Yesterday I did 3 offices. Today I did early morning prayers and then the morning office when I got to the office. I'm tired and lethargic from the time change. My body still thinks I'm getting up at 5:15.
Tim, you wrote: I ran across a Latin phrase in the Rule of St. Benedict that has been working me a bit: "Laborare est orare," which means "to work is to pray." I think I'm searching for a way to apprehend that reality & live in it.
I've been coming across similar ideas lately. The Rohr book - The Naked Now invites us into that reality. The contemplative life. Don't you think think he and Merton would say: "to live is to pray"?
For me - I'm struggling in the "in between"...receiving and experiencing this reality yet being pulled away by irrelevant things. To stay detached is the key for me right now and the only way to stay detached is to stay present. If that makes any sense...?? I'm really having a hard time finding vocabulary for what I'm experiencing right now. Anyway, I'm loving Rohr's spiritual direction.
I don't know if they would say that. I think Rohr probably would. Or else he would say "to live truly, humanly, is to pray without ceasing." But I struggle with the reality of that notion. There are times when I need to think about the work I'm doing & cannot consciously pray. That is when "Laborare est orare."
I know one thing. If I'm not able to pray willingly, happily, and with zest and energy, it is solely because I've given myself over to a pace of life that cripples my soul.
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4 comments:
Yesterday I did 3 offices. Today I did early morning prayers and then the morning office when I got to the office. I'm tired and lethargic from the time change. My body still thinks I'm getting up at 5:15.
-t
Tim, you wrote:
I ran across a Latin phrase in the Rule of St. Benedict that has been working me a bit: "Laborare est orare," which means "to work is to pray." I think I'm searching for a way to apprehend that reality & live in it.
I've been coming across similar ideas lately. The Rohr book - The Naked Now invites us into that reality. The contemplative life. Don't you think think he and Merton would say: "to live is to pray"?
For me - I'm struggling in the "in between"...receiving and experiencing this reality yet being pulled away by irrelevant things. To stay detached is the key for me right now and the only way to stay detached is to stay present. If that makes any sense...?? I'm really having a hard time finding vocabulary for what I'm experiencing right now. Anyway, I'm loving Rohr's spiritual direction.
Hey Tracy,
I don't know if they would say that. I think Rohr probably would. Or else he would say "to live truly, humanly, is to pray without ceasing." But I struggle with the reality of that notion. There are times when I need to think about the work I'm doing & cannot consciously pray. That is when "Laborare est orare."
I know one thing. If I'm not able to pray willingly, happily, and with zest and energy, it is solely because I've given myself over to a pace of life that cripples my soul.
-t
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