Greetings Parents!
Have you ever wished your children would do something other than what they are doing? Hmm, perhaps multiple times throughout the day? Frustration arises when trying to bring them out of video game land and into the world where non-electronic games and the outdoors await. Chores, homework, and any other less appealing activity can hinder enthusiasm for leaving a favorite activity, but even fun ideas aren't always welcome at first. As parents we know that there is a time and a place for each.
They resist, voice their complaints, or, at a minimum, heave a great sigh (certainly I never did that as a youth... or did I?). Teens can seem like toddlers, finding it so hard to shift from one happy activity to
anything
else. Offering better options, including those that
they
know they like, can lead to their annoyance.
So do we act like this sometimes for God? Easily I can say Yes! Numerous are the times when I could be including prayer into my activities, or spend a few moments doing nothing but prayer. But to stop working through my list of to-dos when I know that those HAVE to be done by a time frame and, well, prayer can happen at any time, right? Well, on one hand,
should
pray always, even while busy with other activities. But for deeper prayer, that is something that requires time set apart.
We need to make intentional prayer happen, even when there is no time. One poem expresses this, relating how the author was too busy to pray one morning and struggled through a hectic days' events. By the end of the day, the author realized that the busier the day, the more need there was for prayer. We probably know this. We have all struggled through stressful days without the benefit of leaning on prayer. We probably have also had days when we did lean on prayer.
The days with prayer are always more manageable - so why do we still resist? Theologically, an answer is concupiscence. In more familiar terms we might say we get caught up in the world and let it draw us away from God because we want more to satisfy immediate needs and desires. We lose sight of the power of prayer because, I think, we lose touch with the reality that it involves a relationship with a Being who loves us beyond compare. When we dwell in quiet and consider His Presence and love, a new perspective arises and a new awareness that He wouldn't do all that He has done - for humanity AND or for each of us, unless His Love was greater than the love we have for our own children. Seems incomprehensible! Which is why we need quiet time with Him to accept its reality and KNOW we are not alone.
Hug your children tight and remind them of how great is God's love - that He sends a guardian angel to each of us. Ask for a sense of His unending love! May God bless you and your families abundantly!
-- Linda Bader, Coordinator of Religious Education
P.S. Did you know... Some saints were able, even from a young age, to converse with their guardian angels - and see or hear an answer. Such a gifts obedience and sacrifice - how does one refuse any request of an angel?
