prayer

Growing up Catholic, prayer became just words. I attended a private school that sometimes included Church as part of our school day.

The “Hail Mary” and the “Our Father”, where prayers that were said with a rosary (prayer beads) or just independently. I remember being instructed by a priest in the confessional to recite several of these prayers as penitence for my sins. A typical confession for me in elementary school was, “ I yelled at my brothers and I did not have kind thoughts toward my sister.” My penance would be something like, “say three  “Hail Mary’s” and one “Our Father”, and sin no more”.

I would kneel before the alter and pray as quickly as I could. Some may say, I wasn’t very remorseful. The truth of the matter is, I really wasn’t. I was just a kid and hadn’t yet developed a sense of guilt or shame.

Since then, prayer & meditation have become the foundation of my life. I don’t get out of bed before I pray and meditate. I realize the Divine in me and in you and in everything, is the only reality there is.

I used to roll my eyes at all the Catholic rituals. Now, I honor them….not just in Catholicism, but all rituals of prayer and meditation that are based in love. It’s all about treating life as a sacred moment and extending ourselves in love.

Today, I pray that when we lift up words to the heavens that we realize heaven is within. In any moment, the Divine is just waiting for us to say “hello” or  “help”. The challenge is to be still, listen and feel God’s love.