Conceiving of the Holy

Advent 4, 20 Dec 2020

Lk 1:26-38

John the Baptist

Many Christians throughout the world are celebrating the last Sunday of Advent, a season of preparing ourselves spiritually for the coming of the Christ.

John the Baptist has led the way through Advent calling us to repent and prepare our hearts to be baptized by Him who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

When we deepen our spiritual living, we realize that everything we do is about Christ and not about us. “He must increase, I must decrease.”

Remember Jesus saying “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”: your life is not about you, you are about life. In other words: 

Your life is not about you, you are about Christ.

The Church’s ministry is about Jesus’ Kingdom of Love, and about drawing us and all those around us into that freedom and love.

Mary, the Mother of God, has something to teach us about drawing others into God’s kingdom of freedom and love.

Mary and You and Me and the Annunciation

Listening: “Hail full of grace! The Lord is with you”

Pondering: “she pondered what sort of greeting this might be”

Consenting: “May it be done to me according to your word.”

Receiving: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you.”

Conceiving: “you will conceive in your womb”

Christ and His Kingdom of Love: “of his kingdom there will be no end”

Mary shows us the way for deep spiritual living, she shows us the way to the feast of Christmas.

Christmas

When we spiritually give birth to God who is Love in our lives, the people around us know it by how non-judgemental and compassionate we are to others and how loving we are in our everyday ordinary lives and activities. 

With Mary, let us say “yes” to the word of the angel.

Let us become pregnant with the holy.

Let us embody God’s compassion and love and joy. 

God is with us. Emmanuel.

Advent Witnessing

Advent 3, Yr. B, Dec 13, 2020

John 1:6-8, 19-28

The first Sunday of Advent we spoke about “watch, stay awake, because you do not know when the Master is coming.”

Last Sunday we spoke about “in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord,” our need to create space within us in order to experience the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Today, the third Sunday of Advent, we are going to reflect on the witness of John the Baptist and our need to tell others about Christ.

John’s Witness 

v.7 “John came as a witness to speak for the Light” (a voice crying in the wilderness).

v.19 “this is how John appeared as a witness…[pointing to Christ]”

John’s witness is by pointing beyond himself to Christ

“he must increase and I must decrease.”

“I baptize with water, but there stands among you the one who is coming after me; and I am not fit to undo his sandal strap. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

“behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”

All of what John did pointed to Jesus!

John wanted others to know

John’s life and witness is “preparing the way of the Lord” by pointing the crowds to Christ. John wanted others to know.

Our Advent preparations, indeed our life and witness in preparing the way of the Lord is to point beyond ourselves to Jesus who shows us the Christ life, the life of unitive Love.

All of us need a Saviour, all of us need someone who can show us the way to the deeper life of God. All of us, in our Christian context, need Jesus.

The mission of the Christian church, in loving our neighbour and creation, is to witness to the way of Jesus!

In this context of preparing ourselves and others for the coming of the Christ…

How does your life and witness point beyond itself to the Love that is Christ?

What are you saying that is a witness to the Love that is Christ?

What are you doing in your life that is a witness to the Love that is Christ? 

Conclusion

In the midst of all the numbing business of the secular world around us, let us learn to be spiritually still and to slow down, to know Christ within us and amongst us and AS us.

May Christ come to us as we love and serve others.

May Christ come to others through us. 

Remembrance Sunday, 15 November 2020

Remembrance Sunday, November 15, 2020

Matthew 5

Today we are commemorating Remembrance Sunday.

I remember …. Walking on the fields of Beaumont Hamel, and being reminded of the horrible loss of lives in the 1st World War…

I remember… my dad’s war medals and six brothers who went over seas during the 2nd World War…

I remember … being a chaplain in the Canadian Forces and preparing soldiers for conflict in Croatia and Afghanistan…

I remember….as an army chaplain, having to deliver the news to the parents whose son died in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. 

I remember …. When my own son was on the front lines of Afghanistan, was in two IED explosions, in constant fire fights. I remember thinking that he would be coming home in casket draped in the Canadian flag.

