Take the Time

A beautiful video from Sister Rebecca Shinas, OP on contemplative prayer, the importance of the breath, of silence and solitude, and of taking the time every day to give to our practice and to Our Lord.

I have also posted today a video of Sister Rebecca’s teaching on how to say a scriptural Rosary, over at Consecrated to Mary.  If you go to her Order’s YouTube Channel, you will find other videos by Sister Rebecca on prayer.

Thank you, Sister, and I’m hoping I might receive one of your CDs for Christmas if I leave a few yellow sticky-notes around the house in strategic places for hubby to see. 

For Pia's Mom

This is my prayer for your sweet contemplative mom, dear Pia – that the Lord is continuing to nourish and soothe her mind and spirit after her strokes with the beauty of nature and all of His creation, as He has always done for her.

We love you, and I’m sure I speak for many when I say we wish we could be with you in person, to comfort you during these difficult days.

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the gentle night to you,
Moon and stars for their healing light on you.

Prayer and Studies

In my recent wanderings I noticed that the Spirituality & Practice website is offering an e-course which may be of interest to some for this upcoming Lent.  The course is entitled, “Practicing Spirituality with Edward Hays”.

I was not familiar with Father Edward Hays, but you can read a brief bio of him in the description of the e-course to which I’ve linked above.  A little something that caught my eye:

Over his long and illustrious career, Hays has been a pioneer manifesting a daring mystical sensibility and an unbridled imagination that makes his vision consistently fresh and invigorating.

Father Hays has authored more than thirty “best-selling books on contemporary spirituality”, titles of which you can see here at Ave Maria Press (just click on “Titles by this Author”), so even if you are not able to take the e-course you may be interested to see if you can locate any of his books at your library.

Among other assignments/responsibilities throughout his years as a priest, Father Hays was the director of Shantivanam House of Prayer, of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.A. If you click on the “About” section in the menu and read the history of Shantivanam, you will see how Father Hays established this House of Prayer in the early seventies for his archdiocese. On the Shantivanam homepage to which I’ve linked, scroll down and take the “visual exploration” of this beautiful House of Prayer and retreat facility – your spirit will thank you. Well, I never imagined myself saying these exact words, but how I’d love to meet you, my friends, this summer in Kansas!

Healer of My Soul

For a friend, a hard-working faith-filled loving husband and father of young children, travelling that often lonely path of a world-weary mystic.   

Grateful to be Almost No One

Solitude, says the moon shell.  Center-down, say the Quaker saints.  To the possession of the self the way is inward, says Plotinus.  The cell of self-knowledge is the stall in which the pilgrim must be reborn, says St. Catherine of Siena.  Voices from the past.  In fact, these are pursuits and virtues of the past.  But done in another way today because done consciously, aware, with eyes open.  Not done as before, as part of the pattern of the time.  Not done because everyone else is doing them; almost no one is doing them.  Revolutionary, in fact, because almost every trend and pressure, every voice from the outside is against this new way of inward living.

[Anne Morrow Lindbergh:  Gift from the Sea, pgs. 56-57]

Sacred Silence

Sometimes just being there is enough
When words would be an encumbrance upon sacred silence
That lends itself so well to contemplation.

Sometimes just being there is enough
Presenting oneself, body, mind and spirit
In an act of trust
When Love pours itself out of a ruby-rimmed cup
And all of me fills with longing.

[Taken from:
The Blueness Above, by Ann Murray]

Please visit Ann at her Poetry, Prayer, and Praise blog for some excellent news.

My Desire

Direct to YouTube for this video is HERE.

[Edited to add:  The creator of this video, Bob Carlton, posted it on his blog about a year ago, with the lyrics by Paul Simon.  You can see the lyrics here.  Bob Carlton's YouTube Channel is here, and he has made some really lovely videos for reflections on special liturgical days/seasons].

Listening

I fell asleep last night in conversation with Mary; conversation – well, mostly questions.  I awoke to no answers, until she led me here.

So, for a little while, I don’t know for how long, I will be away at my retreat centres:  here, here, and here – the Divine Architect thought of everything, including an interconnecting corridor.