Sabbath Moments
Sabbath Moments
September 4, 2010
Sabbath Moments is a meme hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. Visit her to read how bloggers rest in the Lord, forsaking the madness of the world every now and then.
Last week I couldn’t post, so I’m including from both this week and then.
1. Last week I read Imaculeé Illibagiza’s books Led By Faith: Rising from the Ashes of the Rwandan Genocide
2. Writing the post Christ and the Rich Meaning of “Amen” afforded me hours with God, the great AMEN who revealed Himself to us most fortunate men in the Person of Christ. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with His love and wish I didn’t have to do another thing in this world but think on Him.
3. Sharing a week’s harvest of asparagus beans with my neighbor who has 6 homeschooled kids and hearing how much the family likes them. In turn she gave me a can of Ranch style beans and told how she uses them to make nachos. This was a real blessing because our meatless Fridays always present a challenge for me, given that hubby won’t eat fish.
Sabbath moments come in many ways and very often if we open our eyes and hearts to them. They bring peace and joy in daily living.
R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the link for the reason I end my posts this way.)
Sabbath Moments
August 21, 2010
Every Saturday Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts the Sabbath Moments meme where we share with each other the times during the week when we were with God in our hearts and souls - sometimes quietly, sometimes with an exterior activity while interiorly united with Him. Sabbath Moments are an important part of my wellness program both spiritually and physically.
1. We had a day trip into St. Louis this week for my husband’s doctor appointment. He drove, which allowed me to catch up on reading articles from Latin Mass Magazine, one of my favorite publications. I had many hours going and coming to meditate on the good points writers made about the Faith, Church history, the saints, and Catholic tradition. It was almost like being able to make a one-day retreat.
2. In my encounter with a young disabled girl this week which I wrote about in A Real God-incidence, I was profoundly aware of the presence of God. The spirit of Christ emanated from her and I could see what a great blessing she is to her parents and all who meet her. All this in the middle of a therapy pool! You never know when God is going to surprise you with a special gift of His presence hidden in the ordinary.
R. Now and forever. Amen.
(Click on the above link for why I am ending my posts with this phrase.)
Sabbath Moments
August 14, 2010
Hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace, Sabbath Moments are the times during the week when we were quiet in our souls, even if we are outwardly active. I like this meme because it forces me to think often during the week about practicing the interior life, as the great spiritual directors have written. Without the internet, we would not know of fellow Catholics on this journey, nor would we be able to encourage one another to closer union with Christ. Every person who participates in this meme contributes to the building up of the Body of Christ, and individual examples inspire the many.
I wish more people would participate in this meme for the good of all, but I also understand that many people don’t feel comfortable publicizing their interior life. I myself would not do it if it were not for the fact that I firmly believe that we must uphold one another, comfort one another, and encourage one another towards sainthood. Part of being Christian is also to rejoice with others in the gifts God gives them. It is not up to me to judge what about myself will help others, but to step out in faith and let God’s grace on the reader do His work.
God-enforced Sabbath Moments: This week I had a couple of episodes of serious fatigue where I was so wiped out I couldn’t do anything but lie in bed. These are always opportunities to meditate and pray. They are also reminders that God is in charge and what I want to do isn’t always what He has in mind for me at the moment. These events are great opportunities to practice abandonment to Divine Providence and detachment from self-will.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this forced quietude is the fact that I had been asked this week to take on something that would require a great deal of energy and time. I told the person I would pray about it and asked God to let me know what He wanted. He did. He flattened me. God is so good and generous. He knows I won’t get it unless He applies a 2×4 and that’s fine by me.
Sabbath Moments
August 7, 2010
Sabbath Moments are those times when we rest in the Lord, rather than doing, although sometimes when we are doing something we are recollected in God and it becomes a Sabbath Moment. Hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace, we get together weekly to share and learn from each other ways to be close to God in this busy world.
This week I was praying the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary when the thoughts and images of Jesus being abandoned by His disciples over His statements on eating His flesh and drinking His blood came to mind. This had nothing to do with the Glorious Mysteries, but I went with it anyway. St. Peter’s response to the question Jesus put to His apostles (John 6: 68-70) at this turn in His ministry kept pulling at me,
“Will you also go away?” Simon Peter therefore answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life, and we have come to believe and to know that Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Thou hast words, indeed. What are these words of everlasting life the Savior speaks? Word after word came to me:
Go and sin no more. (John 8:11)
Whose faith when he saw, he said: Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. (Lk. 5: 20)
I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me. (John 14: 6)
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (Matt. 11: 29)
Then Jesus said to his disciples: If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (Matt. 16: 24)
I am the bread of life. Your fathers did eat manna in the desert, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that if any man eat of it, he may not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world. (John 6: 48-51)
Suffer children to come to me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Amen, I say to you: Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child, shall not enter into it. (Lk. 18: 16-17)
…every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted. (Lk. 14: 11)
Philip, he that seeth me seeth the Father also. (John 14: 9)
Many more thoughts came to me and forced me to examine my conscience as to my faithfulness to His word. I thought of the bumper stickers that were so common some years ago and which one hardly sees any more: “Jesus is the Answer.” He is indeed the answer to every question of any importance, and He has told us exactly what to do to be with Him forever. Throughout the week I returned to St. Peter’s great confession for many more Sabbath Moments. “Lord, indeed, to whom shall I go? Thou hast the words of everlasting life.”
A second Sabbath Moment: These musings reminded me of the great aria from Handel’s Messiah, “Come Unto Him” which contains the words, “and learn of Him for He is meek and lowly of heart.” It is the soprano aria that comes after the contralto aria “He shall feed His flock.” When I was a parish choir director we sang the first for the Communion hymn at midnight Mass with organ and violin. From the choir loft, of course, in the back of church as this was not a performance! The whole choir sang in unison “He shall feed His flock” and the violin took the place of the soprano aria, “Come unto Him.” The beauty and reverence of that night stays with me to this day.
Sabbath Moments
July 30, 2010
On Saturdays we join Colleen at Thoughts on Grace to share those moments we rested quietly in God. Sometimes I may not be resting physically, but I am with God. My Sabbath Moments for this week:
First, the asparagus beans have been producing prolifically and every morning I collect the ripe ones. The next step is to chop them in lengths suitable for steaming and freezing or cooking fresh. As I was chopping the beans at the counter, I thought of how lovingly Our Lady must have prepared food for her family and that she probably shared with neighbors or those less fortunate than she.
These ideas led me to search for information on how people lived in Nazareth and I found some interesting facts about the manner of living, the houses, clothing, agriculture, politics, etc. in the article: Life of Jesus – First Century Context of Palestine (Israel). Outside of the fact that the article makes the erroneous claim that Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus, it gave me enough information to imagine well how Mary’s typical day went. I spend many lovely Sabbath Moments researching things like this which help me in my meditations which are also Sabbath Moments.
Second, thanks to a dear friend, I had some great quiet time reading Our Lady of Kibeho, which I reviewed and commented on. This is an inspiring story, but a very sad one, too, because just as people did not heed her calls for repentance and sacrifice at Fatima and the world was thrown into yet another terrible war, neither did the Rwandans heed Mary and Jesus who urged conversion of heart. A million people died in the Rwandan genocide of 1994 while the world shrugged its shoulders and the UN “peacekeeping forces” didn’t keep the peace.
I remember being appalled at the slaughter and wondered how people could do such terrible things to their very neighbors. It was as if an entire nation became possessed by the devil, going about in a blind rage screaming and hacking and slicing whoever came into their paths for 100 days of hell. I wonder if we will soon see the same here.
Does it seem to you that enough people are in love with the truth (I am the Way, the Truth and the Life) or are most people in love with their own limited definitions of truth? Most of us cannot do big things to resolve the evils in this world, but we can do many little things every day, conforming ourselves to the will of God, transforming the ordinary into the invisible extraordinary. What looks like somebody chopping beans is really somebody loving God and neighbor the best she can at that moment. Thank you Blessed Mother, St. Therese of Lisieux and St. Josemaria Escriva for your example!
Sabbath Moments
July 24, 2010
On Saturdays we join Colleen at Thoughts on Grace to share those moments we rested quietly in God. Sometimes I may not be resting physically, but I am with God. My Sabbath Moments for this week:
- I began re-reading Seeking God’s Will through Faith, Hope and Charity by Father Philip Schuster, OSB and blogged about this holy monk who was my friend. Quite a story.
