The Gentle Prayer of Time

There must be a time of day when a

Person of prayer goes to prayer

as if it were the first time in her life

She had ever prayed

… and she learns a different wisdom

distinguishing the sun from the moon,

the stars from the darkness.

the sea from the dry land,

and the night sky from the shoulder of a hill.

-Thomas Merton

This quote is from Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours in which collections of his writings are organized into days of the week and hours of the day.

A Book of Hours is a prayer book, originally commissioned for lay persons in the medieval era, which follows a rhythm of prayer, much like a Breviary would be for a religious.

Books of Hours were enjoyable, even easy to use.  Prayers appointed for matins, for example, remained the same while the Psalms appointed for the day changed.  Most of these books were illustrated or illuminated, so they were a pleasure for the eyes as well as the spirit.

We live in a time where numbers orient us to the day rather than qualities of light and intonement of prayer.  Refreshing  the sacredness of the rhythm of the day can fill each day with its own light and meaning.  Must I be awakened at a particular clock time ? What if I awakened to the softness of dawn ? 

Compline Page from Modern Book of Hours

And what if that softness and increasing light reminded me of the dawning of Christ in the Resurrection ?

In two weeks some of us gathered for Art Camp will be exploring making our own Book of Hours, our own Prayer Book, our own reminder of the softness of dawn and the gentle rest of night.  If you are interested in joining us please go to the ART CAMP link or contact me directly through email.

Blessings,

Debra

Witness to Light

I will put my laws in their minds,

and write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 8

When we act from the heart, informed by prayer, our behavior has a quality of luminescence.  We, in fact, witness to the beauty of God through our actions.  We become transparent to the reality of God within us and we encourage others to strip away the masks of fear and become willing to becomes witnesses of light.

We see this incandescence in Moses after he has met with God.  Tradition tells us that St. Anthony of the Desert  had a face radiant with light after 40 years wrestling with demons.

And yet, I believe that most of us have witnessed this in less dramatic ways than the tradition recounts.  When I was a small girl, living in Alaska, I went to Sunday school in a small cabin.  The lessons were conducted by a wise older Athabascan woman.  She knew the stories of Jesus, she knew the realities of life, but above all she belonged to Christ.  She was His. 

I don’t remember the stories.  I don’t remember her name.  But I was changed by her presence.  She saw within my heart and encouraged me to know myself as God’s own child.

This is what it means to have God’s law in my mind and heart.  God is not separate from me.  I am not separate from God’s people.  We are all one.  Our connection comes from the heart of God and extends out through time and space to include the ancestors, our peers, our descendents and everything in-between. 

We are God’s people.

Let us rejoice and be glad in the family of our soul.

Blessings,

Debra