When the women visited the tomb on the first Easter morning,
they didn’t expect anything more than grief. They were prepared to anoint the
dead body of their beloved Teacher and Friend. Instead, they were met by the
Risen Lord. Their lives were transformed.
If we take seriously our Easter experience, we too can be
surprised and transformed into a new way of living. We can be ‘Easter people’
living into a life filled with grace, even while we are in the midst of the
day-to-day living.
Christian mystics through the centuries and Celtic
Christianity call us to see that there is Holy in each and every aspect of
our lives. For Celtic Christians, the day was imbued with prayer to and
interaction with the Trinity. Brother Lawrence is credited with praising God even in the menial kitchen tasks of scraping the pans and washing the dishes. He was able to do that because he understood that God is present and revealed in every second, every action. When we are able to see our day-to-day tasks in that way, we very well could find our lives transformed.
There can be many distractions every day. We may not see the
Risen Lord in front of us. Mary did not recognize Jesus at first. She thought
he was the gardener. Our own pre-conceived ideas, messages from our past, or
from society, may make our vision blurry. I’ve borrowed some topics from other
bloggers, and added some of my own thoughts, as
tools to help us learn to be aware and see God in all things.
Over the next several weeks, we’ll look at some ways to
renew our souls and open our eyes as well as nurturing not just ourselves, but
one another. Come along on the journey to ‘recharge’, ‘play’, ‘mentor’,
‘speak’, and many other topics.
One way to start being transformed by prayer like using this
Celtic Trinity Blessing from the Carmina
Gadelica:
God’s blessing be
yours,
and well may it befall you;
Christ’s blessing be yours,
and well be you entreated;
Spirit’s blessing be yours,
and well spend you your lives,
each day that you rise up,
each night that you lie down.
and well may it befall you;
Christ’s blessing be yours,
and well be you entreated;
Spirit’s blessing be yours,
and well spend you your lives,
each day that you rise up,
each night that you lie down.
