My mother loves angels. I cannot remember a Christmas when Mom did not make a display of angel figures on the mantle, the piano, or any other flat surface around the house. The were big angels and little ones, porcelain ones and wooden ones, colorful ones and plain ones. People marveled at her extensive collection of angel figurines. Whenever we could not think of another better gift we gave Mom an angel to add to her collection, as well as angel calendars, pictures, candles, books, and scarves.

Earlier today I was talking with a man who told me how each morning he calls on his list of angels to wake them up. He says that he heard he needed to wake them so they would be on hand as a presence and a guide for him throughout the day.

Not to be dismissive of him or my mother, but I think that angels come in more forms than the winged and heavenly kind. You and I have the opportunity to be someone’s angel. It does no require a special direction from God. It does not require a degree in theology. It does not require a saintly disposition. In fact, the least spiritual, unchurched and cranky person can be an angel, and they might not even know they were.

I think that living in the present, being aware of those around us, looking at people instead of past them, and being open to others are all helpful ways to prepare for angelhood. Perhaps the most important thing is being aware that we are all struggling to some extent or another with life. Some days are easier than others, but the struggle is still there. We all need angels to get us through.

A smile, a warm greeting, an act of courtesy, or a kindness could turn someones’ day around. It might also turn yours around too.

Be someone’s angel because we all need them on a daily basis; not just on the mantle a Christmas. If you need a little encouragment then listen to this beautiful song by Sara Hickman “We Are Each Other’s Angels.”

There is something going on in this place. There is life, energy, excitement, joy, laughter surprises, love, smiles, a sense of purpose, a sense of hope, service, and resurrection.
What in the world is going on?

Just a week ago I was with a group of Episcopal clergy talking about our parishes. One person in the group spoke about how people no longer identify with a church the way they did in the 1950s, and that church attendance especially among mainline churches is diminishing. These demographic and sociological trends cannot be denied. What confuses me is why so many church people take that as a reason to pull back, to lower expectations, to give in.

It is true that these trends are happening across the Church as a whole, but what we often fail to notice is that not all parishes are following the trend. There are those parishes like Emmanuel and St. Stephen’s Richmond that are clearly moving in the opposite direction (These are two parishes I am familiar with. I would like to know about other parishes that are growing and what they are doing.) Instead of giving in to a trend we can learn from parishes that are bucking it. I want to focus on what is working for people. I want to focus on what brings people life and hope. I want to focus on communities of faith that give people a reason to belong. I am not interested in laying blame, bemoaning the downward slide, worrying about the end of Christianity as we know it. As Jesus said, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 NRSV) If the Christianity of our parents and grandparents is dying; rather than worrying about what is dying we must cultivate the soil to see what will grow.

At Emmanuel Church our membership has grown fifteen percent in the past year, financial stewardship is stronger, and our endowment is growing. From the inside looking out what I see first and foremost is a community of faith. This is not the civic religion of the 50s or church as a club for making business connections. This is not a community limited by education, income, status, property or hierarchy. This is not a community limited by geography. This is a church of people committed to their faith, coming to be nourished in their faith, and wanting to take their faith back out into the world. These are people who want to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ so that they might continue on their journey of faith, day by day.

This is a community that wants to share the joy they feel with everyone that they meet. They bring their friends and visitors. If they are out of town they join our services online. They need to be part of this community that is centered on love–the love that Jesus teaches.

They do not store up that love either. They understand that the love of Christ is the kind of love that multiplies as it is shared. This love multiplies not only in the other people it reaches but in the giver. It is a love that begs to be shared because of how it grows. It is shared in everyday kindness to others, work at A Place To Be, work at Seven Loaves and Windy Hill, and the many unseen gestures of love that happen each day.

A community like this does not just happen on its own. It also does not happen because of a priest, good sermons, excellent singing, perfect liturgy, great architecture, comfortable pews or any tangible thing. It happens because God is at work and there are people who want to be part of that work. When people decide to open themselves to God’s work in the world and take it upon themselves “to do the work God has given us to do” a parish becomes a magnet drawing in other people who are hungry for meaning and hope.

The world is full of people tweeting, Facebooking, scolding, berating, and otherwise telling you and me about all that is wrong. They thrive on complaining and outrage. Few, if any, provide a way to respond in love. When you see a parish that is growing it is because they are responding to the world in love. It feels good and right. Love draws others in to be a part of it, and the church grows. They want give of their time, energy, and resources because they feel God at work in them, through them, and in those around them. That is the new fruit that is sprouting from the seed that has died. That is the fruit of Christ now and always.

