ab epistvlis

Why do you pray? A loved one is sick for a week, and it worries you. What do you feel? Your spouse or your dear heart has left you. You are heartbroken. How do you feel? You need money to buy food or pay for your child's tuition fees. And you don't know how to fill that hunger or send your child to school. What do you feel? You are ill. You are in a hospital bed diagnosed with a rare disease and you don't know if you can be treated. How do you feel? You are turning 40 soon and still single. You've been wanting to get married but prince charming is nowhere to be found. You feel desperate and would marry anyone even without love. What do you feel? Your mother is in the ICU, comatose. Any time soon, she'll be gone. You find yourself inside the chapel, praying, crying. What do you pray? How are you feeling? Your best friend just betrayed you. It is so much painful as if your heart wanted to burst from anger. How do you feel? You did something wrong. P...

When one practices contemplation , the human nature needs to experience "interiority"; however, the ego craves to have something, aspires to know something, longs to acquire something. Until these triple "desire for something" dissipates, it will be very hard for the person to reach interior freedom. This can not be done in a day, nor in just a short practice for some time. This path of contemplation is entered into with intense effort, and arrive at with discipline until it reaches a stage where it becomes a habit, a part of our daily life. We need great dedication to reach this stage. Have constancy so that the day will come when it will be easy and delightful. — (John Tauler, 14th c. Dominican Mystic) From Regina Rosarii, Center for Contemplative Prayer, #55 Scout Santiago Street, Timog, Quezon City.   Photo c/o Fotografik Mind