Dec 12

Pray without Ceasing

Known as Gaudete Sunday, this third Sunday of Advent gives us a rose-colored jolt of spiritual adrenaline, reminding us that there is still time to get our spiritual house in order. Gaudete — Rejoice! — is the theme of the day, standing in stark contrast to John the Baptist’s joy-withering warnings of threshing floors and unquenchable fires. As we attempt to reconcile these two pieces of our Advent puzzle, we hang on the words of St. Paul in his Letter to the Philippians: “Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God.” In other words, no matter what is going on around you, pray. Pray when you are joyful. Pay when you are struggling. Pray not just in church or in your bedroom but everywhere and “in everything.” At first, that can sound like an impossible task. But, when we break it down and take a closer look, we realize that this type of prayer frees us from the formality of talking to God only at certain times and in certain ways, and invites us — no, urges us — to pray always, pray all ways. Can we seek the Divine in the midst of our mundane lives? Can we turn our everyday tasks into prayers? Folding the laundry, wiping down counters, driving to work, standing in line — these are all opportunities for prayer, if we are willing to look beyond the borders of our traditional prayer lives and step into the wide-open space of everyday spirituality.