Where there is love, there is God.

We are about halfway through Lent. It may be time to check in on how our Lenten practices are going.

The first question might be, “Did you set a practice for Lent?” If you did not, it is not too late to start one. The timing of any seasonal practice such as a Lenten disciplines or a New Year’s Resolutions is artificial. God wants to be closer relationship to us. If we started a practice on Ash Wednesday or if we start today it does not matter to God, so much as it is important to start a practice.

For those who started a Lenten practice the questions might be, “How is it going?” “Are you still keeping it?” “Do you feel yourself closer to God?” “Do you think the practice needs more time to see if it is drawing you closer to the Divine?” “Did you choose a practice that is right for you?”

Perhaps you chose the same old thing, let’s say it is abstaining from sweets. Is that really a practice that will get you closer to God? That may just be a convenient no-brainer of a choice that makes you feel a bit bereft for six weeks and ends with gorging on Easter candy to satisfy our sweet-tooth. As a practice to deepen your relationship with God it probably does not accomplish much.

Worse yet it could be a discipline at which you always fail. That is what happens with me and sweets. I end up breaking my Lenten fast absentmindedly, because sweets are everywhere and so easy to consume thoughtlessly. Before I realize what I have done the little goodie is in my belly. I feel guilty for breaking my discipline. I confess to the closest person and restart my practice only to fail again. I doubt that my guilt gets me closer to the God of Love. At best the practice is neutral; at worst in may distance me from God. Guilt and shame seldom improve a relationship with God or a human. It actually sets up a power relationship that leaves the guilty party feeling inferior even if the other party does not lord it over them. Thus guilt and shame are more likely to put distance between us and God rather than drawing us closer as we would hope.

To live a leaner, simpler life during Lent is not a bad idea, but let’s don’t get guilt and shame involved. Brother Laurence some 400 years ago, said that when our minds wander from our practice we are to gently bring ourselves back to the practice. That is an essential part of his practice or any practice. If we can recognize our drifting away and gently return we are “getting better” at the practice. After all, God made us, loves us and knows the wanderings of our minds. God welcomes our return to the discipline from which we have strayed.

If your Lenten discipline is not helping you to get closer to God, if you have repeatedly failed and given up on your discipline, or if you never selected a discipline for this Lent let me suggest one you can take up this very moment or at any time—“Practicing the Presence of God.”

It is a rather simple practice. Br. Laurence who is known for developing it did everything in the presence of God. Whether he was peeling potatoes or repairing shoes he performed the task feeling God sitting with him. He lovingly offered every chore to the Glory of God . Br. Laurence said, “A little lifting up of the heart suffices; a little remembrance of God, an interior act of adoration. . . are prayers which, short though they may be, are nevertheless very pleasing to God . . . think of God as much as possible so that [you] will gradually become accustomed to this little but holy exercise; no one will notice it and nothing is easier than to repeat often during the day these little acts of interior adoration.”

Lift your heart up just a little. Offer small prayers and acts of adoration throughout the day. I expect you will find them transforming. Slowly you will find your brain less ajumble with transient and meaningless chatter. Slowly that chatter will be replaced by calm. Your feelings of self worth will be less dependent on others. You will be transformed into the person God meant you to be. You and the world will be better for you having done so.
Blessings and Peace,
Gene

This month we started a new ministry at Emmanuel Church. It is called First Fridays. No one expected a miracle, but from a simple beginning miracles are happening.

On the First Friday of each month anyone who is so inclined comes to the Parish House to cook food for people who are ill, recovering from an illness, grieving, or just in need of a little care. We write cards to folks for birthdays, condolence, celebrations, or just “thinking about you.” We also share a meal.

On March 1 we had our first meeting. Twelve to fifteen people showed up for this inaugural event. By the end of the evening we had cooked and frozen four containers of white bean chili, four containers of red bean chili, baked and frozen a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies, and baked and frozen a several loaves of banana bread. Our youngest participant was age 4 and our oldest, well, he was older. We had a great time and were very satisfied with our first efforts. However, it is what happened after that which is so inspiring.