We remember, as families of those who have served in the Canadian Forces. We remember as citizens of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. We remember as citizens of the nation of Canada. We remember those who have given their lives in the conflicts that we have been involved in around this global village. 

We remember … the ongoing political and economic evils in our world, that subverts the dignity of human life and creation. 

We remember … that Jesus said …

“Blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called children of God.” Matt 5:9

We have a responsibility to find ways to offer something of ourselves for the benefit of those around the world who cannot help themselves.

Jesus asks us to lay down our lives for our neighbours. He asks us to be peacemakers. All people of good will are called to help those who cannot help themselves.

So today, let us remember and give thanks for our men and women of our Armed Forces who have sacrificed themselves for others.

And as a people and a nation, let us continue our stand against evil and injustice in our world.

The Church is Always Rediscovering its Way

The Church in every generation is a Church that needs to “rediscover” its way, its purpose for existence.

The Church in every generation is a church that needs to discover the risen life of Christ, the very Cornerstone of what it means to be human.

Until we encounter Christ, and the ongoing change that Christ can bring to our lives, we will be unable to produce the good fruits of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus tells the parable of the landowner whose tenants abused and killed those who came to collect the fruit of the land.

Historically, this is a story of how the people of God rejected the prophets and killed the Messiah.

Pastorally, this a story of warning that if we, the people of God, do not produce good fruit, we will lose what God has given us.

The call to Kingdom living

“Therefore, I say to you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”

If we are not trying to live the Kingdom life, in relationship with Christ, producing the good fruits of forgiveness, love and reconciliation, then we forfeit the kingdom life ourselves.

The same is true for the Church in every generation. It is especially true for the church now in this Covid-19 pandemic.

If we loose focus on being Kingdom people, even during a pandemic, and doing the work of mission, then the church dies – and so it should.

The “maintenance” model of the Church – building, priest, liturgy – is a model of spiritual death. And this is the model that most of the mainline Church that we know still lives by. That is why most of the Church that we know is in decline.

We need to be careful that Covid-19 does not shrink us further into this maintenance model of church.

The “mission” model of the Church – community, faith, action – is a model of life and vitality. It is a model that is interested in genuine relationships, in nurturing a maturing faith, and in reaching out to the needs of the world around us.

Reaching out, in creative and safe ways, even during a pandemic. 

A mission church is:

• a church that accepts Jesus Christ as Lord.
• a church that is producing the fruits of the Spirit.
• a church that is reaching out and connecting in meaningful and relevant ways.
• a Kingdom Church.

“Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed by thy Name, Thy Kingdom Come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven”

Outrageous Generosity

what generosity

outrageous generosity

in God's 

Kindom 

all are treated 

the same

all are seen

as equal

no matter

when

you come

early 

late

as long as you

respond

as long as you 

come

you will be 

welcomed

the same

given

the same

you are

the same

The Foundational Reason for the Existence of the Church

The ministry of the Church is multifold. But what is at the very “heart” of our ministry? What is the first and foundational reason for the existence of Christian Church?

RELATIONSHIP!

We are made for relationship.

We are made to be in right relationship with each other. 

We are made to be in right relationship with creation.

We are made to be in right relationship with God.

But guess what?

We do and say hurtful things.

We cause problems in our relationships with God and each other.

The Christ event - forgiveness, unimaginable love, and union - has restored us into right relationship with God and one another. 

Putting it into practice is another story!

Reconciling broken relationships

“If your brother or sister sins against you…tell him his fault between you and him alone…take one or two others along with you…tell the Church…” Matthew

1. We need to use wisdom and initiative in seeking to reconcile broken relationships.  

2. This is not easy.  

3. Many people, when something goes wrong, drop the relationship or leave the community.  

That being said, not all relationships are healable at the surface. Both parties have to want to be reconciled. And often that doesn’t happen. Yet we have to maintain an open hearted stance to the possibility of reconciliation. 

In fact, if there are people in our lives that continue to cause us harm, we need to walk away from them.

Foundationally, in order for us to be open to restoring broken relationships, we need to be openly part of the process of being continually changed by the Word of God, and the Loving Presence and activity of God within us.

