Into the Desert

"Prayer and converse with God is a supreme good: it is a partnership and union with God. As the eyes of the body are enlightened when they see light, so our spirit, when it is intent on God, is illumined by his infinite light. I do not mean the prayer of outward observance but prayer from the heart, not confined to fixed times or periods but continuous throughout the day and night.

Practice prayer from the beginning. Paint your house with the colors of modesty and humility. Make it radiant with the light of justice. Decorate it with the finest gold leaf of good deeds. Adorn it with the walls and stones of faith and generosity. Crown it with the pinnacle of prayer. In this way you will make it a perfect dwelling place for the Lord. You will be able to receive him as in a splendid palace, and through his grace you will already possess him, his image enthroned in the temple of your spirit" (St. John Chrysostom, Bishop).

Into The Desert

Into the desert . . .
  I keep within my heart
    a Lenten vigil
      of silence and prayer

The contemplation
  of Christ's Suffering Face
become the atmosphere
  for new growth in virtue
    and blossoms into
  His Love, Humility and 
    a charity
      that branches out
         into
    an embrace of all the world
       filling it with 
         the Fragrance of Christ

Behold . . .
    how the Lenten desert
      brings forth new life
    each tender "bud" -- the virtues
      blossoms forth
beneath the Sacred Gaze of Jesus
    from the Wood of His Cross.