Anything special?
It's that time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As if the rest of the year isn't?
I suppose Lent affords us an in-depth look, kind of like spring cleaning, at our spiritual life. What's my prayer life been like? What does my prayer look like these days and what can I do to make it more personal? Prayer and God for that matter, is about a relationship. Just like my relationships, there is a personal dimension that at times can grow familiar, rote even and we can take it for granted. For example, when I start into a conversation, it can be the same every time, especially with my dearest friends. I'll go to those things I know my friend struggles with or I know is important even though it may be the same conversation starter EVERY time. Even though it's rote (kind of), it's familiar but in that familiarity, we are intimate. I couldn't start in on a conversation like that with just a complete stranger because we haven't established any form of intimacy. With friends though it's different because there is a personal dimension there to which we are both invested.
Prayer can be like that. It can be prescribed, going through the same motions, but it doesn't make it less intimate. In fact, it can be more intimate when we are aware that we know and are known by our God. That's not to say it will feel intimate. With my closest of friends, I don't tend to feel any sort of intimacy because it's already present. Example, I call my friend by her first name instead of by her designated title of Dr. or Professor because of that intimacy. (I only use the title when I'm making fun of her, still intimacy!) In fact, it can become so routine that I forget that our relationship is so intimate and personal and I take it for granted. It's the same with my prayer life. It reminds me of a priest friend of mine who once told me about his struggle to be awed by the mysteries of God in the midst of proclaiming said mysteries to the masses, by using the phrase, 'can't see the forest for the trees'.
Lent is that time where we are reminded to stop and take a good look at the trees and the forest.
It's that time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As if the rest of the year isn't?
I suppose Lent affords us an in-depth look, kind of like spring cleaning, at our spiritual life. What's my prayer life been like? What does my prayer look like these days and what can I do to make it more personal? Prayer and God for that matter, is about a relationship. Just like my relationships, there is a personal dimension that at times can grow familiar, rote even and we can take it for granted. For example, when I start into a conversation, it can be the same every time, especially with my dearest friends. I'll go to those things I know my friend struggles with or I know is important even though it may be the same conversation starter EVERY time. Even though it's rote (kind of), it's familiar but in that familiarity, we are intimate. I couldn't start in on a conversation like that with just a complete stranger because we haven't established any form of intimacy. With friends though it's different because there is a personal dimension there to which we are both invested.
Prayer can be like that. It can be prescribed, going through the same motions, but it doesn't make it less intimate. In fact, it can be more intimate when we are aware that we know and are known by our God. That's not to say it will feel intimate. With my closest of friends, I don't tend to feel any sort of intimacy because it's already present. Example, I call my friend by her first name instead of by her designated title of Dr. or Professor because of that intimacy. (I only use the title when I'm making fun of her, still intimacy!) In fact, it can become so routine that I forget that our relationship is so intimate and personal and I take it for granted. It's the same with my prayer life. It reminds me of a priest friend of mine who once told me about his struggle to be awed by the mysteries of God in the midst of proclaiming said mysteries to the masses, by using the phrase, 'can't see the forest for the trees'.
Lent is that time where we are reminded to stop and take a good look at the trees and the forest.
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