I have been blessed to go on retreat, several times, to monasteries. I loved being in my tiny cell, “alone” with God yet aware of the silent presence of others. I was with God, others were with God - and we were all connected. A wide hall linked us together.
As one who wants to live for God in the cell of my heart, I am grateful for every one of you doing likewise. I may not know each person in every other “cell,” but I can stop and remind myself that they… that you… are there. Ours is the hallway of the Church. Ours is the hallway of the Body of Christ. My heart cell is part of a multitude of “cells,” part of the vast and ageless Communion of Saints. “All, indeed, who are of Christ and who have His Spirit, form one Church and in Christ cleave together.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church #954).
Our hallway is not limited by geographical location. It is wide and vast and stretches beyond the ages, connecting us to all in the Communion of Saints in ways we can scarcely grasp.
Today, thinking about this and praying for you - and yes, I do - I had an idea (I actually think it was an inspiration). What if everyone reading this takes just a minute, a second, the length of a mental aspiration – to pray for everyone else who is reading this? We don’t know who each other is… but God does. He knows every one of us individually. He loves each of us beyond all imagining. He cares about every one of our stresses and worries and needs.
So: today you’re invited to “stretch a prayer across the hallway.” It can be oh, so quick. Maybe something along the lines of “Lord Jesus, please bless everyone who has or will read this.” Imagine the prayers we will thus be extending across the globe!
I, as one of the recipients of your prayers, thank you with all my heart. I ask our Lord Jesus to bless you… you personally… you who are reading these words. I pray that He will let you know how deeply you are cherished by Him.
Amen.
“The children of the world are all separated one from another because their hearts are in different places; but the children of God, having their heart where their treasure is, and all having only one treasure which is the same God, are consequently always joined and united together.” (St. Francis de Sales)
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