- Early in the day several times this week I went out to gather asparagus beans. The crop is huge and a huge blessing from God. I have steamed and frozen a couple of batches this week in addition to the ones we used for ourselves and gave away to a single mom on a tight budget. As I snip the beans and sniff the scent of their lovely flowers, I thank God for the food He gave us so bountifully. It may seem odd to say, but the simple act of harvesting veggies brings me peace and joy.
- I completed several digital paintings this week. Painting is very relaxing for me. I thank God for opening up this new avenue of of creativity after He closed off others.
Life is so hectic and takes so much energy that Sabbath Moments become a necessary means to keep focused on the Lord and our purpose for living. God is always waiting for us to discover Him in the ordinary.
Sabbath Moments
July 10, 2010
Join Colleen over at Thoughts on Grace to share moments during the week when you, for however fleeting a moment, rest in the Lord.
1. One of my Sabbath Moments for the week thanking God for the developing relationship with a home schooling mom who lives across the street. We share garden veggies we are growing, and cooking tips. Her husband came over and sawed a dead limb off our mimosa tree which will have to be torn down this fall because of ice storm damage. I enjoy her children, too. Whenever I think about them all, I rejoice in the Lord that we are blessed with such good neighbors.
2. The shasta daisies I put in around the lamp post in front are so beautiful with their yellow centers and white petals. They stand straight with their blossoms looking at the heavens as if they are joyfully smiling at God – a great reminder of what I should be doing more often – looking and smiling at God.
Visit Colleen to join other Catholic bloggers sharing their Sabbath Moments, and thanks for stopping by here.
Sabbath Moments
June 19, 2010
Sabbath Moments are times when we rest in the Lord, taking a break from activity. Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this meme, so you can go there and join other bloggers to see how they spent some God-time.
This week I looked over the veggies to see how they are doing and discovered that the Asparagus Beans are already forming. The are about 8 inches long and quite skinny, not ready for harvest. God is always with me in my garden because He alone is the author of life and I know that all that is good comes from Him. I thank Him for the healthy tomato plants and the generous harvest of zucchini He is giving us. This looks to be the best year for veggies we’ve had since we started our garden. What a joy!
Yesterday I posted about a great Doctor of the Church, St. Ephrem, Harp of the Holy Ghost. While searching YouTube for some of his hymns set to music, I got lost in God as I usually do when hearing sacred choral music and chant. If you would like to hear a beautiful work that to me sounds heavenly, click on the link in this paragraph and visit God through John Tavener’s liturgical composition set to St. Ephrem’s Nativity hymn.
Sabbath Moments
June 12, 2010
Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this every Saturday. Sabbath Moments are the times when we rest in God.
By now my readers know that beauty, especially natural beauty, moves me to God. This week I took some photos of veggies in our garden to include in one of my posts. As I turned to go back to the house I saw the Stella d’oro daylilies blooming in an attractive pattern.
I confess that all flowers remind me of Our Lady, and these joyful blooms are no exception. The golden color for the Queen of heaven, for the “House of Gold” in the Litany of the BVM; and the elegant drape of the green leaves as of a full skirt on an ante bellum gown, green the color of hope and renewal, said to me, “I am here.” Everywhere I turn God shows Himself and so often He brings His most perfect creation, the Blessed Virgin, with Him.
Often my Sabbath Moments are just that – moments – a quick second when I think of God and His goodness and generosity to us. Seeing the daylilies was one. In the midst of all the evil afflicting the world, God continues to say that He is here and wants us to acknowledge Him as our Creator and Redeemer, as the One Who loves totally in a way we can never completely comprehend.
Let us praise Him for His wondrous deeds, great and small, and let us show Him to others joyfully, as the daylilies do, in all we do and say.
Sabbath Moments
June 5, 2010
Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. Join Colleen at Thoughts on Grace to read of other Sabbath Moments.
Ever since I started participating in this theme, the words of the second alto aria from Felix Mendelssohn’s great oratorio Elijah have echoed in my brain. “O rest in the Lord” is one of the most beautiful and simple (not to sing!) in composition, with the melody evoking the feeling of the words.
