Category: Prayer

Shepherding the Heart

Last Sunday’s Gospel has the moving line, ‘Jesus took pity on the [crowd] because they were like sheep without a shepherd and he set himself to teach them at some length’.  Well, I know I am often lost and at any time some part of my life needs shepherding.  But the interesting part of the Gospel quote is that Jesus didn’t offer to console the people in need, rather he sought to teach them at length. When Jesus comes to shepherd our hearts it is not to console us in our mess but to teach us a way to deal positively with our situation.

One of the things I have been taught by life (and I take that to be Jesus)  is: ‘The problem is rarely the Problem.’ Someone else’s habits that annoy me, words that depress me, situations that frustrate me are rarely the real issues that I need to face. I have to stop and ask myself, what is really upsetting me here?  The answer I get is often something quite different from what caused the distress.  I might be getting angry because I am tired.  I might be upset at someone’s words because my mother has treated me badly.  There can be all sorts of different reasons that set my heart up to react badly in quite different situations.

When we finally uncover some of these reasons, we have only just begun to be taught.  This is when we need to pray, asking Jesus to shepherd us…and then be prepared for what life will offer us. Maybe I am getting tired because I don’t get enough sleep.  Getting enough sleep is a discipline. Maybe I am depressed because a parent treated me badly so I have to discover ways to nurture myself.  Maybe
(put your own issue in here).  Well maybe I need to (put your own creative solution in here).  When we allow Jesus to shepherd our hearts, be prepared to be taken in some surprising directions.

Loving God, let me be open to the shepherding that Jesus is offering me.  Give me the courage to reflect on what upsets me and discover what are the real causes of my problems.  Then give me the wisdom to act creatively  I ask this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb

In praise of whistling.

‘You can’t think bad thoughts while you whistle,’ said the Gippsland dairy farmer and his daughter, recalling this later, added, ‘Dad always went around the farm whistling.’  We had been talking about prayer at the time and she realised that in a real way, whistling was her father’s way of praying through his day.  He chose to do something that made him happy, whatever the challenges that his work day would bring.

I recalled this the other listening to a boy whistling as he cycled past.  It was so cheerful.  I also remembered it last Sunday when I lay soaking up the winter sun, reading and relaxing. We can choose to do things that make us happy.  Often, they are such small things, like whistling or enjoying the sun, that we can fail to appreciate what a big difference they can make. They make us happy within ourselves, they make us feel better towards other people (and stop the flow of bad thoughts) and they make us more open to God. 

When we are in trouble, we turn to God out of our pain and need. In a real sense then, we come as beggars before him.  But when we ‘pray’ in those happy moments, (and the prayer can be little more than the quickest ‘thank you’ while we enjoy our happiness) we are being friends with God.  We are taking pleasure a loving gift from a friend…and that is what God, our truest friend enjoys in us.

Loving God, let me recognise the little things in life that give me joy and happiness. Let me make time for them in my day, and as I do, may I give thanks to you.  I ask this in Jesus’ name, confident that you will hear me.

Sr Kym Harris osb