 One of my favorite accounts in the Old Testament is the story of Elijah. In the last part of the passage Elijah is fleeing from the evil queen Jezebel whose pagan efforts he has just thwarted. Elijah is weary, and deciding he has had enough, he sits down and prays for death. God sends an angel who feeds him with bread and water (spiritual food) and tells him to go to Mt. Carmel. Enabled by that food, he walks for 40 days and nights until he gets to the cave where God will meet him. After he arrives, he experiences an earthquake, high winds, and fire, but he knows God is in none of these. Finally, Elijah hears a still, small voice, and he hides his face because he knows he is in the presence of God. (1Kings 19:1-13ff) What stands out in this account is how God came to Elijah in an ‘ordinary,’ simple way rather than in cataclysmic or extraordinary events like earthquakes. This passage offers the insight that the still, small voice can be overlooked if we are not attuned to it as Elijah clearly was. God speaks and is present in many ways, but if we limit our seeking of Him to miraculous events and situations, we will surely miss God’s presence in the simple ways He often comes, such as the still, small voice that is part of ordinary, daily life.  A way to grow in our life of prayer is to observe. In other words, becoming attentive to what is going on around us will create opportunities for reflection and prayer that can deepen our relationship with God. Observation of people (with love, and therefore without judging) is a way to open our hearts both in wonder at the goodness of others and in compassion for those who may be in need. We can also enjoy being out in nature and observing a hummingbird or a butterfly, or even just the way the clouds move, paying attention to the creativity of God. Our interior response to these observations, our reflections, can then become the foundation for prayer. Therefore, we can allow the presence of God into each moment so that what we might usually consider as ordinary is now revealed as something that is actually quite extraordinary.  Anything can become an opportunity to experience God. While adoration in a chapel or church is a fantastic way to experience God, so is watching a father walking with his two year old daughter, holding her hand, for example. I observed such a man recently. His face was absolutely radiant with joy and love (and perhaps awe) as he walked with his little girl. The little girl seemed to see nothing but her father’s face, as she returned her own gaze of love. In observing something as simple as this, one could consider St. Joseph and Jesus, and then imagine how St. Joseph was moved with wonder and awe, bursting with love as he held the hand of the 2 year old Jesus, who also returned the gaze. From there, we could consider the Father looking at us with the gaze of eternal, unfathomable love as we hold His hand, enjoying His presence and trusting in His care. A simple observation such as this can lead to quite an experience in prayer! All that is necessary is the desire to see God’s presence in ordinary things and the openness to respond, allowing the experience to blossom into a deeper encounter with God.  Our prayer can be so enhanced if we approach it with the simplicity of one like St. Thérèse of Lisieux who espoused her Little Way. Not trained as a theologian, this humble ‘little’ Saint is now considered to be a Doctor of the Church. Why? It is because her Little Way was simple, yet led to deep and profound prayer which in turn led to holiness. She was able to see simple things as beautiful and to allow the ordinary to become extraordinary; she saw and experienced the presence of God all around her, even in the sister who annoyed her the most or in her intense suffering with tuberculosis in her final two years of life. One does not have to be a great mystic to have that sort of intimacy with God, but all mystics begin with this ability to see God in the simplicity of ordinary life. If we are struggling in prayer, simply observe and ask God for your heart to be moved in some way, whether it is compassion or joy, or even sorrow if there is something that needs to be healed. The action of observing is the beginning or prayer; if we cannot see God in the ordinary, ask the Holy Spirit to enable this in order to begin to develop this simple, yet important gift.  Finally, observation is the foundation for discernment. When we can find the presence of God in simplicity and in the ordinary we are actually learning to sort out that which leads to Him, that is, the movement of the Holy Spirit, and similarly we can begin to recognize the attachments and weak points we have that are exploited by the evil one and which lead to self or worldliness, and thus, away from God. By learning to deepen our observation through simple, ordinary experiences we will come to see that the presence of God sanctifies every moment and every ordinary thing. And if we continually stand in His presence, we, too, will become sanctified.  May we ask the Lord to help us to observe His presence in the simple, ordinary events of life! May we be moved to love more deeply and turn away from judgment in our observation of our brothers and sisters! And may we grow in holiness, becoming light for others through our time spent in the presence of God! Let us meet in the Heart of Jesus! Peace!
©Michele L. Catanese Images: 1. My photo of stained glass; Elijah being taken to Heaven in a whirlwind. 2. My photo; Hummingbird on my hummingbird feeder. 3. Icon; San Jose Sombra del Padre, by Fr. William Hart McNichols. You can obtain a copy of this in one of many mediums at https://fineartamerica.com/featured/san-jose-sombra-del-padre-161-william-hart-mcnichols.html 4. Photo; children playing in the park. 5. Painting; Seascape, by Claude Monet. 6. My photo; The majesty of creation. Kootenai National Forest, Montana. Note: In compliance with GDPR rules, I wish to make it clear that I do not gather any information on any of my readers at any time. Comments are closed.
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