Cultivating Faithfulness
Beginning Again
Prayer is a small fire lit to keep cold hands warm. Prayer is a practice that flourishes both with faith and doubt. Prayer is asking, and prayer is sitting. Prayer is the breath. Prayer is not an answer, always, because not all questions can be answered.
- Pádraig Ó Tuama
Earlier this week we were reminded that “much of the work of faithfulness happens without anyone noticing.” This idea of keeping at it, even when no one notices, isn’t a popular one in an “influencer culture” where everything is packaged and posted online as a way of advertising one’s various successes and accomplishments.
The gift of Lent is also the challenge of Lent. Lent unfolds at its own pace. We cannot rush it. We have to live it one day at a time. As we learned last Sunday from Brian Cole, faithfulness grows when we tend to the soil of our lives.
One place where we can begin to understand faithfulness is in our own practice of prayer, and this is where the quote from Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama speaks to this gentle understanding. We don’t need to be flashy or perfect in our prayers. We don’t have to get “results.” Sometimes faithfulness is as simple as breathing and sitting—being present to ourselves, to others, and to God. As we discovered yesterday, these simple practices connect in surprising ways, strengthening every area of our life of faith.
We are now over a week into our Lenten pilgrimage. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already slipped a little on those Lenten vows you made back on Ash Wednesday. You can begin again today, and in that beginning, you can restart cultivating faithfulness in your life. In fact, beginning again is what faithfulness is all about!
Making it Personal: How do you want to keep the “small fire of prayer” burning in your heart? What support do you need from your spiritual community? What practices help you begin again when you’ve drifted from your intentions?
Listen To Our Lent Podcast Episodes
We also invite you to listen to the Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness Podcast hosted by Scott Stoner. This is a year-round, weekly podcast; however, during Lent, there will be two new episodes each week to enrich your experience of our Lenten readings on Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit.
You can listen to the podcast on our website by clicking HERE. You can also find this podcast in your favorite podcast listening app (Apple, Google, Spotify, etc.)—just search for Living Compass Spirituality and Wellness