Throw Wide the Gate

'My Father and I will come and make Our home with him. Let your door stand open to receive Him, unlock your door to Him, offer Him a welcome in your mind, and then you will see the riches of simplicity, the treasures of peace, the joy of grace.

'Throw wide the gate of your heart, stand before the sun of the everlasting light that shines on every man. This true light shines on all, but if anyone closes his window he will deprive himself of eternal light. If you shut the door of your mind, you shut out Christ. Though he can enter, He does not want to force His way in rudely, or compel us to admit Him against our will....

'Our soul has a door; it has gates. Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, eternal gates, and the King of glory will enter. If you open the gates of your faith, the King of glory will enter your house in the triumphal procession in honor of His passion.

'Holiness too has its gates. We read in Scripture what the Lord Jesus said through His prophet: Open for Me the gates of holiness. It is the soul that has its door, its gates. Christ comes to this door and knocks; He knocks at these gates. Open to Him; He wants to enter, to find His bride waiting and watching.'

St. Ambrose, from an exposition of Psalm 118; from Office of Readings


Photo: public domain via Wikimedia
Painting: John William Waterhouse; original image reversed

The Door of Mercy

'Before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy.'

Jesus to St. Faustina

More Prayer Keys

I have written a lot, here, about prayer. As you've guessed, a main goal for me is to pray throughout the day.  As you've also (surely) guessed, I am constantly battling to do this.

My main struggle is with distractions, and not just during prayer. I battle distractions (especially now that I'm getting 'older') when I read books as well, or when I try to watch a film, or even sometimes in conversation.

Which is why I'm thankful for the many aids we've been given to help us pray.  Just today, sidetracked during the Office of Morning Prayer, I found my way back more than once through words on paper before me.

I may have shared every one of these helps here before, but they are definitely worth another mention. So in case anyone else has a mind that 'drifts' now and then, here are some keys I've found to help open doors to prayer. While these are readily accessible without needing to be sought online, I am including links for anyone who may find those beneficial.

Scripture. The current day's Mass readings are an ideal source for Lectio Divina. These can be found by starting here, or here. 

The Divine Office. This is the prayer of the Church, in which nuns, monks, clergy, religious and laity all over the world are participating, as one, on the same days. In addition to being available in bound volumes, this is free with no registration necessary online at Divine Office.org . The entire day of prayer is right there, printed and with (optional) audio. Bound volumes are available through the link as well.

The Rosary. If anyone finds it helpful to pray with others (who are praying at the same time), this link at Come Pray the Rosary offers that opportunity.

The Stations of the Cross are especially appropriate during this holy season. I sometimes spend time with the paintings and video here at Prie Dieu.    

"You aren't the only one to be distracted from the presence of God.  I understand completely.  Our minds are so flighty.  But remember that our God-given will governs all of our strength."  (Brother Lawrence) 

"It isn't necessary to be too verbose in prayer, because lengthy prayers encourage wandering thoughts.  Simply present yourself to God as if you were a poor man knocking on the door of a rich man, and fix your attention on His presence.  If your mind wanders at times, don't be upset, because being upset will only distract you more.  Allow your will to recall your attention gently to God.  Such perseverance will please Him. (Brother Lawrence)

"When it’s God Who is speaking.. the proper way to behave is to imitate someone who has an irresistible curiosity and who listens at keyholes.  You must listen to everything God says at the keyhole of your heart."  (St. John Vianney)  

How To Enter His Presence

'Enter His gates with thanksgiving, 

His courts with praise; 

give thanks to Him; 

bless His name, 

for He is good: the Lord, 

whose kindness endures forever, 

and His faithfulness, to all generations.' 

Psalm 100:4-5

Painting: Restout, St Bruno Praying

Helpers at the Doors

Living in the will of God is not something chosen once and for all. The choice to so live is continual, made one decision at a time, one door at a time, in one yes after another.

The doors of 'yes,' at times, overwhelm me. They can sometimes loom ahead as massive, weighty, impossible things that would surely need a team to budge.

The doors of 'no,' however (of no to God's will) always look lightweight and undemanding. These are the popular doors, the everybody's-doing-it, live-however-you-want, put-yourself-first doors that never really close. They are like revolving doors:  easy to breeze through and ultimately leading, in time, right back to .... me.

One thing that helps, as I stand before an ongoing succession of choices, is the remembrance that I actually do have a 'team' to help open the doors that usher me more deeply into God's will.

