PASSING
OF TIME – SPRING
Lovely clear day – sunshine
is finally warm – winters
are long – we long for them
to end. Foliage is rich –
from much rain – snow.
First flowers are lovely – white
alyssums – blue bells.
It is delightful to sit in the
garden –
just taking it all in.
We live in four seasons –
they come – go – start again.
Such is time –
such is life. Life is a big
mystery – where does it all go?
Life is a river – just flows on.
My life flows too – many
things happened to me – some good
-
bad - others indifferent.
So my life flows on – mysterious
as the four yearly cycles.
Life in the world goes on –
painful to me – American Empire –
endless wars – bombing –
cover ups – lies – violence -
killing done in the name of
democracy – liberty.
I do not know when it will end -
God only knows.
So I sit in spring sun light –
garden – my life – life
of the world are beyond me.
I put all into Jesus’ hands –
hoping that the wheel of time
will some way be positive –
turn out good.
Robert Trabold
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QUIET IN THE SUMMER
TIME
Robert Trabold
In the hectic life we lead in the
big cities, the summertime can be a time of slowing down. The warmer weather
allows us to be outdoors and if we have a garden or live near the seashore or
mountains, we can relax and enjoy the loveliness of nature. Being in contact with God’s creation can have
a calming effect on us and be an opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the
flowers, seashore, etc. I have a garden and do find that it is a place of
meditation when I can sit in its quiet and be present to the flowers and trees.
The ocean shore and the mountains have always been a contemplative experience where
their beauty and quiet allow me to enter into the silence of God. The summer can
be a less busy time because other people are away and some of our usual
business slows down due to their absence. People look to take a break which
helps us be free of some of our usual activities. New York City was particular
hot this July and I had to stay in the air conditioned room a good part of the
day and doing my chores or work in the morning and evening when it was cooler.
This gave me more time to reflect on the silence of our contemplative prayer
and where it should lead us.
In our meditation, its quiet and the
repetition of the mantra, we attempt to touch the presence of the divine, but not
by thinking about God, conjuring up images or using many words. These are put
aside and we try to be in the presence of the Lord who is. Our contemplative
prayer is a journey to reach, know and love the unknown and transcendent one.
Our faith teaches us that the divine knows and loves us and invites us to
reciprocate the same. This is done in naked presence and we do not rely on many
images, words or explanations. Our contemplative prayer is an exercise to
develop the discipline of attentiveness to the divine who is, is personal and lives
at our center and still point. There is a stepping out of our absorption with
our self-importance, selfishness and involvement with the infinite cares of our
daily life. The focus now is on the source of our life on earth and around whom
we want to orientate ourselves.
Our journey into contemplative
prayer is an attempt to develop the discipline of presence. We are present to ourselves and not running
away from anything but through this self- presence, there is a touching of the Lord
who is at the deepest part of our being. No one can be present to us as the
divine at our center and still point. This is then the challenge of contemplative
prayer. Through the years, we want to be faithful to this process which
requires patience, faithfulness and discipline and putting aside our
self-importance and sitting in our poverty. We are touching the infinite source
of life – the ultimate mystery calling us by our name and wanting us to call
his/her name in knowledge and love.
Hopefully, the quiet and relaxing
time we have in the summer will help us reflect on our journey into mystical
prayer and realize what is involved. This extra time can be like a retreat
where we deepen our experience of the Lord and renew our faithfulness to the
discipline of meditation.
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