The setting occurs when an angel has come to Elijah in the wilderness after he has fled Jezebel. He is lying under a tree, exhausted, and asks the Lord to take his life because his suffering is so unbearable. He falls asleep and is awakened by an angel who gives him bread and water. He then falls asleep again and again the angel wakes him, this time giving him enough food to survive forty days (there’s that forty days again) in the wilderness. This aria refers to the second appearance of the angel who encourages Elijah to persevere in doing the will of God in evil circumstances.
Mendelssohn gives the angel these verses taken from Psalm 37: “O rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him and He will give thee thy heart’s desires. Commit thy way unto Him, and trust in Him, and fret? not thyself because of evildoers.”
It seems that the angel’s words to Elijah can apply to all of us in today’s world. Bad news and evil doings abound. We can’t find any media which is not pontificating on all of it, and much of the hot air is ignorant, vicious, and duplicitous. It is tempting to engage ourselves in the fray, but does that not, for some of us, take us away from a focus on God and the mission he has given us individually in this life? The angel sings to us as he did to Elijah: “O rest in the Lord…and fret not thyself because of evildoers.”
If you would like to hear the aria I have embedded a YouTube upload with orchestra so you can hear it as Mendelssohn wrote it except that the conductor is using a faster tempo than usual. The aria should be about 3:40 but this recording comes in under 3 minutes. It was, however, the best of the ones that could be embedded. The one most faithful to Mendelssohn’s prescribed tempo had the embedding code disabled. 
Whenever I listen to oratorios or sacred choral music, for sure I am “resting in the Lord.”
Sabbath Moments
May 15, 2010
Today I’m a little behind the curve in participating in this meme. A friend who needed to talk called me this morning and after that I had to go to the therapy pool to do my exercises. Now I’m home and glad to join my blogging friends in another Sabbath Moments where we share the times to just “be” with the Lord. Visit Colleen at Thoughts on Grace to read other blogger’s quiet times with the Lord.
The highlight of my week was getting to attend Ascension Thursday Mass on Ascension Thursday! Forty actually has a biblical meaning and forty days after Easter means just that. I hope that some day the traditional liturgical calendar and the Novus Ordo calendars will be reconciled with biblical accuracy. But that’s another subject.
The priest’s sermon was about how Jesus called each of us to spread the Gospel, and especially to do it by example, not words. He also said that as Christians we should not be backbiting, criticizing, or undermining our fellow parishioners because it is not the way to show the teachings of Jesus and is not attractive to others who are looking for God. It was real food for thought. As a blogger I surely need words to communicate God’s love and mercy, but also, the blog itself has to be a good example of a Catholic submitting to God’s will and suffering with joy whatever He sends. sometimes that’s really hard due to human frailty.
My second Sabbath Moment came when I was doing my therapy exercises by myself in the pool. It’s a good time to be thinking of God, His will, His holy Mother, and other spiritual things. Of course, exercising itself is praise to God because, if I do it for Him, the ordinary actions become a prayer. I keep thinking about our bodies being temples of the Holy Ghost and know that when we care for them properly we are pleasing God. Exercising for me is “being” with God.
The last moment was reading Father Oscar Lukefahr’s column in our diocesan newspaper. He wrote a really good book called The Privilege of Being Catholic
Father was talking about his vocation to the priesthood and what it meant to him. In the process he made the following comments I found delightful.
At the Last Supper, Jesus told us to celebrate the Mass in memory of him (1 Cor. 11: 23-26). On Easter Sunday, he appeared to the apostles and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of others, they are forgiven: (Jn. 20: 17-23).
Church and ritual are important to Jesus. Some people claim that we should be spiritual but not religious: “I don’t need to go to church,” they say. “I can find God while hiking in the woods.” But at the Last Supper Jesus did not say, “Go take a hike in memory of Me.” We can find God while hiking and we should. But Jesus wants more for us. He wants us to have real, physical, sacramental, ecclesial union with Him, at the Eucharist and at all the sacraments. It is the privilege of every priest to make that union possible.
