Maybe You've Noticed...

Marianist PULSE is deeply grateful to Brother Tom Redmond, S.M., our guest blogger for this week which brings us into Lent. Brother Tom lives in the Marianist Novitiate Community on the property of Mt. St. John in Dayton, OH. With a rich and diverse ministry background  from carpentry, to teaching high school Religious Studies, to Novitiate formation, to retreat ministry, to Director of the Marianist Health Care Community in Cupertino, CA. to now being on staff at the North American Center for Marianist Studies, Brother Tom has a deep interest in the process of human and spiritual development.

Lent is a time for us to make an intentional effort toward renewal, and prayer is an essential part of that. Brother Tom gently calls us to a noticing of our own prayer.

Maybe you’ve noticed, when at the ocean, how the waves come in sets of three and then there is a pause. Maybe you’ve noticed, on a very windy day, how the force of the wind is not constant but is stronger and then weaker at different times. Maybe you’ve noticed, that the thoughts in your heart for a loved one are held in different intensities at different times. Maybe you’ve noticed, that the awareness of yourself is more intense at different times. Maybe you’ve noticed, that your awareness of God is more intense at different times than others. Maybe you’ve noticed, that that there is an ebb and flow in nature along with the ebb and flow in the stirrings of the heart and in the thoughts of the mind. 

The author of the book of Ecclesiastes reflects on this ebb and flow of life in the opening lines of chapter three, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, . . .” Centuries later Saint Benedict integrated this insight into the monastic life with the practice of “ora et labora” (prayer and work), that the day of the monk and nun would have a healthy and balanced rhythm to it with a time for prayer, a time for work, a time for study, a time for meals, and a time for rest. 

Maybe you’ve noticed, that during times of heightened awareness, when you pay closer attention to what is before you in what you see or hear or taste or feel or smell, maybe you’ve noticed, that this is an experience of wonder and awe and it seems so natural to pause. And maybe you’ve noticed the presence of The Creator in what is before you. And maybe you’ve noticed, that that is prayer!

Bless The Lord O my soul and all that is within me. Bless the Lord O my soul and do not forget God’s blessings. (Psalm 103)