I’m sipping some tea late into the night. It was hot at the baseball game, and even though we were having fun, it was hot. So now, after a shower, I don’t feel like going to sleep, but I don’t want to watch any more news, either. Tomorrow I’ll catch up. Tonight, I think I’ll just sit in the half light, drink my tea before it gets cold, and pray. The world needs prayer. And love. So much love.
I like the technique proposed by Pope Francis, to use your hand as a guide for prayer:
1. Thumb: This is closest to you, so pray for your dear ones, your family, your friends.
2. Index finger. We point with this finger – pray for teachers, the people who guide you, law enforcement and emergency responders. They need God’s guidance, too, to do their work.
3. The middle finger. Sometimes we use it in a not-so-nice-manner. It’s the tallest finger, so pray for our leaders. The world is a mess. Policies are a mess. People are a mess. We need good leaders to help us. To make this world a better place for everyone.
4. The ring finger. Associated with marriage and love. It’s also the weakest finger. Pray for the weak. The marginalized. The misunderstood. We are all God’s children. We are all worthy of love.
5. The pinkie. This is the smallest finger, and reminds you to pray for yourself. Putting ourselves last in this prayer strategy doesn’t mean we dismiss ourselves — it helps us order our needs after thinking broadly about our relationships.
Thank you – needed this reminder tonight.