He may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; rooted and grounded in love. -- Eph. 3:16, 17

2018 Reflections

“Be still, and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10

As my prayer life has grown over the past years I have come to love everything in nature.

I have always loved the beach, the sand, the pounding of the waves, the sun and even those cloudy days that bring a stillness into my heart. Today, I love waking early to pray Morning Prayer in my sunroom where I can listen to the birds singing happily as they begin their day. I can’t help but thank the Lord for all his creation—even the little spider weaving her beautiful web in the corner of the window.

I grew up at the tail end of the Baltimore Catechism which taught by memorization the basic truths of our faith. It was not until I was in my thirties that I began to truly value what the good Sisters had drilled into me. Our Catholic faith teaches us that we are made to the image and likeness of God. With our Baptism God has infused into our souls, together with grace, the moral and theological virtues. Every family, when a child or grandchild is born, looks for resemblances of mom, dad, some relative. God too looks for us to resemble Him in our spiritual life and this happens best when we develop a prayer life, that time we spend communicating with God, sharing our petitions, praise and asking for pardon. A time also  to listen for His promptings, a time to learn to cry out “Father.”

I recently heard a homily in which the priest said, “God is always present waiting for us to be present to Him, He will not force himself on us, and He will not intrude on our freewill.” Scripture compares the voice of the Holy Spirit to the “whistling of a gentle breeze.” I must then become still, exteriorly and interiorly, to hear His voice. The world deafens us with its noises and distractions of every kind. God has called each of us to holiness and he has not left us to flounder on our own. The Holy Spirit is there to guide and prompt us. Jesus with the Sermon on the Mount has given us the Beatitudes so that we may learn to shape the total attitude of our minds to depict the countenance of Jesus and portray His charity and to live as children of God.

 If you haven’t done so, try to create time each morning and evening to spend with the Lord, a routine to teach yourself to share with and listen to your Father who is ever-present. It might even begin with the sign of the cross every morning and night.

Eileen Lombardo, O.C.D.S.: Eileen has been married 49 years with three adult children and four grandchildren. She has been president of CWOZ, Chapter II for 21 years.