Prayer in the Summertime

SPRING GARDEN

Gentle warm spring air touches me –

brushes quietly my face –

I delight in the scent of fresh cut grass –

perfume smell of the lilacs pervades all –

laughing snow ball bush – throwing

blossoms in all directions.

Happy bird in love calls its mate.

Peace settles over me –

quiet - silent.

Within me, I feel a presence –

mystery –

pervading my whole being.

Voice of God – my Beloved

is silence

so I know who is knocking at the door.

Loveliness of the spring garden

welcomes - ushers in this visit –

let me sit on the garden bench and enjoy it.

But I feel laying on me the injustices - violence of

the world –

my country’s war making –

killing innocent women and children.

Quiet of the garden - gun shots of war

collide –

I feel both within me.

Let me not be discouraged –

I place my hope in my Beloved – the divine.

Life – world - their problems are beyond me.

I rest in the presence of Someone bigger –

He will not forget me and my world –

I leave it in his hands!

Robert Trabold

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PRAYER IN THE SUMMER TIME

Robert Trabold

            For us contemplatives, we try to be faithful to our discipline of silence so that we can encounter God in prayer at our center and still point.  We meditate twice a day each for twenty minutes to have this meeting with the Lord. I live in a house that has a garden and I find that the stillness of the evening garden a wonderful opportunity to have this encounter. But the summer time and the opportunities to be outside offer us other occasions where we can experience the wonder of God in the power and beauty of nature.

            I like the springtime when the first flowers come out of from the winter time particularly the first roses.  Roses love water and the spring rains make them extra big and lush in their colors. Their bigness exudes the loveliness of the spring time. They tend to be smaller in the later summer which is a dryer season. Being so big, their aroma is very strong and one can smell it already at a distance. Portulacas, which are small plants but bloom without end in the high summer time, give me much joy. In their flower boxes, they bloom profusely and exude such joy with their sheer numbers, cheerful colors and fidelity in blooming each day. Also, I am fortunate to live near the ocean seashore and go there regularly to admire the ocean and its changing colors, the yellow sand and the varied vegetation of the shore. These things combine with the vastness of the sky which here on the East coast varies from day to day. Summer time is the time of sharp storms which can also do much damage. I often watch the storm coming with the fierce cloud formation, lightening flashing from left to right, rapid winds picking up and then the heavy downpours of rain which makes one run inside. We experience the power of nature and see how insignificant we are in face of such force. After a while, the storm passes and we are immersed in silence which covers the neighborhood and the gardens. What a difference from a few minutes before when we experienced such downpours, thunder and lightening. We are silent as we stand in front of the power and majesty of nature.

            All of the above can provide us with moments of admiration and prayer.  We are humbled when in the spring and summer, we watch the process of growth start and grow.  It is so vast and complex and returns each year. This provokes within us a sense of gratitude when we see the loveliness of the natural world unfold around us. We have a sense of humility when we see the power and force of the natural world which can have positive and negative effects.  Storms can bring needed water but their force also can cause much damage to the neighborhood and ordinary living. All these reactions can be helpful to us in our prayer life.  As contemplatives, we strive to encounter God in stillness and silence and cultivate a discipline of silence so we can do this each day.  But we can use these other reactions that we have in experiencing the wonder, beauty and power of nature to which we are exposed to in the summer time. They give us other glimpses of the power and wonder of God who is present in the natural world around us. They can bring a richness of feeling which stay with us while we are in silent contemplation. Also, when we are distracted in our meditation, these feelings of wonder can help us to return to the silent presence of the divine.

            As contemplatives, we are committed to encounter the divine in silence at our still point and center. But let us also use other spiritual experiences around us to which we are exposed in the majesty and power of nature in the summer to grow in the rich spiritual life which the Lord calls us to.

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