New Year 2022 Solemnity of Mary Mother of God, Prayer, and the Inner Journey “Let Me live in you. If your poverty overwhelms you, you may be sure that this is the very thing that draws Me to you. You can always take My love if your coldness makes you afraid. I am your Creator, but you are My little girl, and I know all about your emotions as I know every wave of the sea. Even before you speak, I hear you, since I live in you. Do you want Me to walk in your ‘garden enclosed’?” Bossis, Gabrielle. He and I (Kindle Locations 1403-1406). Pauline Books and Media. Kindle Edition. ++++++++++ Prayer is often considered a chore, or a discipline. There is truth to that, but if that is always what is thought prayer is about, then prayer will soon go by the wayside. Prayer comes from the heart. Often from a heart that is overburdened, tired, yet yearns for God’s touch. No matter the reasons for our having dark times in our interior life, nevertheless, we are still called to prayer. This is because when we pray we are opening up our souls, our hearts, to the living fountain of life that flows from the Lord's heart. Time is the coin of the kingdom in some ways. For time spent, is the letting go of lesser things. In spending time with God, friends, or family, we are showing our love. The more we pray, the more we over time allow it to become second nature to us. It also becomes a necessity because prayer leads to self-knowledge. Which can be a very hard school. Scott Peck wrote a book entitled “People of the Lie”. His insight is that evil never takes responsibility for what it does. Without that ability to go within and see one’s share in the suffering, and evil of the world, it consumes and can destroy our soul. Destroying an essential aspect of our humanity, which I will call compassion, and the ability to have empathy for others. The deeper in we go into our seeking after a loving relationship with God, the more we do understand our reliance on God. Without that, ‘mercy’ cannot do its work in our souls. The most profound experience of God’s mercy is the “Dark Night of the Soul”. A time when the soul is numbed, and God slowly heals the soul, yet faith is needed, and the seeking after God must continue. When one is ready for this part of the journey, the inner desert does not lead one to flee but to seek God even more ardently, but in ways that seem pathless, yet that is the path. Just be, pray, and trust. Today Catholics Celebrate the ‘Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God”. Mary of all God’s creatures understood her complete ‘nothingness’ before God. That allowed her to be totally open to God’s grace. It is the same for us. Life has a way of unmasking us, if we allow that to happen, but continue to trust, then our interior will also open up more fully to the grace of God. Grace is always there for everyone to begin the journey. So let’s get started together this New Year, shall we?-Br-MD