The following week one of our participants, Martha (an alias), was helping out at Seven Loaves food pantry. One of their clients did not look well and ended up needing medical attention. Martha volunteered to bring this man’s food allotment to him the following week. As she thought about it she wondered if she could take him some of the food we had frozen. The question arose if the First Fridays food was only for parishioners. The answer was, “Of course not.” We cooked food for people in need. This man is in need it is a great idea to take him some of the prepared food.

A day or two later I received and email from the food pantry saying they had some canned pumpkin taking up valuable space on their shelves. They wondered if we could do anything with it. We will be baking pumpkin bread, muffins, and all things pumpkin for a while.

This is what a helping community looks like. This is the community that God spoke about when God said “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 19:18b) This is the community Jesus spoke about when he said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” (John 13:34 NRSV) The people of God have been trying to live up to these commands for over 2,000 years. We probably fail as often as we get it right, but we keep trying.

There is a new branch growing in this intersection of First Fridays, Emmanuel Church and Seven Loaves. This branch which is growing off of the True Vine which is Jesus. It sprouted from love. That is the love of God and the love of our fellow human beings. When we envisioned First Fridays no one knew we would be helping an ill man from Seven Loaves, but open hearts thought there is food and this man needs it. Just this morning a woman who left a difficult living situation was also served. Our hands are open and like Jesus we are providing a kind of miracle that in this case is expressed in food. As Sara Miles wrote, “There is a hunger beyond food that’s expressed in food, and that’s why feeding is always a kind of miracle.”

Miracles are happening here.

Angel (Angelos) is the Greek word for messenger, any messenger not just heavenly ones. The window above is a beautiful and distinctive feature of our church, thus it seems fitting to name the newsletter after it.

Messages, heavenly and otherwise. are important. Messages are not just of the email, letter or otherwise concrete type. Think of how we use the word message in our language. We leave a message, take a message, and get a message. We can be on message or off message in our communications. Couples send a message by their body language; although sometimes their partner may not get the message or they get the wrong message. Sometimes when we are stranded we put a message in a bottle hoping someone will read it. Famously, Marshall McLuhan said “The medium is the message.”

In this season of Lent one of our goals is to be more fully open to God. We believe that God sends us messages in many ways. If we are contemplative we can anticipate that God will speak to us in the silence of our contemplation. Many expect to find in message from God in the natural world–a flower, the chirp of a bird, the return of spring, the quiet of a snowfall. When we pray we hope that God will answer our prayer. God always answers prayers but not always in the way that we want or are ready to accept.

That is where we often need to do our work. We might start by examining how we pray. When we pray we might be looking at God as a cosmic genie who is there to respond to our wishes. We might think that if I pray for someone to be healed then God should do it. If God doesn’t then it is punishment because I am not faithful enough or the one we are praying for is not worthy or faithful enough. Perhaps we think that God is too busy to deal with my little problems and my prayers get lost in the clutter. Remember what Jesus said, “Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then… know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

God is not stingy and God doesn’t work on a merit based system. Look who God works with in the Bible: David and adulterer and murderer; Moses also a murderer; Rahab prostitute; Jacob and trickster and deceiver; Ruth a foreigner and Gentile. These are just a few of our most admired and flawed figures in the Bible

Pray what is on your heart at all times, and always end with, “Thy will not my will be done.” Even when our prayers are not answered in just they way we want, they are answered. God’s answer may be unclear, but God has more in store for us and those we love than we can ask or imagine. God gets the message and even when we are disappointed the answer is always love.

Giving up something for Lent seems to be one of those things that Christians in liturgical traditions do (in particular Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans) that mystifies non-liturgical Christians especially evangelical and non-denominational Christians. They wonder how giving up something would make one closer to God, especially if you are going to return to it after Lent. If giving up something would help us get closer to God, we should stick with it for more than forty days.

No doubt there is truth in that. The original idea of a Lenten Fast was to imitate Jesus’ forty day fast in the wilderness. The Lenten Fast was also to remind us that it is God’s love that sustains us. As Jesus said we “do not live by bread alone.”[1] However, a complete forty-day fast from food and drink would kill a human being, at least one that was not also divine. Thus the Lenten practice became a fast from a luxury, which in the Middle Ages was meat.

As our lives have moved beyond subsistence our luxuries have become more varied. Over the years I have heard a variety of choices for the Lenten fast. People I know have given up smoking, soft drinks in general and Coke Zero in particular, coffee or all caffeine, sweets especially chocolate, TV, fast food, swearing, and beer or alcohol altogether.

