Category: #prayer

A Father’s Love

My husband and I attended Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Monastery this past Sunday.  It is the home of the Franciscan Sisters, TOR.  They do not always have a Sunday mass as they do not have a resident priest.  Whenever there is a Sunday service, we try to attend.  The Father of Mercy Chapel is a beautifully peaceful place, the sisters are very talented musicians, and we always feel welcomed and rested when we are there.

They have had a Sunday mass for the last two weeks, and we have been in attendance at both. Each week, there has been a beautiful family in attending.  They have 6 children ranging from teenagers to toddlers.  They are an inspiring example of love and a witness to the importance of families and faith.

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

Fr. Tim Shannon was the celebrant at last week’s Mass.  I always love his homilies because he shares a story about his life, growing up in northern Ohio, and makes you feel like you are there in that moment with him.  Last week, he spoke about the shepherd and the sheep, how the sheep know the shepherd, and how the sheep trust and feel safe with the shepherd.  And he tied that directly to his life and experience growing up.  It was a beautiful sermon, and Fr. Tim is a wonderful storyteller. 

Photo by kailash kumar on Pexels.com

As Father was preaching, the family in the pew ahead of us settled in to listen to his words.  The youngest child, who is probably not more than 3 years old, climbed up into his father’s lap.  He wrapped his arms around his dad’s neck and lay his little blonde head on his dad’s shoulder.  He was quiet and still, nuzzling his face into his father’s neck as his eyes grew heavy.  He then fell asleep on his father’s chest.  His little arms went limp as he drifted into a deep slumber.  He stayed peacefully asleep for the remainder of the Mass, completely oblivious to everything and everyone else around him. 

Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.com

That is what real rest looks like.  Knowing that peace, being that comfortable, and having the security of a father’s love, wow!  Nothing disturbed him, not movement, not touch, not singing, nothing.  He was still, quiet, completely surrendered because he knew he was safe.  He knew he was loved.  He knew his dad would protect him, take care of him, not let anything happen to him.  (Kind of like the sheep and shepherd). He knew he could rest because he trusted and knew the love of a father.  Just watching him sleep gave me a peace that seemed surreal.

But it also made me realize that we can have that too. If we want it.  God, our heavenly Father, wants to give that to us, but we won’t ask for it.  Maybe it’s because we don’t think we deserve it, or we think we can handle everything on our own.  Or maybe it’s because we don’t believe that this kind of rest is possible.  And it’s not just the physical rest, that break from the craziness of your life, that brief moment of relaxation, or that nap on a Sunday afternoon while it rains.  It’s the spiritual rest that dispels confusion, removes worry, eliminates fear, and alleviates stress.  Resting in the Lord, spiritual rest, leads to physical rest. Spiritual rest leads to emotional rest. It brings joy and peace, and contentment. It removes fear and doubt, and worry. 

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

So today, be like the little boy in church, and surrender to the kind of rest that only God can provide.  “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28.  And today, please pray for me, and I will continue to pray for you.

Never Walk Alone

I have five dogs, which means I walk a lot.  I frequently surpass my 10,000 steps a day goal.  With five dogs, you have to break up the dog walks into smaller groups.  All of my dogs weigh 50 lbs or more, so walking them all together is not an option. This generally means that I get 3 walks a day.  The first two are generally longer walks, between 2 and 3 miles in length.  This walk is for our younger dogs, whom I refer to as the littles.  The last walk is for our senior dogs, and it is generally a mile to a mile and a half, as they can no longer tolerate the longer treks.  Needless to say, I never walk alone.

Usually, when I walk the dogs, I pray.  During the first walk, I generally pray the Rosary; the second walk is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, and the third walk is just unscripted prayer or general conversation with God. A lot of times, I will say a Hail Mary for a neighbor that I see or stop to talk with on my walks.      

Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

But this morning it was different.  I didn’t pray on my walk this morning.  It wasn’t because I didn’t want to; it was because I couldn’t focus.  I was tired, really tired.  I turned off my alarm and fell back to sleep this morning.  That is something that I rarely do.  I usually wake up as soon as it goes off.  That doesn’t mean I’m coherent; I am just out of bed. 

Photo by Tara Winstead on Pexels.com

I was groggy this morning.  I was awakened at 5:30 am by a phone call from my husband (he is away for a few days).  I was so groggy, I didn’t even realize I had answered the phone. And I vaguely remember our brief conversation.  I know he called to hear my voice, as gravelly and unintelligible as it was, and to tell me that he loved me. 

The guy who called to tell me he loves me.

An hour later, after a cup of coffee and some time for prayer and reflection, I was ready to tackle the day.  I had intended to do a normal walk with the dogs – plural, but they were all asleep in a pile, except for Ruckus, the newest addition to our pack.  At 6 months old, he has the energy of 3 dogs.  So Ruck and I set out for a 6:30 am walk through the neighborhood.  And I didn’t pray. 

This morning, we simply walked in silence.  I listened to the sound of my footsteps and the cadence they created.  I could hear the jingling of Ruck’s collar with his name tag, dog license, and rabies vaccination tag, his gentle panting, and the tapping of his toenails on the concrete.  I could make out the songs of various birds – wrens, cardinals, red-winged blackbirds, and the laughter of the crows.  In the distance, a woodpecker drummed on a dead tree. I paid attention to the breeze whispering through the trees and the distant hum of cars on the highway.  I wrapped myself in the quiet sounds of the day unfolding around me.

And what I realized is that, in and of itself, was a prayer.  It was quiet time with God to clear my mind, to refocus, and prepare myself for everything that the day had in store.  Prayer is more than rote learning and recitation; prayer is time, prayer is relationship, prayer is slowing down.  It is not some box to check off, or some memorized words recited over and over again.  Prayer is any time you spend with God, so prayer will and does look like a lot of different things. 

And while I typically walk with my dogs and hike with my husband, son, or friends, even when I do these activities by myself, I am never alone.  God is always with me.  So, I never ever walk alone.  So today, go for a walk, take a hike, get outside and be silent with the Lord, feel His presence, and know that you never walk alone.  And today, please pray for me, and I will continue to pray for you.