I was up early again today. It's Sunday, of course. I had the distinct feeling that God is rescuing me from myself. Those of you who have the ability and the time to go to Mass more frequently should do it. There is no good reason to stay away, in that case.
So the Rosary this morning was energized with the thankfulness of the Eucharist to come. There are moments when the whole thing feels commonplace, comfortable, and suburban; there are other moments when it seems we will all die here before the altar.
I can remember times when my soul grabbed a hold of, "for they offer it for themselves, and all who are dear to them, in hope of health and well-being..." and really offered something. It seems we get little moments of eternity like this, where we realize the truth of it all, not only in our minds, but in the core of ourselves. Maybe the saints are the saints because they sensed this all the time, and kept living, instead of just being blown away.
For the greatest athletes, everything seems to slow down; they can do absurd things and make them look routine, because they feel as if there is more time. Their opponents, great as they might be in their own right, become like spectators. The saints are like the elite athletes of the supernatural realm: they make the forces of evil into spectators of God's love and glory.
That's what we do when we pray: we slow things down, to talk with the Kingdom of Heaven about what is real. I might have a ton of needs and worries, but with God, we begin to see a certain unreality about those things, at least with respect to how they tempt us away from God.
So the Rosary this morning was energized with the thankfulness of the Eucharist to come. There are moments when the whole thing feels commonplace, comfortable, and suburban; there are other moments when it seems we will all die here before the altar.
I can remember times when my soul grabbed a hold of, "for they offer it for themselves, and all who are dear to them, in hope of health and well-being..." and really offered something. It seems we get little moments of eternity like this, where we realize the truth of it all, not only in our minds, but in the core of ourselves. Maybe the saints are the saints because they sensed this all the time, and kept living, instead of just being blown away.
For the greatest athletes, everything seems to slow down; they can do absurd things and make them look routine, because they feel as if there is more time. Their opponents, great as they might be in their own right, become like spectators. The saints are like the elite athletes of the supernatural realm: they make the forces of evil into spectators of God's love and glory.
That's what we do when we pray: we slow things down, to talk with the Kingdom of Heaven about what is real. I might have a ton of needs and worries, but with God, we begin to see a certain unreality about those things, at least with respect to how they tempt us away from God.
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