Are you listening to the white noise of life?

By Robert Batch

RCA 621TS Television Receiver (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons).

I was down at my cousins' house for the evening to celebrate their grandma’s 90th birthday!  I have to say that whenever the cousins get together it is always an…interesting time to say the least.  I say that with a very, very positive attitude!

As I was driving back home it was quite the ride.  For one, the weather is absolutely dreadful outside!  It has been raining all day, so it made it quite difficult to see what was going on, on the roads.  Plus, with the rain, it was interfering with the radio signal.  There are a few good stations around where I live – but one of my favorite ones is Star 99.1 – a Christian Radio Station.  Anyway, as I was scanning through the frequencies, I kept hitting the famous static “white noise”.  So now we have static white noise, and bad weather, it’s really not going so well!

You are probably thinking to yourself – wow, Robert is really on a tangent today.  Patience!!!

When I finally made it home I realized, there is something to be learned from the “white noise”, besides being patient.  There is something to be learned when we have “white noise” in our lives, on the radio, or the television or our cell phones when we have bad reception.  Distractions, media, the news, music, relationships. See, we get frustrated when we hear the white noise on the radio because we want to hear more noise!  I feel as though this can relate to our lives as Catholics as well.


Continue reading at Robert's blog  Love is Calling.

Learning to pray with the heart

By Mallory Hoffman

An Old Woman Praying by Maes
(Wikimedia Commons)

 


Ask God for the Gift of Prayer.  Ask God for the Gift of Prayer with the Heart.  Then become aware of what God is doing in your life.

Pray with your heart.  Begin with simple, vocal prayers, favorite prayers, perhaps prayers remembered from childhood.  As you vocalize these prayers, focus your total attention on God.

Put yourself in the presence of God knowing that He knows your thoughts before you think them.  He knows your heart, and He loves you.

Put yourself in the presence of God knowing God is madly in love with you.  Remember that He thirsts for souls.  He thirsts for your soul.

Put yourself in the presence of God and listen.   “Be still and know that I AM God.”  Be still.  Listen for that whisper that comes from the heart of God.  He loves you.  He loves you in silence.

Whisper in the silence.  Tell  God how much you love Him.


Continue reading at Mallory's blog HisUnEnding Love.

Crepusculous Moments

by Ruth Ann

Manuscript of Salve Regina (Photo Credit: Fedkuki, Wikimedia).

 I have discovered a particularly unique time of the day, a space when time itself seems to stand still. Sun has just set, yet there is still the soft glow of scattered light from the refraction of the sun's rays. One hears the sound of utter silence. There are no bird twitters. They have roosted. No animals are walking about; nor are they making sounds. Nocturnal wildlife has not yet stirred. Within this hush peace emerges. I know God's presence. I pray, giving praise and thanks.

The twilight time ends with the first cricket's chirp, soon followed by others. Twilight gives way to nightfall. I feel like singing Salve Regina.


Originally posted by Ruth Ann on her blog  From the Pulpit of My Life. Please visit Ruth Ann for more reflections from a Third Order Carmelite.

When you’re too worn out to pray

by Connie Rossini

Christ our Savior by El Greco. You can pray, even when you're too tired to think.

Prayer takes energy. When you are stressed, you may find you can’t use your imagination to meditate. You may be too worn out to converse with God. This was the case with me last year, when homeschooling three kids with a baby overwhelmed me.

Several times when I went to pray, I had too little strength to picture a scene from the Gospels. I could barely muster the energy to think the words, “Jesus, I love you.”

But I knew I had to pray. And I knew Jesus was there. I knew His love was constant. That meant He was loving me at that moment. So I decided just to soak in God’s love, like I might soak in the sunlight. I sat silent, reminding myself briefly every few minutes that God’s love was surrounding me. I let Him love me, and that was my prayer for half an hour.

I’ll never forget one trip to the confessional at this period of my life. I don’t remember what I said to the priest–certainly no specifics about my prayer method–but his advice astonished me. He said I should just sit and let God love me–the very thing I had felt inspired to do.
If you are too emotionally drained to pray, try this method.

Share with us: What do you do when you are too worn out to pray?

This post was posted simultaneously at Contemplative Homeschool.