My life has been worthwhile because it has been a life of proclaiming the truth Jesus brings and of ministering the grace that only Jesus gives. I am a priest because so many people called me to this vocation and supported me in it.
Father’s words reminded me to be very thankful for how accessible Jesus is to us through the ministry of His priests. And that’s it for my Sabbath Moments for the week.
Sabbath Moments
May 6, 2010
Every Saturday Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts the Sabbath Moments feature where fellow bloggers get together to share the moments of the week when we have “rested in the Lord.” Please visit Colleen and join us.
I’ve been contemplating what the effect of joining memes like “Sabbath Moments” has on my spiritual life. What comes to mind is the image of the early Christians being dragged off to the lions in the Roman Coliseum, encouraging each other all the way. The coliseum of this world is full of roaring lions designed to distract us from our one job – to stay on the narrow road through the narrow gate to Paradise. Fellow bloggers who share so openly their spiritual insights are really inspiring to me. Nobody is out there working big miracles. We are all simple souls using simple means who just keep urging each other along to stay focused on the prize. To me, this, and they are priceless.
Nobility of Spirit
My Sabbath Moment for this week is the time I spent today thinking about St. Michael the Archangel. Today is the feast of his apparition on Mount Gargano in Italy. St. Michael was created in the second lowest choir of all the angels – the Archangels. His place or status in the heavenly realm didn’t make any difference to him when it came to standing up to Lucifer, who was of a much higher choir. His nobility of spirit shone.
In human terms, I think of St. Michael as the best street fighter in the biggest revolution in creation. True, he was the five-star general of God’s army, but the battle took place in the “streets” of heaven. That he could get angels from every level to join him in humility and love of God to take on the most brilliant angel created is a testament to his nobility of spirit.
From the time of our birth we are engaged in one long street fight against Satan and all his deceits. We need the help of St. Michael always at our side along with our Guardian Angels to inspire us to take up our arms, rise when wounded, and persevere through the din, heat, and smoke created by the enemy. We need to share in St. Michael’s nobility of spirit to be successful. Fortunately, by the grace of God nobility of spirit is accessible to everyone no matter what our station in life is. St. Michael, whose name means “Who is like unto God” shows us the meaning of this nobility. It is humility, dignity, truthfulness, justice and charity, fulfilling the purpose for which we were created – to glorify God now and for all eternity. Thank You, God for St. Michael and thank You for this Sabbath Moment.
Sabbath Moments
May 1, 2010
Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary. Visit Colleen at Thoughts on Grace to read about the Sabbath moments others have had this week.
Keeping Life in Perspective
Throughout Paschaltide a Chapter reading at Lauds in the Divine Office causes me to stop and think about our destination in the next world. It is St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, 3:1-2:
If you have risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Mind the things that are above, not the things that are on earth.
Nearly every morning this week after I finished praying my Rosary, I contemplated his words for awhile as the fresh breezes of late April blew through my window and the birds twittered happily about their morning business. To me, St. Paul is urging us to keep our minds on heavenly things and not get caught up in earthly concerns as an end in themselves. His words encourage us to “do all things in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4: 13). If we follow them we practice the virtue of detachment, we keep our lives simple, and we go about our daily duties without being obsessed with power, approbation, wealth and possessions.
Christ in Glory, 1597-98, oil on canvas, Annibale Carracci (b.1560, Bologna, d. 1609, Roma), Galleria Palatina (Palazzo Pitti), Florence
St. Paul is saying to keep everything in perspective as if we were somehow seeing through God’s eyes. He is not telling us to neglect our daily duties nor turn aside from the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. We are in this world because God created us and we work out our salvation through this world, but always as St. Paul urges, with the Grand Prize (Acts 17: 11) of heaven in mind. Moreover, his words say that God is always in charge and imply the necessity to do our best while trusting Him in everything. For myself, I’ll know that I have perfect trust in God when I quit worrying about “the things that are on earth.”
Sabbath Moments
April 17, 2010
Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just be with God rather than Do. Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts this Saturday theme so we can join her in her virtual living room and read about others’ Sabbath moments, too.
I love Pope Benedict. His talks and writings are so clear that I never fail to find a thought to ponder when I read his work. On April 15th the Holy Father gave a sermon in the Pauline Chapel to the Pontifical Biblical Commission and only today did I find it.
The Pope is so humble. After apologizing for not having time to prepare a “true homily” he proceeds to speak extemporaneously on “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29), the words of St. Peter to the Sanhedrin. My Sabbath moment today is time with the Pope as Christ’s Vicar as he points me to living right in God. A couple of excerpts:
Here it is important to emphasize that this is a matter of obedience, and that it is precisely obedience that gives freedom. The modern age has spoken of the liberation of man, of his full autonomy, and therefore also of liberation from obedience to God. It is said that obedience should no longer exist, man is free, he is autonomous: nothing else. But this autonomy is a lie: it is an ontological lie, because man does not exist on his own and for himself, and it is also a political and practical lie, because collaboration, the sharing of freedom, is necessary. And if God does not exist, if God is not an imperative accessible to man, what remains as the supreme imperative is only the consensus of the majority. As a result, the consensus of the majority becomes the last word, which we must obey. And this consensus – we know this from the history of the last century – can also be a “consensus in evil…“
Today, thank God, we do not live under dictatorships, but there exist subtle forms of dictatorship: a conformism that becomes obligatory, to think the way everyone else thinks, to act the way everyone else acts, and the subtle forms of aggression against the Church, or even the less subtle ones, demonstrate how this conformism can really be a true dictatorship. What matters to us is this: we must obey God rather than men. But that supposes that we truly know God, and that we truly want to obey Him. God is not a pretext for one’s own will, but it is really He who calls and invites us, if it is necessary, even to martyrdom. Therefore, confronted by this word that begins a new history of freedom in the world, let us pray above all to know God, to know God humbly and truly, and, knowing God, to learn the true obedience that is the foundation of human freedom.
St. Ignatius of Loyola (detail), c. 1610, Juan Martínez Montanes, b. 1568, Alcala la Real, d. 1649, Sevilla, Polychromed wood Chapel, Seville University
The Pope’s statement about martyrdom reminds me of the “Act of Resignation” prayer in my St. Andrew’s missal in the “Thanksgiving After Mass” section:
O Lord, my God, from this moment do I accept from Thy hands, with a quiet and trusting heart, whatsoever death Thou shalt choose to send me, with its pains and griefs.
Along with this prayer, in the spirit of obedience the Pope speaks of, is an oblation from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was both a Spanish soldier and a true Soldier of Jesus Christ:
Take, O Lord, into Thy hands my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my will. All that I am and have Thou hast given me, and I surrender them to Thee to be so disposed in accordance with Thy holy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, with these I am rich enough and desire nothing more.
Sabbath Moments
April 10, 2010
Welcome to Sabbath Moments hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. Sabbath moments are the moments we rest in God, when we take time to just Be with God rather than Do. Sabbath moments are those times when we live in the moment and find the holy in the ordinary.
This week I struggled with fibromyalgia pain and chronic fatigue. Through it all I finished my regular monthly newsletter for Una Voce Arkansas Ozarks and got it posted. Then I completed an article I was writing on the unavoidable tragedy of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, researched for some blog posts and met with our insurance agent to find a better Medicare supplemental policy. These were not my Sabbath moments, but they led me to them.
My way of winding down after intense mental activity is to go out into God’s good sunshine and putter in the yard, to work on my digital art, or to gaze at a work of sacred art that leads me to prayer. This week was great because I got to do all of it. It may seem strange to say that puttering in the yard is a Sabbath moment, but it is. When I am grooming plants, planting things or pulling weeds, I am reminded that all is God’s creation and am thankful He is letting me help take care of it and show His beauty to others.
When I work on digital painting, the beauty I create there is a dull reflection of God’s beauty. It makes me think, “If this is beautiful, imagine what heaven will be like!” Sacred art prompts me to meditate on the mysteries of salvation.
Through all these moments I keep thinking of God, my helplessness, and my need to trust in Him for all my needs, which leads to an undercurrent of constant prayer asking Him to help me to trust in Him more.
I want a good relationship with God. Good relationships are built on trust. Trust is letting go of self and selfishness and turning to face God. Facing God, like facing the sun (the Son) brings warmth, peace, and well-being in a world gone mad.
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