Safe Haven

I don't know any other way to be holy. If you are serving others, let it be a physical prayer. There is no mystery or secret. Prayer is communion with God, and communion with God is detachment from "the world, the flesh, and the devil." I suppose the post is misnamed a bit, because it doesn't have to be vocal prayer. Though of course your face isn't likely to come off, in any case. We feel these existential moments of dread at times, and you have to wonder what would happen if we prayed, instead of distracting ourselves. Let's find out.

We're not all that strong, you know. The merit in life is in the little cracks of life, the moments you don't notice, until they have passed. I do worry, though. I don't recall that many cups of cold water offered in the name of Jesus. In a sense, I want to laugh. To say this life of mine has been characterized by sacrifice is a stretch. And yet, I know the way to the fount of mercy. I know one thing for sure: He is more ready to forgive than we are to ask. As grace gives us the power, then, never let us tire in asking.

I was recently told, "You will come to appreciate the value of silence." Before God, that is. Everything in our culture wants to distract us, and that makes sense. God speaks in the silences. Our enemy wants to keep us from the joy of being in God's presence, if at all possible. "In the silence of the heart, You speak." Amen.

The seed-bed of the Church's Sacred Tradition is the prayerful reflection upon the Gospels, and the entirety of God's saving message in Christ. Liturgy is not therefore made; it is obeyed. The Romans viewed kneeling as a sign of subservience and weakness, but the Christian message has always viewed it as an ennobling humility; that is, man is dignified and empowered when he acknowledges God's kingship. But neither will the Church abandon the practice of standing, since it is the victorious slain Lamb of God who stands in Heaven, interceding for His brethren. It is through Him that we have access to the Father.