However, if our goal is to become closer to God, closer to Jesus, and more deeply spiritual Christians I am not sure that any of these are our best choices. Instead I would refer you to a list attributed to Pope Francis. You might find these fasts more challenging than giving up coffee, chocolate, or any other bodily luxury. For our convenience I have listed them on the back of today’s worship bulletin.  

The list of eleven possible fasts is more than one person can take on. But each of us could pick one or two of them we find particularly applicable to our life. We might be quick to anger and need to learn healing words. Perhaps we need to refocus our lives to gratitude. Perhaps there is a hole that needs to be filled with hope or joy. Perhaps we are weighed down by grudges, bitterness, or pressure and fasting from them could open us up to reconciliation, compassion or prayer.

I suggest you take this bulletin home. Cut out the list and pray with it. Ask God’s help in identifying the one thing you will fast from this Lent. Then focus on it. Highlight your choice and carry the list with you or put it on the mirror or refrigerator where you will see it and be reminded. Take on this fast because it is good for you, but also because it is good for others.

The fourth century bishop and mystic John Chrysostom wrote “No act of virtue can be great if it is not followed by advantage for others. So, no matter how much time you spend fasting, no matter how much you sleep on a hard floor and eat ashes and sigh continually, if you do no good to others, you do nothing great.”

Let your fast produce something good for yourself and others. Let your fast make such a difference in your life that when Lent ends it is not something you want to return to but instead find you want to continue. God does not want empty sacrifices. God wants your heart and nothing less. Give God your heart and while you may be challenged you will never be disappointed. For God’s love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”[2] and heals all things.[3] May this Lenten journey be one full of love and healing for you and for everyone you meet.

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Suggestions for your Lenten Fast from Pope Francis

• Fast from hurting words and say kind words.
• Fast from sadness and be filled with gratitude.
• Fast from anger and be filled with patience.
• Fast from pessimism and be filled with hope.
• Fast from worries and trust in God.
• Fast from complaints and contemplate simplicity.
• Fast from pressures and be prayerful.
• Fast from bitterness and fill your heart with joy.
• Fast from selfishness and be compassionate to others.
• Fast from grudges and be reconciled.
• Fast from words and be silent so you can listen.

[1] Matthew 4:4

[2] 1 Corinthians 13:7

[3] Revelation 21:4

When I wrote last week I told you I had a hard time deciding what to focus on, because I had so many amazing experiences. Last week it was my visit to A Place To Be, this week I want to share some thoughts on David Brooks’ op-ed called “A Nation of Weavers.”

Brooks points out that “our lack of healthy connection to each other, our inability to see the full dignity of each other, and the resulting culture of fear, distrust, tribalism, shaming and strife” have led to a nation of alienated people suffering deep and unrelenting pain.

Brooks then shares examples of how people around the country at the grassroots level are doing their best to change this culture. He gives examples of how they reach out to others through organizations, neighborhoods, and individually. He learns that the most trusted person in a neighborhood, might not actually live there (he is the garage attendant). Or the woman who has no time to volunteer for an organization is busy “looking out for local kids and visiting sick folks in the hospital.”

Of course, our little village has its own share of weavers. You surely know some of them. They volunteer at A Place To Be or Seven Loaves food pantry. They serve on the town council or work at the library. They pick up trash along the street. They organize the Community Christmas Dinner. They Care for our neighbors through various twelve-step programs. They don’t do it for the accolades. Indeed, most are unknown outside of the circle of other volunteers.

It runs across religious traditions, too. This is what is written in the Book of Leviticus “Love your neighbor as yourself.” It is what Jesus was teaching when he said, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” It is the pillar of Islam–zakat–the concept of sharing with others out of what God has given.

We can be a nation of givers or takers. We can be sharers or hoarders. We can be kind or indifferent to our neighbors. We can live in community or live isolated behind our walls and fences. We can be loving or fearful. We have the capacity for either.

To quote Brooks’ again, “We’re living with the excesses of 60 years of hyperindividualism.” Our society has focused on me rather that we. Rampant consumerism, what we used to call “Keeping up with the Joneses” has replaced keeping in touch with the Joneses. We compete with our neighbors instead of loving them.

It does not have to be that way. But it takes a conscious effort on the part of each of us to push beyond what the culture and advertisers tell us is important. We have to break our bonds to materialism and choose relationships instead.  

