Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Dear God,

It was the sound of angels singing.  I returned to the monastery after an absence of six months.  I missed the responsive readings of the psalms, the silence between the readings, and the prayers.  I loved the songs lifted up in praise to you, our Loving God.

I am gone all summer and am not able to join in Morning Prayer with the sisters.  Yet, the moment I step into the motherhouse of the Benedictine sisters, I am so at home.  Somehow the air seems different.  It is charged with a kind of quiet, sacred power.  I always know I am moving into the holy of holies when I take a seat in the chapel.  I sense your glorious presence and am blessed with your beautiful peace.

I think it is the music that warms my heart the most.  The lyrics taken from the psalms fills us with the hope of faith.  It adjusts attitude, replenishes empty vessels, and fills the soul with your tender mercies.  It moves us closer to you and one another.  It challenges us to rise higher in our faith and practice.  It inspires.

Compassionate God,
lover of every soul,
thank you
for the blessing
of the monastery.
Thank you
for your
living presence
always alive.
Thank you
for the psalms,
living water
and spiritual food
for the
hungry soul.

Love, Andrea