contemplative

The war against ourselves

St. Teresa of Avila talked about the role of the contemplative as a standard bearer. She described the holder of the guidon of Jesus, of love, as having the one goal to hold the banner high no matter what chaos whirls around him, no matter if he is cut to pieces. If the standard bearer should fall, he must struggle to his feet again to hold high the symbol that urges on those in battle, gives them hope, lets them know their comrades are nearby when their courage flags.

I have thought a lot in the past couple of days about what was wrong with me in the midst of the chaos; meaning the violence of thought word and deed since the public murder of Charlie Kirk. I couldn’t hold the banner so much. It wobbled, as Winnie the Pooh would say of his spelling. It wobbled, shook, slipped as I took in entirely too much of what was going on. I have CPTSD and it’s important for me to guard how much craziness I absorb. Also I am an empath type person. I feel what people are feeling deeply. I don’t know about you but the last couple of days have triggered me badly. I have felt like a microcosm of the macrocosm of horror and rage, of compassion and sympathy, of fear and dread. My fight or flight has been FIGHT as usual. I too want to fill my mouth with argument along with everyone else.

St. Teresa would be the first person to say our real war is against ourselves. she advised us to return again and again to “the room of self knowledge.” Well today I am trying that.

Simeon the Prophet told Mother Mary that a sword would pierce her heart “so that the secret thoughts of many [would] be laid bare (Lk. 2:35). I have thought about that at times of tragedy and reckoning over the last several years. It does seem that the secret thoughts of many are laid bare in the midst of tragedy, of horrific events. Mary’s heart was pierced through by her love and compassion for her Son, and really, for us too. Murder surely pierces her heart. Injustice, people doing harm to one another, these must hurt her terribly. Jesus Crucified by hate. Again and again.

I have had my PTSD triggered by the event itself; a horrible murder. A father and husband with little kids suddenly dead. I lost my first husband in a car accident when my youngest was three months old and my eldest three weeks shy of her fifth birthday. I can hardly stand to think of what Kirk’s widow is going through today and what she will go through in the days, weeks, months, years ahead of her. She will have to watch her children grieve. She will have to be there for them as her world is ending. I can’t imagine people watching video all over the world of my husband dying a gruesome death. I was surprised when the sun still rose the day after my husband died. I watched in shock as the news came on and people went to work and school and drove around as if the sky hadn’t fallen. I feel for her very much.

The secret thoughts of many have been laid bare haven’t they? I’ve been triggered by some of their reactions as well as the original event. Some people have been sanitizing the murdered man as if he had been a saint when he was a rank racist who said things every day that could get people harassed, threatened and endangered and did. His public life was all about hate. Then people I thought were sane are saying his work should be “continued,” (Gavin Newsom) or that he “did politics the right way.” (Ezra Klein).

Some have been fawning over him. Their hero is dead. Incomprehensible to me. He was horrible. Look up the things he said for yourself if you don’t believe me.

I think of St. Edith Stein’s saying that truth without love or love without truth is a destructive lie. And look. It is. Historically Black campuses have had bomb threats. The DNC had a bomb threat. Why? I guess because Kirk hated black people? Or because they assumed a black person did it? Because he hated Democrats? They assume the culprit is a Democrat? Brawls have broken out. The president wants to give the man a statue in DC and award him the presidential medal of freedom. Of course he does. He hasn’t helped with his incendiary blaming of “radical left Democrats.”

The outpouring of grief and praise for the man must be a gut punch to the people he harmed with his bullying, with his hate and his stirring up more and more hate. I know it’s a gut punch for me. My heart is the most with the vulnerable and persecuted. That’s where I think it should be. However that solidarity of mine has caused me a lot of rage over the last couple of days. A friend said, to my prayer online for peace and an end to political violence, “You’re a good person.” I replied, “Not really.” I noticed one of my kids put a laughing emoji on that. Thanks a lot Roise.

Also triggering to me is the response of people who want to skip the ugly process of truth and reckoning to get to the peace they think would come if we all decided to just get along and lay aside our differences. To me that’s fake peace. After the things I have been through I have seen enough of that. How can we love our enemies if we whitewash and sanitize what they have done? That’s fake love. It’s useless, wrong even.

I see how I have been freaking out about all this; angry, horrified, scared for our country, taking in too much of what everyone is saying and what the news is when I know that makes me so upset.

Maybe I can offer up all the wild inner agony I have had about all this to God to help someone somewhere. Mary’s piercing of the heart was co-redemptive. I can entrust my little offering of a struggling heart to her.

I pray that I’ll be able to love Kirk- who by all accounts would be an enemy of mine at least as a public figure- in the way God wants me to. Right now that seems to me to be to pray for his salvation, for a beautiful forever life with God for him. Whatever he is doing, Charlie Kirk understands more than any of us do now. He has a completely different perspective. He has encountered eternal love and life. May he embrace them, embrace him who is love and life himself with all of his heart and possess them forever. God says he will give us all new hearts instead of our stony hearts. Amen amen.

I need to ask for that for myself, too. For all of us.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”
Ezekiel 36:26

September 12, 2025 1

Praying the News of the week, September 7

Opening Invocation

Give us joy for the days of our affliction, for the years when we looked upon evil.
Psalm 90:15

God of compassion, we bring into your presence all that weighs on our hearts this week, especially the human suffering and the most frightening things we see and hear of in the news daily. We gather these headlines not to dwell in despair or fear, but to bring them into the refuge of your healing presence.

Deep Focus

May our daughters [be] like columns adorned for a palace.
Psalm 144:12b

Lord, the horror these women went through as girls has sickened us. Only you know the depth of their suffering, of the damage done, how re-traumatized they are after speaking up this week. May they be believed and may they see justice in their lifetimes. May they feel protected now as they should have been then. Jesus, you have said if someone harms one of your little ones it would be better for them to be thrown in the river tied to a millstone. Your compassion is with these women. Send your mother to help them heal. May she pray for Epstein survivors, and for all survivors of sexual abuse and trafficking. May she cover them with her mantle, encircle them in her arms, strengthen and free them of their nightmares and the daily struggles they face in their woundedness. May these daughters more and more continue growing stronger, with grace and beauty like columns holding up our nation.

Lord Jesus, bring your mercy and truth to abusers that they may repent. In the mercy they receive, may they begin to live in righteousness, making amends for what they have done.

*Bring a mental image of the Epstein Survivors into the presence of Mother Mary. She has been waiting for them. Bring each one to her., one by one. What does she do? What does she say? Does she ask anything of you?

Other Intercessions/Headlines to pray over

O Lord, let your kindness rest upon us,
for we have placed our hope in you.
Psalm 33:22

We pray that you infuse the CDC and NIH and all government agencies and officials responsible for the health of the American people with wisdom, integrity, and respect for gold standard science. We have nothing to fear from wisdom and truth or the facts the scientific process brings us, for you created it all. Bring the people discernment so we know who to trust about our health. May doctors and nurses follow truth in their care of us all.

We pray for the reasonable prosperity of our country in light of the disappointing jobs report and the unhinged economic policies, chaos and trade wars this administration inflicts on our system. May we find a way and may everyone looking for work find meaningful work that meets their needs and brings them dignity.

We pray for our trans brothers and sisters, who are your children as much as we are, that they will be safe from violence, and free from persecution from society and the law for nothing but being trans. Forgive us Lord for the unkindness and hysteria heaped on them in these dark times of intolerance and hate.

We pray for ICE that they will be led to repentance for their violence and cruelty. We pray that they will seek and find better jobs that help instead of harm others; work they can be proud of. We pray for everyone who lives in fear of them, all who are detained, and all of the deported.

We pray for our national guard and armed forces, that they will be true to their pledge to uphold the Constitution and to protect the American people. Give each of them courage and strength when the time comes to resist any illegal orders.

For the cities the president is threatening, may they be safe and free in the face of injustice, and for the people of our capital city.

We pray for our courts that they will mete out justice wisely and impartially according to the Constitution of the United States.

For a just and lasting peace for Palestine, Ukraine and all people suffering war and violence. For the Palestinian people to be saved from famine. For all who suffer malnutrition to be fed. That we ourselves who are safe and well fed will be motivated to feed the hungry and protect the vulnerable.

We pray for all enemies of justice and peace, that they will be stopped, amend their ways, and work for righteousness.

You who are Love, perfect us in love.

Closing Blessing

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand..

Isaiah 41:10

God, in the moments when the news overwhelms, steady our spirits with the reminder that you hold the world- sun and star, nation and neighbor, beetle and bug, atom and quark, as well as our frightened hearts in your hands and that you remain you even if worlds fall. May your peace shape our hearts, your justice and love shape our actions this week. Lead us in your ways. We ask all these things in your Name, in your honor, and for love of you and our brothers and sisters. Amen

Remember, O most compassionate Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, sought your intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, we fly unto thee, O Virgin of Virgins, Our Mother. To you we come, before you we kneel; sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not our petitions, but on your mercy, hear and answer them. Amen.

