Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Phaith: Tending to a prayer life


My next Spiritual Fitness column is up at Phaith. Origen's discourse on spherical angels (for whom the current debates on kneeling/standing posture are moot, as they have no knees) can be found here.

“No more clutter. Guaranteed!” “Streamline your routine: 30 minutes a day to a tidier home” Waiting in line at the grocery store, I sometimes imagine the magazines are jumping up and down like overexcited students, sure they know the answers. Call on me and I can tell you how to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes, with elegant napkins and candles. No, no, read me and you’ll never misplace the choral schedule again!

Facing going home to the semi-permanent mound of sneakers by the garage door and another taco dinner, I too often succumb to those bright promises and add a magazine or two to my cart — with predictable results. The sneakers still lurk just outside the kitchen, and while I can get dinner on the table in under an hour, the table decor is decidedly not a candidate for a magazine spread, except as a “before” picture.

Last weekend I was browsing my shelves at home, looking for some resources for the students in my course on contemplation. As I pulled books on prayer and meditation for various of their final projects, I found myself paging through a couple and wondering if I might find some helpful hints for my own current prayer dilemma in them. Or, like a sure solution for the clutter that comes with living with three guys who wear size 11 sneakers, am I looking for something that doesn’t exist?


You can read the rest here.

The illustration is of St. Augustine...reading. Did he succumb to the clamoring magazines?

2 comments:

  1. Clearly you have peeked inside my house too. I give in to the same "magazine temptations" and the magical thinking that comes with them. Sometimes the magical thinking is enough. Excellent article (but I had trouble reading it on the computer app. iPad was easier.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ahhh... of knees, magazines and organizing. And prayer. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete