View from the choir

I am a Catholic layperson and Secular Franciscan with a sense of humor. After years in the back pew watching, I have moved into the choir. It's nice to see faces instead of the backs of heads. But I still maintain God has a sense of humor - and that we are created in God's image.

Friday, July 14, 2006

Weight - and finishing Merton


Down 25 pounds. 17 to go to my goal.

Finished Thomas Merton’s Gethsemani: Landscapes of Paradise. I enjoyed it, and I recommend it.

Nature has always been an important part of my spiritual life. I find God there far more easily than I do in church. Community is important, but I find it easier to encounter God’s presence while alone in the midst of his creation.

"(I)t is God’s love that warms me in the sun and God’s love that sends the cold rain … It is God’s love that speaks to me in the birds and streams." New Seeds of Contemplation

I find it easier to pray when in nature. At church, the prayers seem rote. In nature, the prayers spring forth.

"What miles of silences God has made in you for contemplation! If only people realized what all your mountains and forests are really for!" Seven Storey Mountain

So, read the book. Look at the pictures. Savor it.

posted by A Secular Franciscan | 8:31 AM

1 Comments:

Blogger Amanda M said...

In the winter I go to Mass, and in the summer...I go to the mountain, beach or river, for the very reasons you just mentioned. Thank you for your post...

11:15 PM  

Post a Comment

<< Home