Consecrated, Throats & Prayer: An Interesting Trio

Consecrated Life is another name for Religious Life and refers to nuns, monks, brothers, friars, sisters and priests who take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and live in community with others (like Friars do). As I mentioned last week, February 2 is the annual date set aside to celebrate those who make these vows. We celebrated in a very simple but life giving way. Besides a large group of Sisters of Saint Anne joining us for Mass, we hosted prayer and supper for a group of sisters, and an Oblate priest. We gathered together for prayer, celebrating Jesus being presented in the temple (one of my top 5 favorite feasts) and then enjoyed a fantastic lasagna meal together. It was a privileged place to be to encounter great stories, and sharing and memories and hopes as this unique but connected group sat down at table together. It helped me to appreciate again the journey I am on and gave me hope the future.

Please continue to pray for sisters, brothers, monks, and religious priests and for vocations.

Throats are often blessed on February 3 – the Feast of Saint Blasé. The prayer that is used is: ‘through the intercession of Saint Blasé may you be freed from any ailment of the throat’. I have had my throat blessed before, it is a simple blessing, where 2 unlit candles that are crossed are held across your throat as the above prayer is said. It’s an intimate blessing and today to receive this blessing from my director, who is a great man of prayer was very powerful. He didn’t rush through the blessing with anyone, in fact he entered into prayer with each person who came forward. The presence of Christ was very evident. Another powerful moment was at the end of the blessing, he went to our Friar who is 98 and blessed his throat and then he knelt before him and had him bless his throat. Wow! Another moment that Christ was so very present. It truly showed what it means to be a humble servant.

Prayer is such a gift. I have begun a new course on ‘An Interfaith Journey: Exploring Prayer and Spirituality. It has been a very interesting start and the reading is quite fascinating. It is calling me to a deeper awareness of my prayer journey and how and where I encounter Christ. I love how our minds and hearts have heightened awareness of a topic that we are surrounded by it or study. A young friar whose blog I follow had this to say this week about prayer:

‘One friar in our house often says, "Prayer must always remain a priority. Like meals, school work, exercise, and fraternity time, it needs to be set in the schedule for thirty minutes each day so as to not be neglected." This is quite obvious and makes perfect sense: if time is set out during the day, no matter what, for something like exercise, shouldn't prayer be as well. But that's not the end of it: "And in times when you're busy, those times when you're overwhelmed and can't imagine how you're going to get through it all, make it an hour." How contradictory to the way most of us normally act! And yet, how true! What is it that's going to keep us going? What is it that nourishes us? What is it that gives us meaning and reminds us why? It is relationship with God. It is prayer.

There is always time for prayer. Always. I may be too busy to do everything I could ever dream of doing, but I know for sure that I am not too busy to pray.’

I value his insight on such a gift that frames my day and calls me to be more aware. Then I found the following by the priest Austin Fleming.

‘And that started me thinking about all the things
that all of us “show up” for every week, even every day.
We all show up:
to eat and drink
to sleep
to shower
to go to work or school
to go grocery shopping
to check our email
to read
to watch television
to exercise
to pay the bills
to text, FaceBook, Google, Tweet, Instagram and Snapchat
to call family and friends
for sports and games and dance class
for meetings of all kinds
to shop and run errands
and who knows how many other things we all “show up” for
every week and every day.

When will we begin to make more time to show up for God
every week and every day:
“Showing up” so that one day we might say with Simeon,
“Lord I’ve done my living: I’m ready to go…”
“Showing up” so that one day we, like Anna,
we might give praise and thanks to God and not be slow
to share our faith with family and friends as the greatest gift of all,
the love of God.

Whether we “show up” for the Lord or not,

he never fails to show up for us.
He showed up for us when it counted the most – and cost the most:
on the Cross, in his suffering, in the sacrifice he offered there.
And whether we show up on the Lord’s Day or not,
he never fails to show up for us,
to save us a seat and set a place for us at his table,
where he shows up, again and again for us,
in the Bread and Cup of Communion.’

 

That’s a lot to think about and I know I will be more aware that I need to ‘show up’, not just coast.

May the same be true for you.