September 6, 2025 1

Pray the News 8/31/25

Opening Invocation

He restores my soul;
He guides me in the paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.
Psalm 23:3

Deep Focus

A voice is heard in Ramah,
    mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.
Jeremiah 31:15

How long, O Lord, how long will these mass shootings go on? How long until we stop children being gunned down in school? How long will this sickness possess our land, will this demonic scene play out? How long until our leaders listen to the people and do what is necessary so this never happens again? How many little children have to die? How many parents have to grieve for the rest of their lives? Lord, we repent in dust and ashes on behalf of our nation for the violence, for the greed, for the corruption, for our lack of priority for mental health access, and for all our faults as a people. Send your Holy Spirit on us all to bring us and all of our leaders Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord, not only to think and to pray but to do what is right. Lord, lift up the families of the dead, especially of the two little ones shot down in Church this week, Harper and Fletcher. May your Spirit of love and consolation be near all the injured and traumatized.

Come, Holy Spirit, Come.

*Quiet your heart and allow yourself to be led by Jesus beside beautiful and quiet water, through green fields where he lays you down to rest, then down paths of goodness and right, now across dark valleys when he is your only light, and finally out into an open place, before a beautiful table. He fills your cup with wine that spills over onto the table cloth, and fills your plate with all you could ever need. He anoints your head with fragrant oil. Let yourself be loved in this moment, knowing this love, too, spills over and fills the world.

Other Intercessions/headlines of this week

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom
2 Corinthians 3:17

We pray for Kilmar Abrego Garcia and that the deep wrongs and injustices heaped on him be righted. We all know he is detained for purely political reasons. Defend him, protect him, and may the truth come roaring like a lion on his behalf before the whole world. If he can’t be safe here may a safe country offer him asylum. Someone must help this man and his family. Let it be you and if it can be us show us the way.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

We pray for those separated from loved ones by deportation, detention, and forced self deportation, and for all who live in fear of ICE. Lord protect, defend and encourage them. Show us how we can help them and stop this violence. We ask that you send a spirit of compassion and repentance on those who participate in mass deportations, abuse and detention in terrible places. Not only do we beg you to fill them with your merciful love, but to forgive them and let them know the power of your Divine Mercy.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

We know our president, who has caused and engaged in much evil, cruelty and harm, has been ill and is elderly and frail. We do want him to be stopped from committing any more evil acts but we do pray for his salvation, whatever that will take for him. Before it is too late, grant him the grace of insight and repentance that he can know and not refuse you and your mercy. We pray he will know the joy of forgiveness and transformation in this lifetime or at least at the moment of his death.

Come Holy Spirit, Come.

As war drags on for Ukraine, and slaughter and famine in Palestine, we ask for a just and lasting peace for those places and everywhere there is violence, starvation and war. May the people be fed and be able to live in peace and freedom. May there be healing for survivors and mercy for the dead. We pray for the conversion of Russia so that she will stop spreading her errors throughout the world. We pray for Israeli government to act with mercy and justice. We pray for all nations who have contributed to this mayhem and horror, or stood by while it happened and did not help, to step up, to speak and to act.

Come, Holy Spirit, Come

We pray for an end to the attempts of the federal government to occupy major cities ruled by the presidents’ political rivals. We pray for DC to be self ruled in peace, and for the threatened city of Chicago as the city prepares. Protect the people and the rule of law, we pray.

Come Holy Spirit, come.

Lord, we are living through dark times and each of us has our part to play in bringing light and ending the violence and the violation of human rights, the destruction of our democracy and the hatred, greed and nihilism that fuels all this. We are scared a lot. We ask that you grant us the knowledge of your will for us and the power to carry it out. May the knowledge of you fill the earth as water fills the sea.

Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Closing Blessing

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18

Come, Holy Spirit,

Come by means

of the powerful intercession

of the Immaculate Heart

of Mary,

thy well beloved spouse.

August 31, 2025 1

My new book soon to be released: Meeting the One Who Loves You; St. Teresa of Avila’s Way of Prayer

Last summer I finished the manuscript for a little book about the Prayer of Recollection of St. Teresa of Avila. This summer it will be released. My goal was to teach the prayer in an engaging and accessible way. Lots of people know Lectio Divina as a contemplative Christian method of prayer and rightly so, but few people know the Prayer of Recollection from the Doctor of Prayer, St. Teresa of Jesus. The only book I could find exclusively about the prayer was just a series of Teresa’s quotes about it. So I wrote one myself.

Saint Teresa said she never knew what it was to pray with satisfaction until the Lord himself taught her what she named “The Prayer of Recollection.” Meeting the One Who Loves You teaches this method of prayer step by step, along with its underpinning concepts, in a friendly, personal way.

Saint Teresa of Ávila taught that the sacred humanity of Jesus is our way to him. She believed in the power of prayer, even the simple inner silence of contemplative prayer — spending time with Jesus and loving him.

Wherever you are in life and in your walk with God, fear not. Only good can come of learning this prayer and making it an important part of your daily life. Saint Teresa knew the transforming love of God in prayer, and consequently, she lived a life of extraordinary richness. If you have a desire to pray more deeply, to grow exponentially in love, and to be connected to God more profoundly, then this prayer is perfect for you.