Soft Heart and Soft Eyes

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Psalm)

Hearing the Word of God is meant to change and soften our hearts, and soften our eyes toward one another.

We are made to love God and one another.

Let all of us commit to being open to the healing Presence and activity of God within us, and from that open hearted stance, to be open to the healing of the broken relationships in our families and communities. 

Why Bother Physically Gathering With The Church During a Pandemic?

Sunday, March 22, 2020, the entire diocese gathered on line to virtually participate in liturgy and to hear from the Bishop of the diocese. Beginning on that date congregations were no longer permitted to physically gather because of Covid-19 restrictions and a pandemic that brought the entire world to a standstill. Countless people have been adversely affected by the virus itself, the physical distancing restrictions, and the economic fallout. Covid-19 is with us for the foreseeable future. We are all still adjusting, recovering and longing for reconnecting in the community. And although fatigued with physical distancing, and opening up our “bubbles” to more people, we have to be vigilant in maintaining government social distancing directions if we want to keep our families safe in and through our still uncertain future. 

 

That being said, the churches of our diocese have now been given permission to reopen to physical gathering liturgy starting on Sunday, September 13. As of that date, it was six months since the church last physically gathered and shared in the Holy Communion together. Personally, I so miss being with the gathered church, and I so miss sharing in the Holy Eucharist, the Body of Christ. But when the list of church restrictions was sent out, my first thought was “why bother going to church?”

 

No touching. No socializing. No singing. Wearing masks. Sitting six feet apart. Ushered in. Ushered out. No human contact. These restrictions in no way reflect the church that has for so long nurtured my soul in warm and deeply connected community.

 

But as I thought about it more and got past my initial reactions, I realized the absolute value of physically gathering with the church, even with the pandemic restrictions. 

 

There is value in listening to the beauty of the music…with others physically present. 

There is value in hearing the Word of God…with others physically present. 

There is value in sharing the Eucharist…with others physically present.

There is value in being lovingly present to God…with others physically present.

There is value in being lovingly present to others…with others physically present.

 

The energy and love of our physical presence, in the context of liturgy when we are together opening our hearts up to the larger life of Christ, invites and facilitates deep and transformative human contact. 

 

In a pandemic or not, there are not too many places like a gathered and loving church, that can have such a necessary and positive effect on your body and soul from the physical and loving presence of others. 

 

There are those because of age, illness or some other personal reason, that will choose to continue to join the church on line beyond September 13. For others of us, it is time to come back to the gathered church that we have been missing for six long months. And there are others again, who may have come to know the church in a new way on line, and may feel drawn to meet that church in person. Either way, the church has an essential role in the well being of our society, and it is worth the bother of getting Back To Church.

Who is Jesus?

Who is Jesus?

There is not a more important question that we can ask ourselves.

Jesus holds the key to life.

Jesus shows us the Christ which is the most important reality that we need to come to know.

“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

- Who does the culture around us think that Jesus of Nazareth is?

- A good man, a healer, a prophet, a historical figure that has no relevance today, etc.

“But who do you say that I am?”

What does Scripture tell us? “In the beginning was the Word…”

What does Tradition tell us? That God is Trinity.

What does Reason tell us? That all of life comes from God and is connected.

What does Experience tell us? That to be in Love is to be in Christ.

Christ is the answer to all humanity’s questions.

Christ is the only response fully capable of satisfying the desire of the human heart.

Christ is our life, our life is Christ’s life!

“I am in the Father and the Father is in me. I am in you, and you are in me.”

To know and experience who Christ is, is the KEY to the Kingdom of God, the fullness of life. 

“I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.”

The Church has the Keys to Life: forgiveness, reconciliation, and Loving Union with God and each other.

The Church’s (you and me) mission is to use the keys that have been entrusted to us.

We need to enter kingdom living ourselves - repentance, forgiveness, Union with God and all of creation.  And then, out of our deepening experience, we are to invite and draw others into that very same Kingdom of Love.

In Jesus of Nazareth, God is made flesh.

IN YOU AND I GOD IS MADE FLESH.

Christ is drawing us into His life of love that knows no end.

Christ has given us the responsibility to draw others into that same life right now.

Let us commit our whole life to the mission and ministry of 

Knowing Christ and to making Christ known.

Who Am I?

“Who am I?”

Jesus asks.

“Who are you?”

is the same question.

I am not

my aging and failing 

body.

I am not

my fearful and judging

ego.

I am not

my fragmented and dualistic

mind.

I am

who you are.

You are

who I am.

Can you imagine that?

We share

the same

Deep Mind

of Christ,

our deepest

and truest Self,

Love made flesh

in me, in you.

Spiritual Hunger and Thirst

Proper 18, Year A, 2 August 2020

Matt 14:13-21; Is 55:1-3; Rom 8:35, 37-39

The Gospel story of the feeding of the 5000 is about many things.

• it is about the large crowd recognizing their need for Jesus, his healing presence and words of wisdom.
• It is about the miracle of so many people being fed with what seemed to be so little. 
• It is a foreshadowing of the Holy Eucharist, where Jesus breaks bread and feeds our souls. 
• It is a story about our need for God.

Having said that, bodily hunger and thirst are primal and necessary needs.

We notice our bodies when it needs food, and we eat to satisfy that need.

We notice when our bodies are thirsty, and we drink to satisfy that need. 

Yet, when you have eaten all you can eat, and drunk all that you can drink, if you listen closely, you will notice a deeper hunger and thirst that food and water cannot satisfy. 

The prophet Isaiah says “Thus says the Lord: All who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!…Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.” 

Isaiah is saying that, more than physical food, water and material needs, we have spiritual hunger and thirst. 

We are spiritual beings, and we are created to need God. 

Until you begin to recognize this spiritual or inner need, and to respond to it, there will always be something missing in your life. 

You cannot be complete or made whole without responding to your need for God, your need for Christ. 

St.Paul says in our reading today [read the passage] that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This “love of God” is our deepest need.

This “love of God” is our deepest hunger.

This “love of God” is our deepest thirst. 

It is how you are made.

It is how you are created. 

It is not negotiable. 

You can deny or repress this deep need. But that only makes you a fool, and it short changes you and those around you of the more of life, the more of love. 

So, for those of you who are spiritually hungry, come.

For those of you who are spiritually thirsty, come. 

Like the 5000 in our Gospel story, let us come to Jesus, who will open to us the Christ life, which alone will satisfy our deepest need       to        be       in         love.

Is Your Love Growing and Deepening?

Proper 15, Year A, 12 July 2020

Matt: 13:1-9

Liturgically, as a church, we are in the season of ordinary time, and the liturgical colour is green. Green is symbolic of growth. For us as Christians, this is a time for us to be growing or deepening spiritually.

It is a time for us to pay close attention to the words and actions of Jesus.

Jesus, of course, was a great teacher, and he spoke of the very deep truths of the soul, to the larger crowds, in parables, or stories, in order to invite understanding and experience of the ever emerging Holy Spirit, and how that Spirit of Love is to direct and form your life.

Jesus’ life and witness has everything to do with inviting spiritual deepening.

Deepening in awareness of the Divine Life that you are.

This deepening in spiritual awareness can’t be forced.

You have to be ready and want to walk the spiritual path.

You have to recognize and respond to your own yearning for the more of God, the more of Love.

Depending on where you are in your spiritual awakening, will depend on where you are in Jesus’ parable of the sower.

• seeds falling on the edge of the path that birds eat up.
• Seeds falling on rock with no depth for roots, so it withers right away.
• Seeds falling among thorns that get choked out.
• And seeds on rich soil that have a rich yield. 

In this parable of the Sower, Jesus, among other things, is inviting us into how to be more self aware: 

• aware of what is going on inside of us;
• Aware of the inner obstacles that keep us from connecting with God and every other;
• Aware of that which keeps us from growing in love.

That is the purpose and objective of our lives, to be in Love.

• to be in love with God.
• To be in love with life
• To be in love with yourself
• To be in love with everyone
• To be in love with creation
• To be in love with love. 

So begin to notice when you are not in love. 

Where is your seed falling?

On the edge of the path?

On the rocks?

Amongst the thorns?

Or is your seed falling on good and fertile soil of the heart?

Is your love growing?

Breath of Love: Pentecost

Pentecost

Christ

You are all in all

You are everything,

All that is.

All that is life you are.

All that exists

Exists in you.

To love is to know you.

To be loved is to know you.

Breathe your love deep into my heart.

Open me more and more to your life deep within.

As I have received your breath of Love

Free me to breathe out your Love.

Upon all that is before me.

Upon all that is around me.

Upon all that I see.

Upon all that I do.

"I am in you." A Homily for Easter 6, 17 May 2020

Easter 6, Year A, 17 May 2020

John 14:15-21

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments”

What are the commandments?

Love God

Love yourself

Love your neighbour

The commandments are not about moral codes, judgements on ourselves and others, nor are they about separation and condemnation. 

The commandments are about a relational flow of love that connects us to God, to each other, and to all of creation. 

“he will give you another advocate to be with you always”

The Holy Spirit. Or in other words, Love’s companioning Presence.

“But you know him [the Holy Spirit], because he remains with you, and will be in you.”

The Holy Spirit is not something external to ourselves, but something that rises up from within. 

“In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.”

How will we see Christ?

By learning how to notice Love’s presence in ourselves and and then noticing that same Loving presence in others. 

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you”

What Jesus has revealed to us is not an isolated Trinitarian relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus has revealed the pattern of all of our lives. And he invites us to follow him on this path of awakening to the enduring relational life of Love.

“I am in you and you are in me.” 

That is what Conscious Love does.

That is what God is doing.

In this time of pandemic and physical isolating, and all of the social and economic consequences that come with it, we are not to be full of fear and feeling alone.

As we learn the spiritual path of Jesus, we learn and practice going deeper than our fears and isolation. 

We can discover that there is in fact a Loving Presence within us, the Holy Spirit, and that we can not only be in relationship with this Loving Presence, but that we can become that Loving Presence. 

What a world in a pandemic needs right now is God’s Presence, Love’s Presence, your Loving Presence. 

Becoming Love: A Homily for the 5th Sunday of Easter, 10 May 2020

Easter 5, Year A, 10 May 2020  (Mother’s Day)

Today’s Gospel is an invitation to know more deeply who Jesus is; and as we know more and more who Jesus is, we come to know who God is; and as we come to know and experience who God is, we come to know our own deepest and truest Self. 

During this time of pandemic, physical distancing and economic uncertainty, many things are changing. We are missing our friends, our families, our church, and of being able to hold each other and simply enjoy each others presence. This is affecting us. We are uncertain about many of our institutions, organizations and businesses. This is affecting us. All of these things come and go as time marches on. But there is something that remains the same - our deepest identity in God, our “unbirthed” self, our “uncreated” soul, our divine self. And in our Christian context, it is Jesus who shows us where we have to go spiritually and how to get there. 

“where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father.”

As we come to know the real relational Love that we are, and as we surrender to that Love, we consciously “become” that Love. As we discover that deep Unitive Love, we awaken to our deepest identity. So that even in the midst of such social and economic upheaval as in this pandemic, we can become more grounded and secure in who we are.  

As Christians become more grounded in their deeper Love identity in God, the Church, even in a pandemic, can grow in spiritual depth and numbers. The Acts of the Apostles tells us how the early church was open to the Holy Spirit and grew in faith, love and good works.

Why was the early church growing? Because disciples of the Way  said “yes” in both their minds and hearts to the Love of Christ and saw and loved Christ in every person.

The early church cared for those in need. In addition to being excited about their new found faith, active caring about people also made an impact on what others thought about the early church. 

During this time of pandemic and physical distancing, how are you as a Christian reaching out to and caring for Christ in the other? Especially the vulnerable and marginalized? 

Even during this time of pandemic and distancing, this parish as a whole continues to reach out and connect in meaningful and relevant ways. What are you doing to help support the work of this faith community?

Today is Mother’s Day, a Mother’s Day like no other. A Mother’s day in the midst of a global pandemic. We remember the mother’s of young children who are trying to cope with a hectic life at home with no school, and restrictions around socializing. We remember mothers of older children and adults at home, and the challenges that it brings. We remember mother’s of adult children who cannot hold their adult children because of the Covid distancing restrictions. We remember older mother’s living at home alone or living in Seniors residences, who are isolated from their families. Every family is challenged this Mother’s Day in this season of Covid Pandemic. Let’s simply do what we can to connect and to love with much compassion.

Christ is Everything: A Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter, 3 May 2020

Easter 4, Year A, 3 May 2020

John 10:1-10

Christ is everything! [say something of each]

“I am the bread of life”

“I am the light of the world”

“I am the Good Shepherd”

“I am Resurrection and the Life”

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”

“I am the true vine”

And in today’s Gospel “I am the Gate.”

“Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter a sheepfold through the gate but climbs over elsewhere is a thief and a robber. But whoever enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice, as the shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

Jesus, the Good Shepherd, has to go through the gate first (whom the gatekeeper, God the Father, opens), before he can become the “gate.”

“Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

What does Jesus the gate open up to? Where is he inviting and leading us? 

Beneath the prison of our false and passing selves, and into the deeper flow of the relational life of the Trinity. Into risen and new life.

“I am the Gate for the sheep. Whoever enters through me will be saved.”

If you want Life, abundant, rich, deep, meaningful life…then you have to learn to live your life THROUGH Christ - “I am the Gate.”

What do we say at the end of the Eucharistic prayer? 

“THROUGH Christ, WITH Christ, and IN Christ”

When we are conscious of being IN Christ, it is WITH Christ that we enter THROUGH the Gate into the Life and Love that is the eternal flow of the Trinity.

Spirituality is about the life long transformation of our consciousness, of becoming aware that Life is THROUGH, WITH and IN Christ….and AS Christ. 

Taking the time to get to know Jesus as the Shepherd and the Gate is the Way to this loving realisation. 

It is the way to rich, deep and abundant Life.

It is the experience of Easter. Allelulia!

Praying Through a Pandemic

What a time we are living in! A global pandemic with a novel virus, of which there is no vaccine, that has put societies around the entire earth into various degrees of lockdown mode. Every human being on the face of the planet has been effected by Covet 19. We have been awakened to the real and ever present uncertainties of our shared tomorrow, and to the inherent interconnectedness and fragility of all of life. 

When I was a chaplain in the Canadian Forces, I heard an old crusty army colonel use a battle field phrase that said “there were no atheists in fox holes.” When our world as we’ve known it has fallen out from under our feet, and death, in its various forms, is lurking, the human spirit will turn to and seek out a Higher Power or God.

We are living in such a time. And the only way to see ourselves through such chaos and uncertainty in a healthy and life giving way, is to pray our way through it. We have to think also. Thinking is important, and we need to be reasonable as we sort out how to survive each day with some sense of moving forward. But thinking and reason are not enough for us to discern our way into tomorrow.

We need to “love” our way into the unknowns of tomorrow. Love is the energy of change in the universe. Love is our deepest and divine identity. Love is what attracts us to each other and connects us in life giving ways. Love is the energy that is drawing us into our new tomorrow. 

In order to “unlock” the energy and power of love, and to have that love inform and direct our thinking, we have to pray. Prayer is the key. We have to learn to pray our way through this season of pandemic and into a new tomorrow. 

There are as many ways to pray as there are people on the planet. In all its myriad of forms, prayer foundationally is about opening and connecting. That is to say, prayer is about opening up the limitations of our thinking minds, and connecting with our deeper and truer selves - our divine selves, our Love selves. 

So whatever it is that opens you up and gets you out of your head and connects you to your larger Self, then go and do it - and do regularly and intentionally. 

It might be sitting down with sacred scriptures and reading and reflecting. It might be in the reading of poetry or gazing on a piece of art. It might be in nature or remembering a loved one. Whatever it is that wakes you up to God, go and do it, and do it regularly and with the intention of connecting with Love. In this shared global pandemic, whatever your religious tradition is or isn’t, together we can pray our way into new and emerging tomorrow.