Food for the Soul | February 24th, 2021
2/24/2021
Dear Friends,
We are now fully into Lent. What does that mean for us? I would say it is a time to focus on turning our lives around, maybe starting anew in a sense. We saw last week that Jesus went into the water to be baptized and then he immediately went into the desert, or wilderness. Once we are cleansed with water from the life-giving stream we are ready to give new shape to our lives, to discern what path to follow, and to search for our true Self.
Back in the third century thousands of monks and nuns went into the desert to separate themselves from the lures of the world, and to live life very close to the basics. These Abbas and Ammas, as they are called, developed well known spiritual practices and wisdom that became legendary. For example: A brother came to visit Abba Moses in the desert and asked him for a word of wisdom. The old man said to him: “Go sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”
To sit in your cell means retreating from the daily noise of our lives and start listening to our own inner voice and to God’s voice. Furthermore, the “cell” means “self.” Imagine being with your Self for days on end and learning everything there is about your Self, your inner landscape. Abba Moses invites us to an in-depth experience of our inner life. The more we cultivate this kind of awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and impulses, the more we learn that they come and they go; they rise and fall in intensity. We learn that below this turmoil of the inner life there is a profound and deep pool of stillness in which we develop an inner freedom and begin to discover who we truly are. This is what I wish for you in this season of Lent.
PRAYER
Heart of Faith
Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings
Have mercy
Upon us.
Have mercy
Upon our efforts,
That we
Before Thee,
In love and in faith,
Righteousness and humility,
May follow Thee,
With self-denial, steadfastness, and courage,
And meet Thee
In the silence.
Give us
A pure heart
That we may see Thee,
A humble heart
That we may hear Thee,
A heart of love
That we may serve Thee,
A heart of faith
That we may live Thee
Thou
Whom I do not know
But whose I am.
Thou
Whom I do not comprehend
But who has dedicated me
To my fate.
Thou -
PRACTICE
Go to your desert space. Spend time in quiet, being attentive to what draws or lures you. Reflect on ways to be more open and free in heeding God’s invitation to enter your wilderness, your desert spaces. Find one phrase or sentence from the prayer or poem that speaks to you. Journal about it.
POEM
Desert Sands
Sondra Ball
I sit on desert sands
In the early morning.
A small rattler passes by.
A bird sings in the mesquite.
A coyote pup whimpers softly.
I wonder:
If I sit here long enough
Will the animals come to me?
Will they touch my hand?
Will I become one with the land?