I love Sundays! Sunday is a day to be contemplative in all that I do. The morning prayer can be prolonged, time taken to reflect back over the week, some time for doing nothing, reading the Sunday papers in a leisurely fashion, taking time to read and reflect and then, of course, we have time together for out community prayer. It is the Lord’s Day and we are to keep holy the Sabbath. Today’s Gospel tells us that those who are poor and needy are happy; those who hunger now will be filled; those who mourn will be comforted. I wonder if mourning is also longing – blessed are those who long for union with the Lord. I sometimes find myself writing other beatitudes. Certainly Jesus would be able to say: “Blessed are those who trust.” One of His great messages to us is to trust; do not be afraid. But Luke gives us just four beatitudes and they are definitely counter-cultural: Happy the poor, the hungry, the sad, and those who are persecuted. What a lesson for me to learn and see with the eyes of Jesus.
One of my favorite prayers is found at the beginning of The Cloud of Unknowing:
O God unto whom all hearts lie open
Unto whom desire is eloquent
And from whom no secret thing is hidden;
Purify the thoughts of my heart
By the outpouring of your Spirit
That I may love you with a perfect love
And praise you as you deserve.
Amen.
(This is taken from The Cloud of Unknowing and The Book of Privy Counseling
Edited and with an Introduction by William Johnston. A Doubleday Image Book, 1973.)
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