Two Minutes
Pause.
It is time to take a PAUSE.
It will just be two short minutes, but I think it will be worth your time.
Pause from what you are doing. Find a quiet place to be with the Creator of the universe. I want to invite you to make the sign of the cross upon yourself to remember your baptism, where God claimed you as His own and marked you with His grace.
Then hold out your hands in front of you, palms up, and place them on your legs. Be still. Notice the aches and pains.
Breath in. Breath out.
Notice your thoughts. Let the anxiety and to-do list leave for a few.
Breath in. Breath out.
Notice your heart. Reflect on what it has been beating towards over the last week.
Breath in. Breath out.
How is your soul?
God is found in the stillness; not the busy, bustling, and burdensome tasks of each day.
God is here. Now. With you.
Reflect upon these desert mothers and fathers that have trodden a well-worn path of holy habits before we were ever a thought in our parents’ minds. What might each quote be prompting you to do? To be? To change? To realize? To take on?
The Desert Father Abba Moses (4th century)
“Sit in your cell, and your cell will teach you everything.”
This reminds us that God is found in His Word and through prayer. God is found in times of stillness and solitude, not in the franticity of accomplishment in the world. Don’t get me wrong, we all have a calling and purpose to do things and work at them. Yet, our identity in Christ Jesus is something we must be reminded of daily by being with God before doing with Him.
St. Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582)
“Settle yourself in solitude, and you will come upon Him in yourself.”
We rediscover that God is in us when we pause to connect to Him. This reminds me of the promise that God lives in us and is always with us to the end of the age (Romans 8:11; Matthew 28:20). We can hold on to that promise despite the pain, sadness, and stress around us.
St. Francis of Assisi (1181–1226)
“We must not be wise and prudent according to the flesh, but rather we must be simple, humble, and pure.”
We are by nature sinful and unclean. Yet, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). That’s good news! Even in us, God’s Spirit works with the outpouring of fruit that last (Galatians 6). Abide in Him each day and you will bear fruit that last into eternity. May a simple and quiet life of loving God and loving others lead us all the days of our lives.
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