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Theme: As we begin a heartfelt conversation with God, we become aware of both the freeing power of grace and the crippling effects of sin.
Opening prayer: O loving Creator, heal me with your resounding word and your gentle spirit.
About Teresa
In her writings on beginning to pray, Teresa spoke of the soul as being crippled or even paralyzed. Having been paralyzed herself, Teresa understood that relearning to coordinate one’s own movement comes gradually and only with painstaking effort that initially may be difficult and seem unrewarding. Beginning to pray may be difficult and seem unrewarding too, but is therapy for the paralyzed soul. Teresa wrote about a wise man who told her once that people who do not pray regularly are like paralytics. Despite having hands and feet, they cannot direct the movements of these limbs. Teresa recalled the passage in John’s gospel (5:1-9) concerning Jesus’ healing of the lame man. In this story, the movement beyond paralysis comes as a grace of…
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Because God knows everything and loves me more than I can even begin to understand, I can only realize in deeper and deeper ways how closely are my life’s crosses related to the ways in which I need to grow, the things that God is telling me, if I would but listen—and prayer is not a monologue, it is listening, also, which for many years, was hard for me. But this is how much God loves and works in all of our lives! Because He is God, He can be with each of us as though we were the only one in the world. Prayer is a relationship and it is as necessary as breathing. Thank you for this article; it is wonderful!