Prayer is Nourishment
ONE
Prayer is food for the soul, it is rest and it is the greatest quest.
We all have a hunger and thirst that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world. That is why we are restless.
Jesus said; “Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again. But anyone who drinks the water that I will give will never be thirsty again.”
Again Jesus said; “Do not work for food that cannot last…I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never hunger; he will never thirst.”
We are unsettled, hungry and thirsty, grasping for breath, because we are searching in all the wrong places.
St. Augustine said it best; “You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
TWO
We think we need more accomplishments, more money, more time, more opportunities, for ourselves or our kids, more travel, more experiences, more, more, more…
We hunger for more because we were meant to be filled by God.
To be filled with God all we need is prayer. I don’t mean saying prayers and I don’t mean praying for others. That is vocal prayer, and it is good. What we need is meditation – that is what nourishes the soul.
God came to the Prophet Ezekiel and said; “‘Open your mouth and eat what I am about to give you.' I looked. A hand was there, stretching out to me and holding a scroll…He said, '…eat what is given to you; eat this scroll, then go and speak to the House of Israel'. I opened my mouth; he gave me the scroll to eat and said, 'Feed and be satisfied by the scroll I am giving you'. I ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey.”
Meditation is to “eat” the Word of God by reading or listening to it. Then we digest it by thinking about it, trying to understand it and applying it to our life. Finally, we absorb the word of God and make it part of ourselves when we put it into practice, when we live out our resolution from our meditations.
Meditation on the Word of God is nourishment for the soul. If you are hungry for more, then that is what you need.
THREE
Prayer is rest. We need rest to recreate our body and brain. We need rest for God to recreate our soul.
We are all busy and exhausted, yet we keep moving in the effort to be successful. What we need is prayer because prayer is rest. Jesus said; “Come to me all you who labor and are weary and I will give you rest.”
What do we do when we are exhausted? We turn to our screens.
What do you think you will find there? We will never find the rest and peace of mind we need on a screen. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is within you. When you need rest, close your eyes, think about reality – God dwells in you. Talk to Him from the heart. Ask Him what he wants to say to you. Be with Him in stillness and give Him your attention. If you fall asleep. That is what you needed.
My grandson Cormac is in constant motion. He exhausts me. My favorite time with him is when I am rocking him and he falls asleep in my arms.
I think we exhaust God with our constant motion. Maybe we’d be better off if we just rested in his arms?
FOUR
“Catholic meditation is above all a quest”, says the Catechism.
We are searching for the purpose of our life; searching for love and acceptance; searching for answers; searching, searching, searching…
In God we find everything we have been searching for. Only He can reveal to us the mission of our lives, only He can give us the love and acceptance we need, only He can tell us His will.
Meditation is a quest because it gradually opens the eyes of our soul to see God and his plans for our life so that we might respond to all He is asking us to do.
I was aimless and bored until I committed to daily meditation. Since then, the quest has become better every day and there will be no end of this grand adventure.
FIVE
God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit dwell in your soul.
In them you will find all you need.
The Rosary is a great start.
But there is so much more of God to experience.
Set out on the quest when you finish this Rosary.
Close your eyes, know God is there and remain with Him in silence for 1 min, 5 minutes, 30 minutes.