I’m a morning person 🙂
I relish in the blank slate each sunrise presents and, wondering with excitement, I gleefully ask the boys at breakfast, “What do you want to do today?!”
Joyful mornings haven’t always been part of my repertoire. In fact, I’m willing to bet that most of the A.M.s of my life have been spent cursing the dawn and resenting consciousness at such an early time. My poor mom had to deal with my cold silence driving me to school each day, while I clung to grumpiness as if it were the last touch of warmth from my bed. Though she sweetly abstained from confronting my mood, every single morning my mom suggested the last thing I felt like doing: “Would you like to pray?”
Don’t get me wrong, I was a happy high schooler in love with God, but wallowing in my selfish slump, praying wasn’t at the top of my to-dos. Of course, I wasn’t about to say no to such an obviously good thing to do (especially something my mom suggested), so we prayed; and what was initially a drudge to me became a happy habit that I continued after getting my own car and driving myself to school. Among the prayers my mom and I said each day was this one to the Holy Spirit, written by Désiré-Joseph Cardinal Mercier (1851-1926). His thoughts are written before and after:
I am going to reveal to you the secret of sanctity and happiness. Every day for five minutes control your imagination and close your eyes to all the noises of the world in order to enter into yourself. Then, in the sanctuary of your baptized soul (which is the temple of the Holy Spirit) speak to that Divine Spirit, saying to Him:
O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your Will.
If you do this, your life will flow along happily, serenely, and full of consolation, even in the midst of trials. Grace will be proportioned to the trial, giving you the strength to carry it and you will arrive at the Gate of Paradise, laden with merit. This submission to the Holy Spirit is the secret of sanctity.
I admit that I was initially skeptical of Cardinal Mercier’s promise that my days and life would be transformed by this prayer, but that’s because I err on the side of doubt rather than faith when such drastic assertions are made. My days were transformed, however, because I allowed my soul to be, and now I use this as a morning offering to strengthen me in my chaos-covered work. Praying these words in sincerity is a clear invitation for humility – a jagged, virtuous pill to swallow – but grace abounds simply because I ask the Holy Spirit to cover me in fortitude and persistence. With the Holy Spirit’s protection, guidance, and consolation, I am ready to face the day, encouraged knowing that whatever comes to pass does so only by His permission and is ultimately for the good of my soul.
Another thought: Off the top, parenthood and teaching are two thankless jobs in which a person invests in another’s present and future, often uncertain or oblivious as to whether what they taught stuck with their children or students. I’m so grateful to my mom for being consistent and persistent in asking me to pray on the way to school. My demeanor was pretty icy, but in time my heart was softened because of the changes in my soul. Thanks Mom for loving me this way!
photo by Natesh Ramasamy
At our house, I get up every morning and make sure I am in the kitchen with cereal or toast at the ready before a 6:45am bus arrives. I say grace and morning offering as the kids sit down at the table or get their backpacks ready. They sometimes join in and sometimes not, but I know it pleases God that we start the day off together in prayer. I almost always get a “Bye mom, love you” as they hit the door, and these are teenagers! I know they will remember me in the kitchen praying with them in the morning the rest of their lives. I’m not bragging, but saying that consistent efforts and actions are a way to lead by example and knit the family around Our Lord.
I LOVE this Pat! Both of my parents were strong witnesses to faith in their own ways and I learned so much from watching them. There’s no one so effective as the steady, silent witness.
This is a impressive story. The writer of this article is a god pro person. It is always important that everything we do, we must always put god first before anything else. Thanks for sharing this!