Prayer is not telling God what to do, but becoming aware of just how intimately and immediately present God is to our world, to the ones we pray for and to ourselves.
Practising resurrection: an invitation
Practising resurrection: an invitation to enter into a way of life that leads to life. It is not about trying harder: it is not about achievement or success. These precepts are practical and practised ways of living in a grounded and real way, and they include the following ground-rules:
Is, not should: reminding us how deadening the “should” and “oughts” in our lives can be
Drawn, not driven: hinting at the authentic and gentle movement of the Spirit of God, rescuing us from the tyranny of our addictions and compulsions
Now, not then: moving us away from the grip of regret about the past and anxiety about the future
What, not why: helping us focus on the reality or the facts of life rather than being lost in the endlessness of the often futile question “why?”
Me, not you: allowing us to move away from competitiveness and defensiveness into the grace-filled responsibility of learning to live out of our truth.
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I want to beg you as much as I can…to be patient towards all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves….
Rainer Maria Rilke
Our heads are (obviously) very important to us. Thinking and self-awareness mark us off from the rest of creation. But while our heads are good places to start, we are not supposed to live there!
So listen to your questions, doubts and fears.
Acknowledge them, but don’t let them hijack you.
Often they are quite reductionist –
but remember: you are more than your doubts.
The openness of faith which Jesus of Nazareth asks of us is not irrational or unreasonable. On the contrary: as Anselm in the 12th Century said: it is a matter of “faith seeking understanding”.
For a printable PDF of the text of this meditation click on the link below.
