Tag: prayer

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WPC: Inspiration

monastery

This little abbey at the opposite end of the county where I live is my favorite place to recharge. It’s a quiet monastery that follows the Rule of St. Benedict. Their motto, Ora et Labora, pray and work,  can be seen everywhere, if not in words, then certainly in action. It’s quiet there, but busy.

I go there often for inspiration, especially when I find myself in a creative funk. I walk around the grounds. Pray. Walk some more. Sit. Think. Take pictures. Think some more. Pray again.

Every time I leave, I’m recharged. I think the peace I feel opens up my heart and mind and I am able to work past the blocks. Its the prayer, and the work. The inspiration for me to pray. And work.

 

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the struggle is real

The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.

~St. Rose of Lima

I recently had an encounter with St. Rose of Lima while on a mini-vacation. Don’t worry, I don’t usually have saints come up behind me and tap me on the shoulder. I certainly wish  things were that easy.

It wasn’t like that — I’ve just had a lot of things piling up for discernment. I’ve often felt that a memo from God would make everything so easy. I could obey, or disobey, and it would be very clear either way.

So I found myself confused — a little lost even as I struggled to make some decisions on my own. I was on vacation but instead of relaxing I was getting more and more wound up. Finally, I just prayed for a church, any church, so I could go inside for a moment. To pray. To sit before the Blessed Sacrament.

My husband, aware of my anxiety, googled local churches while I went inside a gas station for some drinks. He was smiling broadly when I came back, and told me I’d get a nice surprise about a block down the road.

Sure enough, we turned down a side road and there in front of us was a quaint little church named after St. Rose of Lima. I got my wish and the peace that comes from prayer: Jesus I trust in you.

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praying the way of the cross in photos, and other things

CSLentIPJI’ve been posting a photo journal for Lent inspired by CatholicSistas.com, and it has been a real challenge to let pictures say a 1000 words. The challenge for me, of course, is that I never shut up, so to have my voice cut off…well, I am running the risk of not communicating what I want. Then again, there’s a positive side to that — perhaps I am communicating what someone needs to “hear.”

I hope you are enjoying it.

I’ve also revived my blog in Spanish, Petalos de Maria, where I’m endeavoring to post at least one entry a week. The wonderful Lisa Hendey at CatholicMom.com has picked that up and is running the Spanish with the English translation on Thursdays. I hope you check out one or the other.

In the meantime, here’s what I posted this week, and below, you can read it in English.

***

Lent is well under way.

I usually have many ideas about what I need to do for myself at the beginning. For me, it’s like an opportunity for a spiritual reboot, a chance to begin again. It’s not unlike making New Year’s resolutions.

And like those resolutions, my Lenten ideas tend to peter out sometime into the second week, and I fail to accomplish the lofty goals I set for myself.

I thought I’d keep it simple this year. Stick with the simple, which doesn’t necessarily mean easy.

One of the things I’ve set out to do is work on my prayer life. Because of the nature of my schedule, I can’t make a commitment to daily Mass. I’ve added certain prayers and routines over the years, so the challenge is to find a place to add, to enhance what I’m already doing.

There’s no question that my prayer life would benefit greatly from a more robust approach to prayer. With that in mind, I’ve made a commitment to the Stations of the Cross on Fridays, and rather than attending a group worship service in the evening, I’ve started going alone in the late afternoon.

I’m stretching myself with an hour of prayerful meditation on those Friday afternoons. I think enjoy is probably not the right word for this exercise, but it has definitely been something worth doing, and very likely, a practice that I could incorporate year round, if not weekly, then perhaps monthly.

In walking along with Jesus in His Passion, I’ve been able to participate in His suffering, to meditate on humility, and focus less on what I have and meditate more on what Christ has given me in Salvation.

It is a journey of suffering that accounts for my stumbles and falls, and the graces, too, as I experience with Christ, humiliation, weakness, pain, and also tenderness and love.

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