The release date is Monday, August 25. You can find it at osvcatholicbookstore.com, Amazon, Barnes and Nobles , and other places you find books! Go get one and if you buy it on Amazon be sure and leave a review!

August 23, 2025 0

Pray the News 8/24/25

Opening Invocation

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:16

Deep Focus

He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry.
Psalm 146:7

Our hearts cry out to you for justice. God you see the people of Gaza starving to death because the government of the state of Israel won’t let food or aid in. Lord this is a travesty. The world watches in horror. Israelis and people around the world protest. The U.N. declares a famine. It is man made. Little children are dying while food waits at check points close by, held up. 2000 people including children have been killed trying to seek food at military aid stations. Oh God we need you. Our president supports this and the Israeli leader has no intention of letting Gaza live. What can we do now? Tell us. Speak, Lord. Your servants who are well fed are listening for how we can share. Your children who are dying cry out. Hear us all. Time is running out. Only you are God who hold the hearts of all and every grain of sand. Break through to us. Free Palestine. Feed Palestine. Heal Palestine. And heal the hearts of the oppressors that they will oppress, bomb and starve these people no longer. Open the way.

*Spend a few moments with the Holy Spirit now, flowing through you like gushing water to reach the ruins of Gaza, breaking every barrier, going past every tank, crossing the lines of soldiers who are blocking the way to the aid. With him, become a sweet rain of grace on the people. There is bread in your hands. Feed them all. Now let The Lord bring you the ones who need him most. Let the Spirit guide you in your prayers for them, your words to them, your touch of comfort.

Other Intercessions/Headlines to Pray Over

The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted, to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, release to the prisoners, and to announce a year of favor from the LORD and a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn
Isaiah 61:

*We give thanks to you, God of freedom and love, for the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to his family. The administration is already trying to deport him to Uganda on Monday. So as we sit with our gratitude and happiness for him and his family after all he has been through, we ask that you protect him, Lord. We especially ask for the prayers of St. Michael the Archangel to shield and defend him in his path forward. Give wisdom to his lawyers and helpers. Confuse and defeat those who would harm him. Let there be justice and peace for this man and all others like him.

*We give thanks to you, Lord, that the terrible detention center of Alligator Alcatraz has been ordered to close for environmental reasons. We are so happy about this for that reason and because of the people detained in that abusive place. We all needed something good to happen and those detained need freedom and human dignity. Please continue to help them. We know there will be appeals.

*Our racist president and his administration continue their offensive against Black Americans by erasing their history and even denying it. Lift up your black children, Lord. May the truth of slavery be preserved. May the excellence of black people be lifted up and allowed to shine. May this latest wound inflicted not only on them but on our country by doing this be healed. Let nothing escape your eye. You restore all things. Restore whatever is being destroyed, in the name of all who went before who suffered slavery and racism and do still. Silence those who have set out on this erasure and denial. May the truth come roaring like a lion, defending itself.

*We pray for a free and fair election in 2026. May our country return to its Constitutional values. May we grow closer and closer to the ideals of democracy, equality and freedom.

*We bring the federal occupation of our capital city to you. We read of the threats of our authoritarian president to expand this assault on other cities who voted against him and try to give sanctuary to immigrants. We ask you to stop this, to stop it through us, the people. Show us a way to defeat this. Give light to the minds of the National Guard so they remember their commitment is to us and the Constitution. Give us all courage to do whatever we are supposed to do in the face of this frightening and infuriating turn of events.

*We pray for Epstein and Maxwells victims, that they will know healing and see justice. We pray that the media, society and the law will put their suffering first.

*For an end to wars and violence all over the world, especially in Ukraine and Gaza. May there be lasting and just peace. For this we ask the intercession of the Queen of Peace, Our Lady.

*Lord, you are close the poor and the homeless. You have said you are them. How dare we destroy what little they have and send them – where? In DC this is happening and it happens around our country. Christ have mercy on them and on us this is so wrong, especially since it’s harsh and thoughtless policies that have largely made them homeless to begin with. We have treated you like dirt, Lord. Help us set this right. We pray for all of them. Protect them and give them the peace and the love and the dignity they deserve.

Closing Blessing

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

Psalm 103: 19-22

August 23, 2025 1

Pray the News 8/17/25

Opening Invocation

Come to me, all you who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Mt. 11:28-30

Deep Focus

When I called, you answered me; you increased the strength of my soul.
Ps. 138:3

Oh God, we are often overwhelmed and frightened these days. The sickening cruelty, the scary authoritarian moves, the destruction of constitutional norms, the bowing to our enemies, all of this horrifies and shocks us. Helpless rage at times consumes us. Other times we just have to turn it all off. But we were born for this time. We are alive now for a reason. Show us our path in these dark days, and renew the strength of our souls. With you we can climb any mountain, scale any wall, walk any path. With faith, with prayer let us be supported and guided. Take us into your Sacred Heart, the center and core of all things. May our prayer deepen that we may draw from you, Source of all life. May we never hurt anyone and may we never be afraid of anyone so that we may know your will and be able to carry it out.

