PRAYER MOMENT

Tuesday 8 October 2013

SHE SAT DOWN AND LISTENED

Pause.  Be still at the feet of Jesus and listen to him.

Reading. “Mary sat down at the feet of Jesus and listened to him speaking.” (Luke 10:38-42)

Reflection. Generations have contemplated this scene of Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus while her sister, Martha, is busy in the kitchen preparing the lunch. It is the only place in the gospels – and maybe in the whole bible, though there was Elijah in his cave – where we see such a scene of contemplation. It is a moment of stillness where God communicates with the beloved. It is a moment captured for us, as in a photo, of what it is to really be attentive to God. What Martha was doing was good and necessary and sums up the lives of women down the ages everywhere. But what Mary was doing goes beyond that routine life and glimpses for a moment “what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor.2:9).

Prayer. Teach us, Lord, to go beyond the routine of our daily lives and sit in stillness in your presence, listening to what you wish to say to us, as you call us more and more to open up to the divine life you desire to share with us.  Amen

(I will be beyond the reach of internet on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday)