Sun-Kissed

We visited the Grand Canyon over the Thanksgiving Break, and I woke up to see the sunrise on our first morning. When I arrived at the rim, the canyon was still in the shadow of dawn light. The colors were beautiful, and I could clearly see the nooks and crannies deep in the canyon.

As the sun peaked over and illuminated the north-rim, the contrast became striking. The sun-kissed ridges took on new and bolder colors, while the nooks and crannies below became darker, their details fading into the gloom of shadow.

Witnessing this beauty a wedding came to mind and I thought of how quickly the beautifully dressed wedding guests fade in the midst of the groom’s great joy reflecting in the eyes of his bride as she gazes upon him. Without speech or words, but declaring through creation our Lord poured the beginning of Psalm 19 into my heart and reconnected me with Isaiah 60:1-2 in the silence of that early morning.

Oh my Lord, please let us all be sun-kissed by You as Your Glory rises upon us and let us never be deprived of Your warmth.

Psalm 19:1-6
The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens God has pitched a tent for the sun. 
   It is like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
    like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
It rises at one end of the heavens
    and makes its circuit to the other;
    nothing is deprived of its warmth.

Isaiah 60:1-2
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth
    and thick darkness is over the peoples,
but the Lord rises upon you
    and his glory appears over you.

Connected

I think deep down we all know that we are somehow connected whether we acknowledge this or not.  The connection isn’t immediately visible in this world, and yet many of us feel it and know that it is there.  Those who have accessed this deep knowledge in times of silence or brokenness or even great joy, experienced this connection and wanted to share it with everyone and thus many creations and inventions have been born from what we know within, spoken and written languages, roads, art, books, mail, morse code, televisions, telephones, and now the internet – connecting our whole world.

Yet – anything we create here is a simplistic, broken and eventually a corrupt copy of what truly exists, what is real yet invisible!

Let us use our inventions to spread LOVE despite their brokenness, but let us NOT allow them to overshadow the true and real connection that is buried deep within each of us – you will find it in the SILENT and INFINITE DEPTH of each PRESENT MOMENT.  Within each moment it waits to be discovered – a buried treasure whispering to us – Come, come and see!

Matthew 13:44-46
The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Listen…

The leaves in the trees translate His words on the wind
The sounds of the night honor Him with constant and steady praise
The trumpet flowers bloom to announce His great Love
When my soul is pricked, His Holy Spirit whispers guidance

Listen…

He calls to us to us ALWAYS through EVERYTHING, but we rarely listen.

We are often taught to pray with words, but I think we need to also practice the Prayer of Silence.

Maybe we have filled our world with so much noise because we are scared of what He will say to us if we do stop to listen?

He loves you, He loves me, He loves all of us!  Do not be afraid, listen my friends as He showers us with love!

Mother of God

Hail Mary, full of grace.
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Mother of God, Mother – of – God, Mother —- of —-  God… as you pray stop here for a moment and think about it, meditate on it, sit in the silent echo of these words and wonder…

I was awed into complete silence as I sat meditating on these words – Mother of God