*Spend a few minutes with Jesus now, closing your eyes in stillness and silence. He wants to take you somewhere. Follow him through the corridors or your heart, down down until you come to an open place. There is an altar here with a river flowing from it. You see it is lined with beautiful trees. Let Jesus pick some of the leaves for you and feed them to you. Allow him now to cup his hands and give you water from the river to drink. What do these leaves, this water, taste like? How does it feel when he wraps his fragrant cloak over your shoulders? Maybe you feel stronger now. Maybe the fear drains from you. Maybe not. Maybe this will come later when you need it most.

Other Intercessions/Headlines to Pray Over

The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds; it does not rest till it reaches its goal; Nor will it withdraw till the Most High responds.
Sirach 25:21

Lord, may our communities gather to stand up for the rights and dignity of the unhoused in their midst, to defend and help them, to shed light on the systemic causes of their destitution as well, to mitigate and eliminate those.

Lord, enlighten the people.

Come Holy Spirit to ensure the justice and fairness, the freedom and hope of our elections and our faith in them. Protect them from interference and manipulation.

Lord, enlighten your people.

That we will grow as a people in compassion and discernment of wisdom and justice, we pray.

Enlighten your people, Lord.

For the starving and bombed people of Gaza and everywhere else, we pray that the world will stop tolerating this crime against humanity and do what is right.

Enlighten your people, Lord.

For Ukraine, for a just and lasting peace.

Enlighten your people, Lord.

For those who are being abused and denied their rights in detention, and those who live in fear of it, we pray

Enlighten your people, Lord.

Open the eyes of the American people to this authoritarian danger, Lord, before it is too late, we pray

Enlighten your people, Lord.

Strengthen us to defend the weak, the persecuted, the vulnerable we pray.

Enlighten your people, Lord.

Jesus, you have said we must pray for our enemies, so we pray for the enemies of justice and love, that they will be truly converted in mind and heart.

Closing Blessing

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand
Isaiah 41:10

*Today I am going to add a prayer I love and pray often. It may be useful to you too in times like these. I have it memorized so I can reflect on it when I can.

May I open my eyes every morning with the Holy Name on my lips.

May I see God everywhere in everyone.

May I never hurt anyone, and may I never be afraid of anyone.

May I be inspired to choose persuasive words, loving language, creative and positive thoughts, to carry peace and good will throughout the world.

May my meditation deepen, that I may draw from the Source of all life.

May I fall asleep at night with the Holy Name on my lips,

To heal my wounds, and prepare me for another day of service.

Amen.
Eknath Easwaran

*Reader, please feel free to add your own prayers to these in the comments if I have missed a news story that got to you this week.

August 17, 2025 1

Transform Your News Consumption Into Prayer

If I don’t watch out I can become a bit of a news junky; especially these days when scary, cruel and chaotic things happen daily. I feel like I have to keep up with all the news and analysis. This is so I can be a better activist and verbal defender of all that is good, and better able to speak up when there is injustice. I also say I keep up with world and national events because I want to hear about things I should pray about. I do pray about these things. However it occurs to me sometimes when I have read the same story or heard the basically the same discussion about the same story over and over in a week’s time, or even in one day, that my time could certainly be better spent praying.

I am thinking about this a lot today especially because it is the feast day of the beautiful Carmelite Saint, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Eidth Stein). My Secular Discalced Carmelite Community is named for her.

I have a strong belief that prayer takes us in Spirit along with Jesus and Mary to comfort those who suffer. St. Teresa Benedicta wrote about this beautifully.

The world is in flames: do you wish to put them out? Contemplate the Cross: from the open Heart the blood of the Redeemer pours, blood which can put out even the flames of hell. Through the faithful observance of the vows, you make your heart free and open; and then the floods of that divine love will be able to flow into it, making it overflow and bear fruit to the furthest reaches of the earth.

Through the power of the Cross you can be present wherever there is pain, carried there by your compassionate love, by that very love which you draw from the Divine Heart. That love enables you to spread everywhere the Most Precious Blood in order to ease pain, save, and redeem.

She would have known, from her formation in the Teresian Carmel, that prayer is a true work of the Church. Her spiritual Mother, St. Teresa of Avila taught this and Teresa Benedicta saw how relevant it was for the times she lived in, there in Nazi Germany when she was a woman of a Jewish family and at the end of her life, a Discalced Carmelite nun. She was taken, along with her sister, Rosa, to be put to death in a concentration camp. She was writing in urgent times. She offered her life for her Jewish people.

