  Words don't do it justice.

BUT the pandemic threw a wrench in my (& everyone's) plans.  So, I decided that even though I won't be facilitating a retreat, I can share with you the theme that I picked out for it last year and we can enter into it wherever we find ourselves. 

​We can still pray: ​

​If there's ever been a time to pray this prayer that was written in the spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi, 700 years after his death by Father Esther Couqerel of France in 1912, it is now!
 
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant that I may
Not so much seek to be consoled as to console
To be understood, as to understand
To be loved, as to love
For it is in giving that we receive
And it is in pardoning that we are pardoned
And it's in dying that we are born to Eternal Life
Amen.

________________
"Blessed are the peacemakers," said Jesus, "for they will be called children of God."   

To be a peacemaker does not mean:

• We are peacekeepers.  (Consider the difference).
• We simply enjoy peace.      
• We don't have strong opinions.    
• We don't speak up or speak out.

To be a peacemaker means we not only pray and enjoy peace, but we actively work for peace.  For everyone.  Not just ourselves.  However, receiving inner peace enables us to extend outer peace...hence, the silent retreats. 

Silence offers an opportunity to slow down, to quiet the outer voices that we may look within and discover the inner voice of the God of Peace.   

Will you join me in reflecting, meditating, walking, dancing, stretching, playing, singing, resting, and working with this prayer over the next 4 days? 

Praying it first for yourself and your internal world: 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace toward myself...

Then praying it for those outside of yourself.  Praying it on behalf of not only your family and nation, but the whole world.
 
Praying to embody the words as you come in contact with the world--from those in your own house to the grocery store and social media.

Let's breathe in and out the words of the "Prayer of St. Francis" and in so doing, may we become instruments and children of the God of Peace.