Successful people these days believe how you begin the day is important. Some get up early and make a little time for themselves; some read before they get to work; some jot down what needs to be done in the day ahead; some practice “mindfulness.” Little mention of praying.
Shouldn’t prayer be on that list too? I’m not sure what “mindfulness”is. It seems to mean getting your thoughts together, breathing in and breathing out, gathering strength and attention for the day. Reaching into yourself.
Instead of reaching into yourself, prayer reaches out to God, who is much stronger than we are and stands ready to help.
Our own spiritual tradition says that daily prayer is important and points to the beginning of the day and the end of the day, morning and evening. as the best times to approach God in prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours, the church’s official prayer, says those hours are the principal hours for praying.
Jesus prayed in the morning and evening, the scriptures say. He prayed at other times too, but in the morning and evening he prayed the prayers his people prayed, the psalms. He knew them by heart and prayed them each day.
We prayed those same prayers this morning in our chapel and we’ll pray them this evening at vespers, evening prayer. Before I lifted a finger this morning, I heard these words as I entered my day:
“He has strengthened the bars of your gates,
He has blessed the children within you.
He established peace on your borders,
He feeds you with the finest wheat.” ( Psalm 147, Friday Morning IV )
And this evening as the night comes, the symbol of sleep and death:
“The eyes of all creatures look to you
and you give them their food in due time.
You open wide your hand,
grant the desires of all who live.” (Psalm 145, Friday Evening IV)
God’s hand is opened wide to receive us and to give.
I wish more were aware of the treasure we have in our morning and evening prayers–the Liturgy of the Hours. The Second Vatican Council wanted the prayer of the church to be extended to all its people but its efforts only got so far, I’m afraid. Still more to go.
The Victor's Place 
How true! We cannot rely on the news in the Times but rather on the Good News of the Gospel. Two ways to greet the day: “Good Lord it’s morning!” with a sigh or “Good Morning ,Lord!” with a smile.
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I honestly don’t know how anyone can start the day without Mass. I realize that, statistically, almost nobody does this; but it’s a total mystery to me how they function. I can’t.
“We preach Christ Crucified.”
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I begin my day with the slow process of getting my painful body parts out of bed and slowly
standing upright, walking gingerly to the foot board, grabbing the bed knob to keep me steady,
then the door frame to get me to the window where I meet God, and ask God a question:
How Do I Pray To You?
You, whose sun makes the shadow I see
across the golden brown cornfield
look like the shadow of your strong arm?
You, whose artistry I see in the vulture
that circles gracefully on wind currents
that make the huge pines sway?
You, who blow the wind chimes into song
and the windmill into a whirling blend
of red and white, red and white, red and white?
You, who created all the beauty
I see through my kitchen window,
a miniature of all your beautiful Creation?
How do I pray to You?
With gratitude!
Gloria Ziemienski
February 20, 2008
I also sing my favorite Responsorial “This is the day the Lord has made……..”
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