Sunday May 1: The Grace Place

[link to full email]: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/word-of-the-week-may1

[excerpt from email]: Practice: ‘Come and have breakfast’. As you prepare in whatever way you do to have your breakfast, issue this invitation to Christ. Set a place for Christ, take a few moments to become conscious of Christ’s presence and prayerfully share your plans for the day, your joys, your sorrows and your struggles – you will find Christ is a morning person and an eager listener. What do you learn by this encounter?

My very early morning routine is to do Centering Prayer, and then get coffee and do Lectio.  I’m going to modify the suggested practice a bit and invite Jesus to “Come have some coffee with me.” And then ponder the day’s Scripture together and look ahead to the day …both the expected and the unexpected.  Marlene OSB

Come. Have breakfast. Pre- COVID, St Francis parish hosted 16 people each night. There were cots for their sleeping bags; there were 16 spaces on the patio of the Parish  Center.  Each morning, two volunteers prepared  a simple breakfast. Coffee, juice, cereal, yogurt, boiled eggs, toast. Once everything was set out, the guests were invited to come in. Many of the guests had been coming for many days; they had their usual place at one of the tables, their favorite coffee cup   Some guests quietly visited; others savored the early morning quiet. By 7AM they were gone, off to face another day as homeless people, a day that might bring discomfort, challenges, unexpected kindnesses. Both guests and volunteers knew that these brief moments were graced moments. Although we did not set a place for the Christ, there was a Presence that flavored everything.

Never Tasted So Good. It was 5AM on Sunday, December 9, 2018. Three of us sat at the dining room table   Mom had died about 8:30 PM the night before. It was a peaceful death. Our collective yawns indicated a night with very little sleep. The only coffee in the house was Yuban DeCaf.  My sister went on a “rescue mission” to a nearby Starbucks ( there is always a Starbucks nearby) and returned with strong coffee and sweet rolls. As the three of us sat quietly, we shared what we had witnessed: “a life well -lived, a departure well-done”. Mom’s caregiver Lola was with us. She had lived with Mom for seven years and was like a sister.  I shall always remember that morning: at the table, with breakfast, lingering over the memory of an ordinary person who was quite special.

Sunday May 1: The Grace Place

What do I learn from my breakfast date with Christ? My day flows naturally from Christ’s suggested timing for my tasks. I can move from prayer to mopping floors, exercise to toilet scrubbing, prayer to creative writing to evening meal preparation. Pause. Breathe. Listen. Respond. Another day with full nets needing mending. <3 linda

Thanks, Linda. I’ve read your post several times and find it heartening. It’s so easy to forget that Christ has the day’s itinerary mapped out. I’m not driving the bus.

I somehow wander off along the beach as the disciples half heartedly went back to fishing. From a far I see the rest of them pulling into shore; I glance at some sort of commotion but I am too lost repeating over and over the prayer that ended our Centering Prayer time last Wednesday “My Lord and my God…. detach me from myself to give my all to you; nightly dreaming washing up the shore memory after memory released through the Welcome Prayer, memories over ridden by the Spirit….

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