Friday, November 7, 2013
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A Prayer for Sacrifice
“Just as physical hunger is an indication of a living, healthy organism, so spiritual hunger is a sign of a robust spirit, one that is active and continually developing. The soul which feels no hunger for God, no need to seek him and to find him, and which does not vibrate or suffer with anxiety in its search, does not bear within itself the signs of the Resurrection. It is a dead soul, or at least one which has been weakened and rendered insensible by lukewarm-ness”.
MAGNIFICAT Meditation, Fr. Gabriel of St Mary Magdalene, O.C.D.
What do we do when we feel that God is not listening? We might turn away, become angry or depressed; we might even curse God in the belief that we have been deceived. Yet these are the acts of petulant children. So what must we do? We must praise God still.
What do we do when we encounter God on our pilgrimage, even when we do not know at the time that it is God who works, plays, prays beside us? We might explain away the miraculous touch of God’s visit. We might take credit for God’s work in our lives by telling others that our good fortune is due to our own sweat and brains. Yet these are the acts of spoiled children. So what must we do? We must acclaim God still.
What do we do when we realize that God has just brushed by us, and we were so enmeshed with living that we did not take proper notice? We might excuse ourselves saying that we have too much work to pause, too many worries to reflect, too many tasks on our list of chores. Yet these would be the acts of self-centered children. So what must we do? We must applaud God still.
How might we behave when we feel as though God ignores us? We consider that we thirst, we consider that we hunger and we translate this sense of loss into a pining for the Living God. We consider that we are experiencing our own Resurrection and so we praise God. We consider that God accepts our burnt offerings of the thousand little and big ways that we suffer daily for Christ and so we acclaim God. We consider that we are experiencing spiritual hunger and for this we thank and applaud the Living God. For it is this yearning, this desire, this hunger which awakens the soul . . . and saves us from any lukewarm-ness.
And so we pray,
Generous and loving God, save us from our petulant selves and bring us close to you.
Patient and gentle God, rescue us from our spoiled selves and keep us ever in your presence.
Powerful and omniscient God, redeem us from our self-centered selves and remind us to give thanks to you.
Eternal and serene God, transform us from our insensible selves so that we might always live and act in you. Amen.
Adapted from a reflection written on March 26, 2008.
Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 26.3 (2008). Print.
For more information about the papyrus fragment of Psalm 50 above, click on the image above or go to the Duke Papyrus Archive at: http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/papyrus/texts/homepage.html
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