Prayer is open hands, open heart, and open mind to receive the everflowing graces of God. What can you ask of Love which Love will not more readily give you, if it be for your good? Pray not as though the Lord had withheld His Love, but pray as though you have already received both Love and Eternity from His hands, and from all the wounds of Christ. His gifts are in your possession, and you have only to open them. They are your own hands, your own heart, your own mind. Open them, and discover what was yours from the begining. Unfold your hands, to embrace the Christ in every soul. Unfold your heart, to discover the Love of God. Unfold your mind, to approach the mind of God.
When the elderly widow put her two coins into the poorbox, Christ counted her charity greater than the larger sums donated by those who have much. But, more than this, we should know that God puts those two coins to better use than the larger sums. It is the spirit of generous sacrifice, the spirit of Love, which carries them, like grass on the wind, to where they are needed most.
Just as we may cast our bread upon the waters, and it will return to us after many days, so may we cast our burdens on the Lord, yet shall they return to us more immediately, and in the form of gifts.
How deep is His wisdom? Francis de Sales has said, "The measure of love is love without measure." So it is with all the faculties of the Lord. Measureless is His wisdom, measureless His mysteries, and measureless man's ignorance of these. Who can fathom the works of God as they manifest, uniquely and personally, in the lives of every creature? Who can hope to discover His ways? We had better train ourselves to awe, than to inquiry; for, where divine matters are concerned, the only true inquiry is awe. To be aghast, astonished, overawed, and dismayed, yet carried ever deeper into the mystery of His peace: This is to take measure of the measureless.
God is a furnace of mystery, and all of Creation is burning with questions.
Lord, extinguish my mind and enflame my heart! Cover my transgressions and bring my good deeds to light. Uphold me where I am weakest and chasten me where I am strong. Be my compass, my path, and my place of rest. Turn my eyes toward your treasures. Harness my will with righteous instruction. Make my heart a garden of herbs and flowers. Consecrate the temple of my body with the blessing of Your holy name; let my heart cry out, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Let the word of "Christ" resound throughout my members, echoing light. O my reverend Lord, stoke the furnace of my soul, that I may burn in many colors!
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