Will the meeting (in my head) please come to order!
I’d like to say a few words to all the parts of myself.
Yes you, the anxious over-thinker,
dragging a large rock uphill -
trying to nudge the Catholic Church
in the right direction…
which, for you,
is to the left.
And you,
the avid T.V. watcher,
who has shown up,
but is simply biding your time
until this meeting adjourns
so you can check out what’s new on Acorn TV.
Then there’s you in the corner.
The good little girl
who still wants
to please everybody.
And the aging woman,
ever trying to strike a balance
between
relishing the wisdom of time and experience,
and
fearing diminishment
and being sidelined.
Listen up, all you roles I play:
wife, neighbor, mother,
facilitator, grandmother, writer,
mother-in-law, sister, citizen,
party planner, parishioner,
laundress, Catholic, friend, blogger.
We all believe that God is incarnate…
that Emmanuel…God with us…
abides within our collective essence.
So why doesn’t God
have a seat
at this table?
If every aspect of myself believes
that God is the author of my story,
why do I keep trying
to steal the pen?
Why do I look around
for something more
than what God
has already given me?
I’ll tell you why.
Between the internal chatter
and the unrelenting static
of the culture,
God's voice is mostly
talked over…
out maneuvered…
ignored.
God lies inside us,
deep inside.
Fully respecting our freedom,
God’s voice is never overpowering.
But God does speak a
continuous,
low,
unremitting imperative…
a compulsion toward something
that is always greater
and more expansive
than I am capable of imagining
or executing on my own.
In order to hear God’s voice,
I'm asking all the aspects of who I am
to stand down,
and simply let God be God,
which is to say,
trust God to love
each and every part of me.
So today,
I invite all my parts,
all the roles I play,
to hold hands...
to be silent...
and to find
comfort,
unity,
communion,
in the presence of
each other’s
silent company.
Now,
together,
we pray
Edwina Gately’s
remarkable prayer.
Good work!
Meeting Adjourned.