I’m not sure if that’s scientifically correct or if the amount noted is correct, but hundreds of thousands of particles is the substance of this reflection.
While we were in our Chapel praying, I was distracted by the hundreds of thousands of particles! It happened that a shaft of sunlight came in through one of our windows and looking automatically towards the light, hundreds of thousands of particles floating around in the air came into view. I then looked away to another part of the chapel to see the comparison. Nothing. You could see absolutely nothing in the spaces in between all the concretes in the room – the kneelers, chairs, altar, etc. Shifting my eyes back to the sunlight, every space of air was filled with particles swirling around in constant motion. Wow. Repeatedly, I looked back and forth at the shaft of sunlight and the rest of the room to see the stark difference.
And then a few more random distracted thoughts filled my mind. From the basics of how God made us and how breathing through our nose filters all that is coming into our body. (I actually didn’t know that until more recently!) I know…I’m slow. To the next thought of, hope all those particles are clean. Next thought, what are those particles, anyhow? Next thought…wow, it’s dusty in here. Next thought, wow, that’s what it looks like everywhere, not just here in this Chapel. Next thought, there’s a lot we can’t see with our eyes that is in constant motion around us. Next thought, pollution is awful. Next thought, this is all God. God, you’re amazing. Next thought, the different Scripture references that speak of bringing things into the light. Next thought, the world we live in, what we can see, it’s so limited. The world we cannot see, swirling all around us.
This last thought is what we will be landing on in this reflection.
However, just a side note for those who get easily distracted, this musing is supposed to be balm for the soul. We literally have thousands of thoughts a day and sometimes simultaneous opposing thoughts being held at the same time. If you find that you are hard on yourself for getting distracted, especially when at prayer, be gentle. When you realize your thoughts are moving on a train without you, just pause and bring the train to a gentle stop with God, in His presence. You were driving the train, now give the controls back to Him and let Him drive. Land the thought with God. Loop the thought back to God. He truly does understand.
Back to the particles. Life makes so much more sense when we realize that the world we live in, what we can see is VERY limited. The world we cannot see, it IS swirling all around us. The graces God is showering over us, every moment, all day long. We can’t see it with our limited perspective. And the concretes of our circumstances, the situation we’re in, the people around us, the struggle and suffering, that’s what we can see. That’s what we focus on. God is telling us, trying to show us, that there is so much more going on, more than meets the eye. Every space around us and in us is filled with His loving providential care. The spiritual life is the very life of who we are. It’s not just the food which we partake, the exercise we do or don’t do, the books we read, the care we give our mind and bodies. All that is most important. But the life of our soul is what we cannot see, yet so essential to the health of our person. It is what attunes us to the hundreds and thousands of particles swirling all around us. We need to start training our eyes and forming our hearts to see what we cannot see. To be attentive to God’s grace at work in our lives, to see ALL through His lens that then gives a different perspective, a REAL perspective to what is unfolding before us in our lives. It’s that shaft of light not just lighting up a sliver of the room, but it’s streams light filling our entire house, the house of our very person, so that we live fully the life we are being called to live as human beings made in the image and likeness of God.
So be attentive to the graces swirling all around us, the hundreds and thousands of blessings and insights and opportunities and touches of the soul. And let the light that shines up your house from the inside out, then be a source of light for others. And in your mind’s eye, see the brightness of the “houses”, the light being lit from one house to another, the light of Christ, eventually lights up the world. Thank you, Jesus, for distracted thoughts!
By Sister Mary Scholastica, OCD
This article appears here with the kind permission of the Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles. To learn more about their community and work, read their biography below and visit their website.
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