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MEDITATION:

Written by Richard Rohr, a contemporary American Franciscan priest and writer on spirituality. This is an excerpt from his book “Everything Belongs.”

It should be the work of Christians who believe in the paschal mystery to help people when they are being led into the darkness and the void. The believer has to tell those in pain that this is not forever; there is a light and you will see it. This isn’t all there is. Trust it. Don’t try to rush through it. We can’t leap over our grief work. Nor can we skip over our despair work. We have to feel it. That means that in our life we have some blue days or dark days. Historic cultures saw it as the time of incubation, transformation, and necessary hibernation. It becomes sacred space, and yet this is the very space we avoid. When we avoid darkness, we avoid tension, spiritual creativity, and finally transformation. We avoid God who works in the darkness-where we are not in control! Maybe that is the secret.

PRAYER:

Written by the Benedictine Nuns at Kylemore Abbey, Galway, Ireland.

O Holy Spirit, replace the tension within me with Holy relaxation.

Replace the turbulence within me with a sacred calm.

Replace the anxiety within me with a quiet confidence.

Replace the fear within me with a strong faith.

Replace the bitterness within me with the sweetness of your grace.

Replace the darkness within me with a gentle light.

Replace the coldness within me with a gentle warmth.