Starting off right

I love to watch the sun come up, sipping a fresh cup of coffee.  I have a small patio just outside my kitchen, where I’ve got a table and chairs.  A ceramic image of Mary and the baby Jesus that I purchased in Florence years ago hangs on the side of my garden shed.  As I look to the East, the sky changing from dark to light, from peachy red to creamy yellow, my focus shifts between the  light of the new day and this little ceramic image. Its a great way for me to begin again.  I usually say the “gloria” during these few minutes, and I thank the Lord that He is a God of second chances.

No matter what I did yesterday, I can start again.  If I focused on the wrong things, I’m given the chance to re-focus.  If I wronged someone, I’ve got another twenty-four hours to right it.

During the winter, or if the weather is bad, I have the same experience by looking out my second floor window.  If it’s raining, I still pray this way, knowing that the sun is still coming up behind the clouds, even though I can’t see it.  Rainy days remind me that God is moving whether I can see it or not.

I’m grateful that there is some on-line help too.  I love the three minute retreat from Loyola Press.  After I pray with the sunrise, I usually make my way, with my second cup of coffee, to the computer, see what’s new, and end with this on-line prayer.

My mom starts her day by visiting Sacred Space, a website produced by the Irish Jesuits.  She’s been visiting this site each day for years.  Growing up, I don’t think I ever even heard of the Jesuits, much less met one.  But now, they influence me through the three minute retreats, wonderful books about Ignatian Spirituality (Try Inner Compass by Margaret Silf) and through the internet.  I’m in the last days of making a 34 week retreat based upon the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  It’s been a life-changer.  More about that another time…