My faith teaches that we can become bound up to sin. Perhaps the greatest of all sins is caring only for ourselves. When we care only for ourselves we overlook the Imago Dei. That is that we are all made in the image of God. When we fail to recognize the God in each other is when we fail to recognize God at all.

Looking out for others may feel odd and even counter-cultural. If need be pull out the tie-dye put on the Birkenstocks and as Brooks wrote, “declare a new revolution of inter-dependence.” That is the only way we will survive and thrive.

To read David Brooks’ op-ed follow this link A Nation of Weavers .

Wow what a week. Forget the snow, I am thinking about a book I finished, an op-ed from David Brooks, and a visit to A Place To Be. I feel I must write about all of these experiences, but my visit to A Place To Be tugs at my heart most of all.

A Place To Be describes itself a place where, “we work everyday to help people face, navigate, and overcome life’s challenges using clinically based practices of music therapy and expressive arts therapy.” I have been aware of APTB since before I moved to Middleburg. I have seen shows, interacted with current and former clients, and met some of the therapists and interns. I have also heard people sing the praises of APTB, not the least of which are Linda Platt who sits on their board or Anita Bown and Tamara Hayter whose son James attends there. What I had not experienced was a tour of the facility and seeing the work in progress.

From the moment I entered the building I felt I was in a holy place. Like entering a cathedral or our little church, there was a sense of the mystical, prayerful, and powerful in the air. As I waited for my appointment with Kim Tapper, executive director and co-founder of APTB, I looked at photos of people who benefited from their work. I saw folks coming and going, some clients, some parents or caregivers, and some therapists. Like those in a monastery they moved with a purpose unhurried and fully present to those around them.

When I met Kim I was struck by her poise and non-anxious presence. Here was a woman dealing with many issues as an administrator and therapist, who now had to take a guest on a tour. Yet, I did not feel I was an intrusion in a day of otherwise important work.

Kim showed me around the building and we had time to look in on one class where the clients were working on identifying feelings in others. It was a marvel to witness the joy with which the therapists worked with these folks. There was no sense of impatience or anxiety. There was the ability to work with and be sensitive to individuals of varying abilities and be present to all in the moment.

Ms. Tapper had to excuse herself to take part in a webinar, but I had time to speak with another staff member. Meagan schedules volunteers, but the way she talked about the work of APTB it was clear she was just as invested in the mission as Kim or any of the therapists.

I felt pulled to be part of the work. Miracles were happening all around me through hard work and love. These are not miracles that happen in an instant. That might not be satisfying in this age of instant gratification. These miracles take time, patience, and the work of people who recognize their own wounds and limitations and seek to help others heal and overcome theirs.

The feeling of the people and the place is holy. There may not be any religious symbols or worship services there, but God is present. At APTB they are working with some of God’s most special people. Ones who face challenges in addition to what we “normal” people face. Their challenges do not make them less than you or me–just different. There differences may be more obvious than ours, but we have learned how to hide our differences through socialization or our fear of being labeled as different. I don’t think that necessarily makes us better off.

If you want to see God’s work being done visit A Place To Be. If you want to know what holiness feels like, walk in their doors. If you want to do God’s work volunteer at A Place To Be. This place of wonder is just around the corner. Venture in and be part of the work of making miracles happen.

You can help for as little as an hour and a half a week. To volunteer email scheduling@aplacetobeva.org or visit www.aplacetobeva.org to learn more.

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes, social media actually offers something more than cat memes and political rants. This week a parishioner posted a short video on Facebook about the difference between fault and responsibility. The speaker is actor and rapper Will Smith. One might ask what an actor and rapper can tell me about fault and responsibility? A lot as it turns out.

What Smith points out is that there is a not so obvious difference between fault and responsibility. This is especially true when someone has hurt us. The other may be at fault for the hurt they caused, but we are responsible for how we respond. One example he uses is of a child who suffered through childhood with an abusive and alcoholic parent. There is no question that the parent is at fault for their behavior and the resulting injury, physical and or psychic, to the child. However, it is the adult child’s responsibility to heal and create a healthy and whole life.

Our first response might be, “Dad/Mom hurt me. They need to step up and make it right. The need to apologize and make amends.” There are several things we need to be aware of about that response. First, someone who has exhibited such destructive behavior is unlikely to give a meaningful apology or make amends. If they had that level of sensitivity they would not have exhibited such bad behavior to begin with. Another problem is that waiting for an apology leaves our well-being in the hands of a proven abuser.

