When the Lord speaks…………listen!  I’m not one for routine.  I like to change things up a bit every now and then.  Several weeks ago  I woke up in a bit of a fog.  I didn’t feel like keeping to my usual Sunday routine of attending 10:30 mass so I attended 6pm mass at another parish.

As I drove to Church I thought about how certain things become second nature for us.  There are things we do every day or week simply because it’s what we have done countless times for many years.  Things like waking up for work at a certain time and attending mass every Sunday.

I can tell you not a Sunday goes by that I do not attend mass (unless I’m sick or the weather does not permit it).  If I wake  up later than usual and can’t  make the 10:30 mass, then 12:15 it is.  If I don’t want to go in the morning and want to change it up a bit then Saturday evening or Sunday evening it is.   If I’m away, I use my Mass Times app to see where the nearest church is.  There’s no stopping me, not even the temptation of laying on a cozy couch under a blanket on a cold rainy day.

As I thought about that, I wondered why I couldn’t be the same way with my contemplation practice.  I feel like I’m constantly being called to sit, yet it hasn’t become a solid practice for me.  I must work on accepting God’s invitation to be still and know Him.  I MUST get to that point where NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING, stands in the way of my 20 minutes twice a day.  I tell myself I’ll wake up earlier, go to bed later.

Then I hear the homily.  It’s about the parable of the king who sends his servants to invite guests to the feast and the invited guests reject the invitation.  “Why won’t they come to the feast?” The priest asked this of us as he compared the parable to our lives.  Why are the pews in the church so empty?   What he said spoke to me directly and made sense of the thoughts I was having as I arrived at Church.

What he said was the evil one is always trying to keep us from the feast.  He tempts us with “good” things like the cozy couch, the beautiful hike, the perfect vacation.  Sometimes he even tempts us with a nice dinner and conversation with family and friends.  These are ALL good things but participation in the banquet of our Lord is GREAT!  So why should we settle for good things when we have an opportunity to experience something great!

Even more interesting is the fact that after I drafted this post, I received an email from one of my sisters in Christ. The email contained an article which touched on the subject of distraction in prayer.  The article outlined various things we could do to remain focused and set the tone for our days.  Here it is.

As I take stock of my “dilemma” I say to myself – it’s true – all the things that keep me from my practice are good but they need not keep me from  the Great I AM!  I need to be consistent with my practice in order for it to become second nature.  I need to accept God’s invitation to be still and know Him on a deeper level.

I’m rethinking my schedule.  I don’t want to be one of the guests who killed the servant.  I want to welcome the servant and accept his invitation.  I hope you do too.  God bless you!

**Since first drafting this post, I’ve been on a roll.  I’ve been going to bed earlier and getting up before 5am while the world is still silent.  I find that by doing this I am able to focus on being still.  I’m able to pray, contemplate and exercise without feeling guilty about all the other things in my life that need tending to.  By the time the world awakes, I’m spiritually ready for it.  I have put God first!   Waking up extra early makes me feel like there ARE enough hours in a day.  I even have time to sit and have breakfast.  God is good!