We will start our reflection today with a reading from the book, What the Mystics Know by Fr. Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation, entitled “To Build Your Own House.”
To pray is to build your own house. To pray is to discover that Someone else is within your house. To pray is to recognize that it is not your house at all. To keep praying is to have no house to protect because there is only One House. And that One House is everybody’s Home. In other words, those that pray from the heart actually live in a very different and ultimately dangerous world. It is a world that makes the merely physical world seem anemic, illusory, and relative. The word “real” takes on new meaning and we find ourselves judging with utterly new scales, weights, and standards. Be careful of such house builders, for their loyalties will lie in very different directions. They will be very different kinds of citizens; the state will not so easily depend on their salute. That is the politics of prayer. And that is why spiritual people are a threat to politicians of any sort. They want our allegiance, and we can no longer give it, our house is too big.
My personal definition of prayer is probably broader than most. I think prayer is any time we consciously bring to mind something larger than ourselves. That could involve a deity, or simply the vastness of the power of love, the wisdom of scientists, the generosity of others, or the connectedness of our lives. We could be meditating on a profound writing such as Fr. Rohr’s or taking in the sweetness of a baby’s smile.
Any reflection that results in a shift in our thinking to higher ideas I would consider a prayer.
This past weekend was Memorial Day, and in the days leading up to this holiday, I found myself restless, and a little anxious. Being the kind of reflective person I am, I wondered about that. When the answers did not come, I inquired with a couple of friends I know that are skilled in helping people unpack their feelings.
Irrational or not, in my curiosity about those restless and anxious feelings, I discovered this vague sense of unease stemmed from the upcoming holiday.
Now I realize that some people might find this silly. What is to fear about Memorial Day? Typically, not much at all. It is a day to remember those who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy. We get to spend some extra time with our families……well, OK for some of us that is quite stressful. But not in my case for this particular holiday. So, what was it?
My mind was stuck in a pattern from this past year. What happened approximately two weeks after each holiday this past year? You know, right? We saw the hospitals just fill up. As I examined this with a friend, he asked, “Well, suppose the worst case unfolded? What would you do?”
“What I have done all along, go serve in the hospital to the best of my ability.”
I did not find his line of questioning particularly comforting, at least initially.
But then I found myself in the ER over the weekend with a painful ear infection. I found myself cared for by the very people I serve alongside with and have throughout the pandemic. As I received gentle, compassionate TLC from everyone I encountered, I experienced a reflection that resulted in a shift in my thinking to a higher idea.
If it did all happen again, an out-of-control pandemic, I would do it all over again. But I would not serve alone. It might very well be terribly difficult, but we would tackle it together. My “house,” as Fr. Rohr puts it, is big. I have a tribe in all who serve with me.
And suddenly all that vague anxiousness melted away.
I reached out to one of my friends who initially helped me unpack my feelings, I texted to her, “It’s so good to have a tribe.” “Indeed,” she replied.
I am so glad we are in our very big house together. I thank you for that.
I thank you for reading, be blessed this day.
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