The saints have left 'tracks', their testimonies, to show what can happen when a person chooses to live totally for God.  In the next few weeks, we'll be hearing from a few of these holy men and women.  After all, God has generously given their witness and teaching and prayer to His world - not just for their spans of life on earth, but for all time.  They are a treasure we do not want to overlook as we continue on our journeys Home to God.

The saints are even now, interceding. May they help us go through every holy door. 

'Follow the tracks of the flock, and pasture the young ones near the shepherds' camps.' (Song of Songs 1:8)

'Since we for our part are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside any encumbrance of sin which clings to us and persevere in running the race which lies ahead; let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith.' (Hebrews 12:1-2)

'Follow the saints, because those who follow them will become saints.' (Pope Clement I)

'It is said that a saint is one who always chooses the better of the two courses open to him at every step.' (RH Benson)

'Ask, and you will receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you.' (Matthew 7:7)

Post by Carmelite Nuns, Preston.

To our e-mail subscribers: this post contains a very brief video clip, which can be seen by visiting the blog itself.

 
Text not in quotes © 2015 Nancy Shuman. 
thecloisteredheart.org   

Only In This Friendship

'If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing,
absolutely nothing, of what makes life free,
beautiful and great.  No!
Only in this friendship
are the doors of life opened wide.
Only in this friendship
is the great potential of human existence truly revealed.'

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI












Photo via Pixabay

Ooops. Another Wall.

I have to laugh. I have to thank God for whatever He's doing in my most recent computer-snag. He has allowed the snag to happen, and I trust He is somehow working with it.

The problem? I haven't been able to post here, and still the situation remains a bit iffy (will you see this? I wonder). I had similar difficulties once before - also in Lent, two years ago. At that time, we were looking at various "walls" that can crop up as we journey more deeply into living for God.

Interesting.

Now, while trying to find a "door," I've run smack into a wall. I can choose how to respond to this sudden obstacle. I can panic, be angry, fret, complain (I may or may not have had any of these reactions earlier today).

Or I could, in cloistered heart terminology, "look at this through the grille."

The truth is: this wall has cropped up between me and a computer; it is not a wall between me and God. 

I could PUT it between God and myself, however, and I think a few good rounds of complaining and fussing might just start pushing it in that direction.

With grace, I choose not to let this wall come between God and me.

With grace, I choose to embrace the grille.

Doors I Cannot Open

The ideas haven't been half bad. I've imagined a hallway lined with doors, and each door leads to a room that opens into other hallways, and every hallway leads to more doors, and these are some of the chambers we find ourselves in as we journey toward living more fully for God.

I've given a few of the rooms' "working titles," all subject to change. There is the cushy room and the cluttered room and the Chamber of Secrets. There's Pinch 'Em Tight Hall and The Room of Windows and The Clue in the Attic (it may or may not be an asset that I grew up reading Nancy Drew).

Writing about these, I thought, could be a Lenten project. I've been collecting (for each room) scriptures, and quotes from saints, and experiences from my own life.

And then I started to write. Which led not to doors or rooms, but right smack dab into a wall.

I'm still at the wall, actually. It's not quite as bad now that I'm telling you about it, now that I'm bringing it out into the open and saying GOSH I'm having a struggle writing this. And I'm not sure why.

Is it that I have "writer's block?" Well, I do appear to have a case of it, but I don't know that this is the root of my inability to get words to paper screen. I think it's more likely that the block is a symptom of something more basic.

What could be the something-more-basic? Is it not having enough time to devote to this "project?" No, I've had plenty of time since Lent began.

But of course, devoting myself to this project is not my goal. My devotion should be to God, and God alone.

Maybe with that thought, I'm getting closer to the difficulty.

Is the struggle because I'm not taking enough time for prayer? Ah ha. That certainly must come first, every time and all the time, or I'm just spinning my spiritual wheels. If prayer is not the foundation, then I cannot "hear" from God, and I'm trying to open doors through my own power.

And with that thought, I am getting closer still.

So I will leave you for this time around, and go pray. I'll publish this post and immediately take an extra bit of prayer time. Yes, right now, I promise.

And next time we meet here, I'll let you know if I've seen GOD opening a door....


Text not in quotes © 2015 Nancy Shuman.  All Rights Reserved.
thecloisteredheart.org   



Photo on this post from Pixabay