Our weakness is the key to our salvation, not our strength (talents, etc.). In my weakness, God’s strength is made perfect. In my weakness, I can learn to pray like the Publican, while in my strength, I invariably pray like the Pharisee. Blessed are the meek.
··· Tags pointing to: prayer ···
A virtuous life is simply impossible without the aid of prayer.
Mystify us, arouse and confuse us. Shatter our illusions and plans so that we lose our way, and see neither path nor light until we have found you, where you are to be found and in your true form—in the peace of solitude, in prayer, in submission, in suffering, in succour given to another, and in flight from idle talk and worldly affairs. And, having tried all the known ways and means of pleasing you and not finding you any longer in any of them, we remain at a loss until, finally, the futility of all our efforts leads us at last to leave all to find you henceforth, you, yourself, everywhere and in all things without discrimination or reflection.
For, how foolish it is, O Divine Love, not to see you in all that is good and in all creatures. Why, then, try to find you in what you are not.
I bind to myself today:
God’s power to guide me,
God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to teach me,
God’s eye to watch over me,
God’s ear to hear me,
God’s word to give me speech,
God’s hand to guide me,
God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to shelter me,
God’s host to secure me.
You Must Speak with the Heart
You must speak to Jesus also with the heart, besides with the lips; indeed, in certain cases you must speak to Him only with the heart.
Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.
While walking through the forest, you notice the quiet. But when you stop and listen for ten minutes, you suddenly realize it is not so quiet. (Ever notice that the longer you look at stars, the more stars you see?) There are many noises that even your quiet walking disguises. I wonder if this is like prayer…
In our prayer, how often are we paying attention? Just like in the forest, maybe a true silence will help us hear what God is trying to tell us—if we would only listen! He is speaking, but we are too busy with our distractions and often don’t even know it.
Lottery Tickets and God
“The funny thing about lottery tickets,” Mary mused as we waited in line at the cash register, “is that people keep buying them even if they never win. Week after week, month after month, year after year, still they never give up hope. But if they pray for something two or three times, they expect immediate results, and if it doesn’t happen, then they say that God is unfair, disinterested, or dead. Why is it easier to keep believing in the lottery than in God?”
May the sun bring you new energy by day,
May the moon softly restore you by night.
May the rain wash away your worries,
May the breeze blow new strength into your being,
May you walk through the world and
Know its beauty all the days of your life.