Spiritual Care Sunday #16

 

In one of the essays in the book In the Shelter by Padraig O'Tuama, he reflects on his time as a chaplain at the De La Salle Pastoral Center in West Belfast where he led day long retreats for schools. He talked about a simple prayer time that he shared with the students using the gift of imagination. It usually lasted only about 4-5 minutes total.  In essence, this is what he invited them to do below: 

Imagine yourself taking a walk in a lovely place of your own choosing. 

Picture the scenery in your mind with the colors, sights, and smells around you. 

At one point on your walk, you see a stranger coming towards you, 

and on closer inspection, you realize it is Jesus. 

He greets you by your name.....

and you all engage in a conversation. 

Imagine what you would say 

and then listen for Jesus' response.

He relayed a story about a teenage boy who went on one of these imaginative prayer walks and imagined himself walking through the woods. As he was walking, he was worried because the pathway kept changing. He found himself, eventually, in a dell, where he met Jesus. He said that Jesus asked him three questions: 
How would you describe today? 
Have you seen anything interesting along the way? 
And: 
Is it working? 
 
Padraig shared that these questions that were so grounded in the moment, felt like an invitation to mindfulness. He wrote this poem in response: 

Is it working? 
When you’ve been alive for only
five thousand
eight hundred
and twenty-nine days
 
The pathways are
rarely clear
here where
the roads keep changing.
 
What makes sense
one day
makes no
sense the next.
 
And so
to avoid exhaustion
and to deepen rest
ask yourself
 
these questions.
How would you
describe today?
And
Have you seen
Anything interesting
on the way?
And
 
Is it working?
Is it working?
Always
Is it working?

- Pádraig Ó Tuama, In the Shelter