Prayer… stillness… being with God by Sr. Shirley Mueller
Prayer… stillness… being with God by Sr. Shirley Mueller
I
used to pray that God would feed the hungry,
Or do
this or that, but now I pray that he will guide me to do whatever I’m supposed
to do, what I can do.
I
used to pray for answers, but now I’m praying for strength.
I used
to believe that prayer changes things,
But now
I know that prayer changes us and we change things.
St.
Mother Teresa
The hallmark of prayer is the finding and becoming one with stillness. It is so amazing to me that God can dwell within us and be at the heart of the mystery of the Universe. I often think of the profound mystery of two molecules of hydrogen forming a unique relationship with one molecule of oxygen to give us water in all its varied forms to be the wonderful conveyor of life.
In the deep silence of the
Universe billions of star galaxies move in harmony to manifest such glory. In
the deep silence of the mystery of water within us, as we continue to be made
of the same elements that are in the stars, the God who knows our every need
creates and completes us as we are walking seas on the earth. I give praise for
such a great and wondrous creation that brings me to the wondrous contemplation
of God through all the diversity of the many religions on our planet earth.
That we travel the Universe rotating at 800 mph in a wondrous, marvelous ride (all
out of love that) reveals a God of love who wants to draw us to Himself-Herself
in ever deeper ways. Thank you, God, for the ride of my life.
We want to meet each other
of different religions in peace and friendship and in the depths of spiritual
experiences taught in each of our own traditions. The longest and deepest journey
in life is within. When we can speak out of our deepest experiences of our
traditions, it will bring the world together. It is the mystics who will
raise the consciousness of the world to a higher level to bring us all to an
understanding of peace and love.
“Meditation creates community. . .It
is not talking to or thinking about God, but being with God.”*
Our bodies are gifts of
being that God has given us by creating us. Let us be helped by whatever gives
us reverence for our bodies as God’s gifts and temples and whatever quiets and
focuses us to get to silence and stillness. “Simply to be with God is to be
drawn into being the person God calls us to be. “. John Main*
*Pages 32 and 59 of Christian Meditation
by Laurence Freeman OSB.
Thank you, Shirley for this lovely reflection,
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sr. Shirley for bringing our thoughts back to the beginning of it all.
ReplyDelete