My word for the year
Mammoth Mountain, Jan 2023
Happy 2023 everyone! May this be a year of profound blessings and spiritual growth for all of us. Last year I started the practice of choosing a word for the year, which helps me focus on an area of opportunity (aka, where I need to grow). Last year my word was obedience (I still have plenty of work to do there). Nonetheless, my word for this year is…drum roll…stillness!
Stillness…say it while breathing slowly…stillness. Picture a quiet snowy day, a pond without a ripple, a gently flowing stream. I sense the Lord inviting me to cultivate the habit of stillness so I can receive even more of his abundant gifts.
I tend to be more like Martha than Mary - busy in the kitchen instead of sitting at the Lord’s feet. I like getting things done, checking things off my to-do list and feeling a sense of accomplishment each day. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, there’s something to be said for quiet contemplation - basking in the Lord’s presence, listening to his voice and allowing him to fill my soul with his peace.
It’s gotten harder to practice stillness these days, with the ever-present smartphone filling much of our down time. That device is a blessing and a curse! I find myself more reliant on it since the pandemic, with news and information always at my fingertips. Inquiring minds wanna know - how old is that celebrity, is that singer still alive, what’s tomorrow’s weather, yada, yada. So much content always filling our heads, some of it useful, but most of it superfluous. Let’s face it, if I really need to know tomorrow’s weather, I can always stick my head out the window to see if I need a sweater!
Stillness is a gift in our noisy, busy world. I hope to spend more time in Eucharistic adoration this year, which is the epitome of quiet contemplation - gazing upon the Lord and allowing him to gaze upon me. Someone once asked Mother Teresa how she prays; she said, “I look at Jesus and he looks at me.” She also said that when we know how much God is in love with us, we can only live our lives radiating that love. That’s the goal friends - to radiate the love of Christ to everyone around us. May Jesus fill our hearts and still our souls, as we place ourselves in his gaze of love and mercy. Happy new year everyone!