“Pray for all centuries, all peoples, all sinners” (16 January 1941–Para 3)
He and I –Pauline Press
In all religious traditions there is a sense of connection that deepens if what one professes is lived out from the heart. For Christians there can be a healthy sense of sin, in that it brings to mind our calling to become freer and more deeply human….in order to continue the life of Christ Jesus on the earth.
Sin is a way we often seek to escape our calling. When we hate we seek to not look deeply into our ‘enemies’ heart and in that to find ourselves as well as Christ Jesus. When we seek to run from life through dissipation, we seek a way to heal our pain, which only gets worse, for healing can only come from being centered and not to dissipate our energies in ways that only drain us and make us emptier. When we empty ourselves for God, we are filled with the living water. When we seek to run and to fill our inner poverty with pleasure or excitement and control, etc., all we get is dry sand with no water. The Cross of Christ is lighter than the many crosses we create for ourselves, by our seeking escape from the pain of existing in this realm.
When we pray for sinners, we include ourselves of course. The focus is on our dignity and calling by God to grow in fearless love and compassion for all. We have only one moment in our lives, it is always so. They pass true, but we are always in the present, in this moment.
God is “One Moment’; it is eternal, filled with infinite creativity and love. All ‘moments’, all time is contained in the “One Eternal Moment”. When we pray, we join in the ‘Moment’ and in that is contained all time, all peoples, all situations.
Prayer is not a project, nor is it something to be weighed and tested. However it can be experienced. As one deepens in their prayer life, each is uniquely led, and one of the most common leadings is to understand that prayer is not trapped in space and time, but in the everlasting second that is God.
It is frustrating, because language is so limiting that to try explaining it is almost useless. However, faith gives us a lens to look deeply into reality, though for some it is an illusion. I am told from time to time that faith is the escape from reality. No matter, we each have our path to walk, so lets us do it with deep faith, with seeking to understand our faith at ever deeper levels, and in doing so, to allow the love of God to fill our hearts and to heal our wounds.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
