During Mass today, I noted synergy between my early morning reading and the sermon. This morning, before I went to Mass, I was reading some spiritual maxims written by Saint John of the Cross, the Carmelite friar and mystic who lived in Spain in the sixteenth century. Among other axioms written by him, this morning I read how he wrote that "By prayer aridity is expelled, devotion increased, and the interior practice of virtue is established in the soul."
Then, on this first Sunday of Advent, I attended Mass at 7:30 a.m. here in Redwood City. During the sermon, the priest analogized us to cornstalks. He also likened how much we pray, and with how much devotion, and under what circumstances, as being analogous to the extent to which a cornstalk is rooted in the ground.
In the midst of arid, dry weather, the roots of a cornstalk grow deeper into the ground as they search for water. So too when we experience spiritual aridity, that is, dryness in prayer, God is calling us to persist in our faith and in our prayer and to deepen our relationship with Him. As Saint John of the Cross tells us, we expel aridity by praying. By continuing to pray in the midst of spiritual dryness, we show God that we love Him. God wants us to seek Him humbly in earnest.
Roots stabilize the cornstalk. With deep and extensive roots, a cornstalk can withstand strong winds. So too when we weather severe storms in life, if we have a deep, devoted, fervent prayer life, through the grace of God, we will resist any and all challenges which we encounter.
The priest added that the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent are characterized by more intense fasting and prayer than usual. He offered encouragement to more deeply enter into prayer in this Advent season.
During Advent, as we meditate upon the birth of Jesus which we will soon celebrate, we are invited to live more ascetically over these next few weeks. At times we experience periods of spiritual aridity which we do not consciously choose, and are called upon then to pray more intensely. Yet at certain times in the liturgical calendar, we are also called to make more intense sacrifices of prayer and fasting, such as during Advent and Lent. Thus in this current Advent season, we are invited to plumb the depths of own our souls more deeply in prayer. In doing so in still, silent solitude, we seek a conscious communion with Jesus which can strengthen us against whatever storms may confront us in our lives.
Then, on this first Sunday of Advent, I attended Mass at 7:30 a.m. here in Redwood City. During the sermon, the priest analogized us to cornstalks. He also likened how much we pray, and with how much devotion, and under what circumstances, as being analogous to the extent to which a cornstalk is rooted in the ground.
In the midst of arid, dry weather, the roots of a cornstalk grow deeper into the ground as they search for water. So too when we experience spiritual aridity, that is, dryness in prayer, God is calling us to persist in our faith and in our prayer and to deepen our relationship with Him. As Saint John of the Cross tells us, we expel aridity by praying. By continuing to pray in the midst of spiritual dryness, we show God that we love Him. God wants us to seek Him humbly in earnest.
Roots stabilize the cornstalk. With deep and extensive roots, a cornstalk can withstand strong winds. So too when we weather severe storms in life, if we have a deep, devoted, fervent prayer life, through the grace of God, we will resist any and all challenges which we encounter.
The priest added that the liturgical seasons of Advent and Lent are characterized by more intense fasting and prayer than usual. He offered encouragement to more deeply enter into prayer in this Advent season.
During Advent, as we meditate upon the birth of Jesus which we will soon celebrate, we are invited to live more ascetically over these next few weeks. At times we experience periods of spiritual aridity which we do not consciously choose, and are called upon then to pray more intensely. Yet at certain times in the liturgical calendar, we are also called to make more intense sacrifices of prayer and fasting, such as during Advent and Lent. Thus in this current Advent season, we are invited to plumb the depths of own our souls more deeply in prayer. In doing so in still, silent solitude, we seek a conscious communion with Jesus which can strengthen us against whatever storms may confront us in our lives.
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