Some Carmelite nuns used to have a blog called, “Praying the News.’ Each week a different Sister took a news story that stood out to her and write a reflection and prayer, seemingly following the basic pattern of St. Teresa of Avila’s Prayer of Recollection. These particular nuns retired years ago and their blog is now defunct.

However, maybe I should take up their idea. I think I will do something like this. Some Chrsitian publications are doing a prayerful “nonpartisan” reflection and a little prayer about the news. It may not surprise you that I think the time for not taking a side is long over. As St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross put it, “The world is in flames.”

The world is in flames. The struggle between Christ and Antichrist rages openly, and so if you decide for Christ you can even be asked to sacrifice your life.

To me this is self-evident if you aren’t entangled in Trump-ism. The man is an anti-Christ personality and has even led many good people astray though I will never understand how that could have happened.

There are some things I can do about it such as stand up for vulnerable people in the ways I can, and offer them my love, presence and support.

Otherwise I can pray. This kind of prayer is not of the “Oh thoughts and prayers” variety. It’s the kind that trusts God to act, not even knowing what God will do but knowing he hears and that he will.

So I’m going to start thinking about how I can pray the news, more than use up so much time reading and listening to it. (Once is enough, right?)

I’ll see what I can work on. I will try posting a “Praying the news” here each week. How about Sundays?

See you then. 🙂

August 9, 2025 1

Pools of silence that heal the world

Things are so crazy right now. The world is crazy and our lives are crazy. We all know this. My life has had a lot of what people call “drama.” Right now is no exception. As I worked on my book about St. Teresa’s Prayer of Recollection (Meeting the One who loves you; St. Teresa of Avila’s way of prayer. Scheduled to be released on her feast day, October 15,) I thought about the development of my discipline of prayer in the middle of stress and difficulties.

My discipline of daily prayer was, of course, very imperfect. I had trouble being consistent. I was, as I mention sometimes, widowed young then raising two kids alone for many years. I could hardly get a moment to eat or do the dishes when the youngest was a baby. How did I develop a contemplative life?

I was reading over again a few pages from the book Poustinia by Servant of God Catherine Dougherty last night and came across this wonderful quote from her:

Deserts, silence, solitude, are not necessarily places but states of mind and heart. These deserts can be found in the midst of the city, and in the every day of our lives. We need only to look for them and realize our tremendous need for them. They will be small solitudes, little deserts, tiny pools of silence, but the experience they will bring, if we are disposed to enter them, may be as exultant and as holy as the one God himself entered. For it is God who makes solitude, deserts, and silences holy.
Poustinia

This is what I did. I found little deserts, tiny pools and pockets of silence in the midst of my harried days, in the midst of daily tasks like folding laundry, doing dishes. I have clear memories that are precious to me of the tenderness and wisdom of God, passing by as if brushing near my cheek, touching my heart at times I was doing little things like sweeping the living room floor. There were brief but fruitful moments of silence after taking the trash out when I looked up at the night sky and smiled at God, or in the middle of cooking, working or doing dishes.

Catherine writes that when we carry out the duties of our state in life, and when we are disposed in heart to receive these moments of quietness, they will come. We will notice them like a gentle hand on our shoulder saying, “Wait just a minute.”

I was so overwhelmed as a single mom. I had a great dream, during that time though, that I went into the kitchen and Jesus was there, hair in a ponytail, wiping out my refrigerator for me. I was so grateful in the dream, and happy about it when I woke up. Maybe he meant that if I took care of my prayer when I could, he would make sure things got done, and he would be there for me when I turned to him.

I still find little deserts in my still busy life today. I have built on these moments over the years, to include quiet moments of connection with the young special needs people I work with, a quiet moment petting my dog, Joey, or listening closely to someone needing to be heard. As Catherine and all the mystics point out, the fruits of conscious contact with God spill out to contact with others. Love always moves and flows. By it’s nature it can’t keep to itself. If our prayer is authentic, it won’t even stay in it’s scheduled time and place. God will start splashing it all over our lives and the lives of others too. It has to grow, it has to flow, it has to blossom to be real.

Prayer and love of others, of service, support one another, each setting off and intensifying the colors of the other. They don’t exist without one another.

St. Teresa, S.O.G. Catherine Dougherty and St. Edith Stein (Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) wrote extensively of how contemplative prayer actually has an effect on the growth and conversion of others. It goes out even further to change the world. We all need to take this very seriously right now. Not only do we need to be supported in these scary times by God, we also need to be his light, and as St. Teresa of Avila says, his hands and feet, his clear voice in this world that needs his compassion and love. We have forgotten these things and closed our hearts. We need conversion of heart as a people.

God has made us all connected to one another. So your moment of “found desert” while your’e waiting in line, stuck in traffic, putting gas in the car, taking a deep breath and reaching out to God, can open a window in Heaven, letting the wind of the Spirit rush in. God can work in an instant, even change everything, making our little second of love BIG.

So let’s pay attention today to our possibilities, our tiny pools of silence, pockets of inner solitude, the quietness of heart that come with God’s touch on our faces, the peace that comes from him in those moments. They are more than we could ever imagine. They will shine on us, on others, on the whole world.

“ … a silent heart is a loving heart, and a loving heart is a hospice to the world.”

Servant of God, Catherine Dougherty

July 19, 2025 1

Novena to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Prayer to be prayed every day of the novena

The Flos Carmeli

O beautiful flower of Carmel, most fruitful vine, holy and singular, who did bring forth the Son of God, ever still remaining a pure Virgin, assist us in our necessity.

Oh Star of the Sea, help and protect us.

Show us that thou art our Mother.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel,

pray for us.

Amen

Day 1

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.
Hosea 2:14

Mary, Queen of Carmel, take us to the places where God spoke to your heart. Teach our hearts to soften, to open as yours did, that we might hear what the Lord has to say in that tender voice of his. Clear our minds of their scurrying, and help us to be still. Lead us, gentle star, into the deepest depths of quiet and peace by your side. Draw us into the Heart of Jesus.

Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. Walk with her in silence the craggy path to the peaks of Mt. Carmel overlooking the sea. A gentle breeze flutters her veil. Watching, you realize the breeze is a voice speaking to you, that it is the Holy Spirit. What does the Spirit say to you as it ruffles your hair and kisses your face?

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, pray for us.

Day 2

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

The desert and the parched land will be glad;
    the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
    it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.
The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
    the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;
they will see the glory of the Lord,
    the splendor of our God.
Isaiah 35:1

In you, Mary, the Word was treasured as you meditated in your heart, and in you the Gospel blossomed abundantly. Your soul and your body were miraculously fruitful. In your humble simplicity the Spirit crowned you with splendor and glory beyond our understanding. But when I see you, Mary, you are quiet and smiling- your ornaments all within. Teach us to adorn ourselves with humility and simplicity. Draw us after you by the scent of your flowers of the heart, warmed by the sun that is the Lord’s joy shining on us.

Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She is walking in a field of wildflowers. Catch up to her. She is picking flowers and filling the hem of her mantle with them. She motions to you and you offer her the bottom of your shirt for the overflow. She smiles and begins to fill the pocket you made for all these flowers. You have to sit down so she can fill your lap too. Lift some to your face and breathe in their scent.

Mary, beauty and glory of Carmel, pray for us

Day 3

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.
Mark 3:33-35

Mary, you leapt to do the will of God at every sign of it with the love and trust of a little child, with the courage of a warrior bold. You were not only the physical Mother of the Lord, you were his spiritual mother and sister as well. You not only pondered the word of God given to you, but acted on it. Always you “arose and went with haste” wherever the Spirit called you. Teach us to listen, ponder, pray and to act on God’s word to us as you did unfailingly.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She puts a plate of food in front of you; bread, lentils and dates perhaps. She sits down to eat with you. As you bless the food together, you think, “Let us eat the bread of the will of God.” She smiles at you. You know you will have everything you need to do just that. And this is really good food, too.

Mary, Mother of the Word, pray for us.

Day 4

*The Flos Carmeli

God lives. I am standing in his presence. – The Prophet Elijah . (See 1Kings 17:1)

Mother of Carmel, you tended the fire of continual awareness of God’s presence in your heart daily as you swept the floor, made dinner, worked in the fields, held your Child, shopped in the market, loved and served the people around you. Open our hearts to perceive God within us, and in our daily lives; among the pots and pans, in the work we do daily, in the stolen moment of quiet, in the breaths before sleep. Help us come into the glow of constant contact with God you lived in within you and around you. Teach us the Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence)

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now, tending the hearth, keeping the fire burning brightly, talking with her about this and that. Feel the fire’s warm glow on your face. She leans her head on your shoulder.

Mother in whose heart we live, where we find our Beloved, pray for us.

(St. Maryam of Jesus Crucified said, “I live in the Heart of my Mother. There I find my Beloved.”)

Day 5

*The Flos Carmeli

The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.
Habakkuk 2:20

Mary you were the temple of the Lord in a unique way. How beautifully you show us the truth that we who love Jesus are his temples too. Help us to make time to be alone and silent before God in the temple of our hearts with the One who we know loves us. (Teresa of Avila) As you did, let us cherish the Lord within us, love him, know him, listen to him, silently speak to him, look at him and let him look at us.

Take Mary’s hand now and allow her to lead you gently to your inner Temple where Jesus waits. Be there for a moment.

Mother of Divine Love, pray for us.

