Those Between Wants Will Be Restless (March 7)

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, either in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or anything that is in the water under the earth. Exodus 20:2-4

Sometimes we behave like children in a toyshop. We want this, and that, and then something else. The many options confuse us and create in us and enormous restlessness. When someone says, "Well, what do you want? You can have one thing. Make up you mind," we do not know what to choose.

As long as our hearts keep vacillating among these many wants, we cannot move forward in life with inner peace and joy. That is why we need inner and outer disciplines, to get beyond these wants an discover our mission in life.

What are your spiritual priorities? How do they affect your daily life?

And from Thomas Merton ...

Merton's Voice: In silence we face and admit the gap between the depth of our being, which we consistently ignore, and the surface which is untrue to our own reality. We recognize the need to be at home with ourselves in order that we may go out to meet others, not just with a mask of affability, but with real commitment and authentic love.

That is the reason for choosing silence.

Merton, Thomas. Love & Living. Naomi Burton Stone and Br. Patrick Hart, Editors. New York: Harcourt. 1979, p. 41.

Prayer: Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

(NRSV Ps 139: 4-5)