Second, focusing on blame does not resolve the issues at hand. It may feel good to lay blame on someone. They may well deserve it. But blaming, as good as it feels, especially if we have an audience for our self-righteous outrage, does not help us get well. When we focus on blaming and fault finding we are tying up our time and energy focusing on someone else and their behavior which may never change.

Third, we need to focus on our own feelings and how to get well. Like a surgeon we need to determine the extent of the injury and what is required for healing. Also, as my Dad used to say, “It takes two to tango.” We are likely to have had a part in why we were hurt or feel we deserved it. we need to learn how to change our behaviors to avoid the hurtful scenarios. we may need to understand what makes us feeling deserving or hurt. Thus we have the opportunity for greater wholeness and joy now and in the future.

One aspect that Will Smith does not discuss is forgiveness. As followers of Jesus we are called to forgive. Like blaming, holding a grudge can feel good. Like blaming, holding a grudge is a waste of our energy. It also ties us to the one whom we view as at fault. The other may have long forgotten the hurt caused and may never realize their fault in our hurt. By holding onto the hurt and the grudge we remain in pain while the other goes blithely on their way. Forgiveness helps us to let go and to move on to a healthier and happier life. Whether we offer forgiveness in person, in writing, or in absentia by doing so we free our soul from the hurt, make room for a fuller life.

None of this is easy. There is a natural tendency it seems for blaming, finding fault, and wanting others to recognize our victim-hood. A lifetime of victim-hood does not feel joyful to me. Jesus said of his ministry that he came to give life abundant (John 10:10). An abundant life is one free of hurts, grudges, fault finding and blame laying. Shake the dust of hurt off of your feet and live into the life abundant that Jesus came to give you.

Blessings and Peace,
Gene

Over the last few weeks some may have been wondering why all the fuss about silence? For the many millennia since creation people have lived in relative silence. The past one hundred years have been a relief from the captivity of our own minds as we are able to hear the considerations of great thinkers, listen to poetry and prose, and bask in great music from across the centuries over radio, then television and now the Internet. What a gift! Why would we want to go back to the silence from which we wanted to break free? Sound can be just as much of a prison as silence.

It is a compelling question, but it may miss the point. I am not suggesting that we take up a life of complete silence much like the Desert Fathers and Mothers of antiquity. Not even the silence of cloistered nuns and monks. Rather periods of silence that allow us time to commune with God.

A friend of mine who is a missionary in Argentina where she lives a very busy and noisy life sent me this quotation from Bhagirath Majmudar. “As the mind becomes silent the soul becomes eloquent.” What a wonderful notion. As I am able to quieten my brain’s chatter, worry, responsibilities, and general noise my soul is allowed to speak.

Our brains are important organs of thought and control many of our bodily functions. No one wants to be brain dead. But the brain needn’t take over our life any more than should our foot, hand, or heart. That brain is capable of shutting up without shutting down. But it will fill the silence if we don’t ask it or train it to take a break.

As we bask in the silence our soul is given license to emerge. Parker Palmer in his book A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey toward and Undivided Life writes:
“The soul is like a wild animal—tough, resilient, savvy, self-sufficient and yet exceedingly shy. If we want to see a wild animal, the last thing we should do is to go crashing through the woods, shouting for the creature to come out. But if we are willing to walk quietly into the woods and sit silently for an hour or two at the base of a tree, the creature we are waiting for may well emerge, and out of the corner of an eye we will catch a glimpse of the precious wildness we seek.”

Contemplative prayer is sitting at the base of a tree waiting for the shy hart to expose himself to our view. He wants to know he is safe when he ventures out into the meadow. The noisy brain does not make him feel safe. The quieted mind is his friend. The quiet mind is out friend for it allows our deepest and truest self to come out from the woods into the sunlit glade. It allows us to be the self we were made to be, not the one that societal and familial expectations have forced us to be.

Keep working on silencing your mind through breath prayer, mantra, or Centering Prayer techniques. As you fine silence your soul will risk coming into the sunlight. You and the world will see the person that God made you to be. There is nothing more this world needs that the truest you filled with the love of God for all to see.

The Lord bless you and Keep you all the days of your life,
Gene