Posted on 08/06/2008 4:29:11 PM PDT by tcg
I know, at least on an intellectual level, that every day is a new beginning, an invitation to “begin again.” But somehow, my offering Sunday morning did not have the usual liberating impact it often has upon my spirit. I felt like I was enmeshed in cobwebs.
All of that changed after I went down the stairs for my morning cup of coffee. There, in his high chair, filled with the energy of a dozen men, was my grandson. He smiled as he saw my face and gave me a precious gift! That is all it takes anymore to turn a grump into a grin! How I love to look into his bright young eyes and see the wonder of life reflected as always new.
To a child, life is new every morning, without any real effort. He or she receives the world, in all of its beauty, as if for the first time! I propose that just as the world is a gift for children, so it can be again for each of us. That is one reason Jesus told us to become as children. (Mt. 18: 1-5)
After the encounter with my grandson (and a good cup of coffee) I went to pray the Liturgy of the Hours as I do every day. There I encountered the God of love with a new freshness because of the inspiration of a child. Life is a Liturgy. It has its beginnings and its ends, and all in between it is filled with instruction, invites us to repentance, calls us to make an offering, orients us toward communion and equips us for mission. It has its seasons and its times; celebration, mourning, repentance, encounter, offering, giving, receiving …
(Excerpt) Read more at catholic.org ...
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