Day 6

*Pray the Flos Carmeli

I have set myself in silence and peace,

as a little child has rest in in it’s mother’s arms,

even so my soul.
Psalm 131: 2

Oh Mary, the lowly handmaid, the simple girl who loved God in your littleness, teach us to be little too. Help us to be humble in your easy, joyful way. Help us to be free to run lightly in God’s paths, to laugh easily, to dance without thinking, to be happy in his world that is so beautiful, and vast. The world around us is sign of his creative love, a glimpse of the Kingdom to come we are helping to make present by being little and humble in the arms of Jesus.

Spend a quiet moment playing with the little Mary a game you loved as a child. Let her throw her arms around you then. Hug her back.

Child Mary, little, humble and free, pray for us.

Day 7

*The Flos Carmeli

As Elisha watched, [Elijah being taken up to Heaven] he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two. Elisha also took up the mantle that had fallen from Elijah. Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him and struck the waters. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. And when he had struck the waters, they parted to the right and to the left, and Elisha crossed over.…
2 Kings 2: 12-14

Holy Mother and Queen of Carmel, your Scapular is your prophetic mantle over our shoulders, a sign of our consecration to you, our silent devotion to you all though the day and during the night when we sleep figuratively wrapped in it’s protection.. The Brown Scapular is your hand on on our shoulder as we travel the Royal Road of prayer, and in the good works you lead us to. Help us to go forward with courage, to stand confidently as your children; seeing as you see, loving as you love, and serving from the heart. Help us to live as worthy sons and daughters of so wonderful a Mother.

*Spend a moment with Our Lady now. Lay your scapular in her lap and let her kiss it and put in on you again over your head and shoulders.

Mary, spiritual daughter of Elijah the Prophet, pray for us who wear your Scapular.

Day 7

*The Flos Carmeli

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galations 6:2

Mary, in Carmel you are not only Mother and Queen, you are our sister and friend. Friends bear one another’s burdens. We know that you have always helped us bear our burdens and that you hear our sorrows. We want you to know we are here for you too. Share with us the sorrows of your loving heart, your concerns for your children. We know you always lead people to your Son, that you love us all, that human cruelty breaks your heart terribly. Help us to care about all that you care about, to listen to you, and to do something to help you in your mission to humanity, to be your kindly hands in this world where there is so much hate and indifference. Help us to find joy in all that you take joy in, the good things people do, the beauty to be seen, the love that is there in everything.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary. Sit with her at her kitchen table maybe with tea or coffee. Ask her what she wants to tell you about. What does she say? Maybe today you can act on one of her concerns.

Mary, our friend and Sister, pray for us.

Day 8

Pray the Flos Carmeli

Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”

So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1 Kings 17:3-6

Mary, as Elijah did, you allowed the Lord to protect and take care of you, to take care of everything. You hid in the heart of God, drinking deeply from the stream of Divine Love. With you let us learn to hear the still, small voice of God, to let him care for us when we are afraid of the consequences of doing as he asks us. Remind us that when we hear him and respond, he will give us all that we need every time, just as he did for Elijah and for you.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. Watch her as she fills a clay jar with water from the stream. It’s a sunny balmy morning. Birds are singing. You can hear the brook flowing. She brings you the water to drink. Drink deeply.

Mary, help of Christians, and Mother of Mystics, pray for us.

Day 9

Like a cedar in Lebanon I grew tall,

like a cypress on Mount Hermon;

I grew tall like a palm tree in Engedi,

like rosebushes in Jericho;

Like a fair olive tree in the field,

like a plane tree beside water I grew tall.

Like cinnamon and fragrant cane,

like precious myrrh I gave forth perfume;

Like galbanum and onycha and mastic,

like the odor of incense in the holy place.

I spread out my branches like a terebinth,

my branches so glorious and so graceful.

I bud forth delights like a vine;

my blossoms are glorious and rich fruit.

Come to me, all who desire me,

and be filled with my fruits.

You will remember me as sweeter than honey,

better to have than the honeycomb.

Those who eat of me will hunger still,

those who drink of me will thirst for more.

Whoever obeys me will not be put to shame,

and those who serve me will never go astray.
Sirach 24:13-22

Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, you are all of this and more to us, our beauty, our joy, our wisdom, our love for you an incense offered to the Lord who loves you even more than we can. Today we consecrate ourselves to you, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. We dedicate our lives to God’s beauty and glory, and to yours. We belong to you, to your Son, to light and life and love. We want to spend our lives in the sweet companionship of your Spirit.

*Spend a quiet moment with Mary now. She is luminous in loveliness, as if she were made of light. You kneel before her. Closing your eyes, to pray, then opening them to see her again, you realize you are next to her in the kitchen. She is chopping vegetables. Join her. Stay with her all day.

Mary, Mother and Queen of Carmel, our Sister the Throne of Wisdom, pray for us.