Visiting A Church just to have Quiet Time
Yesterday, I decided to drop by Church of Holy Cross just to take a break, to pray and to read the Sunday Missal. Just to take one of my occasional 'retreats'. Holy Cross is my favorite place to pray, I do not know if it's because this church is convenient, where the parking is just beside the church or is it because this church is single-storeyed so there is no need to climb stairs.
Anyway, what came to my mind is that at 4pm in the hot afternoon, is that there are already a few others in the church before me. I wondered to myself how many people are there to pray for desperate cases or simply there like me just to pop in and say "hello!" to God.
Not that it matters which is the reason, but I find that very encouraging that the faithfuls or desperates are taking time off during their daily schedules to make time to go to a church and pray or just to spend a quiet moment.
(Actually if any of you had gone to Novena church, the turnout is excellent, you can never find the church empty no matter what time of the day you are there. )
So I guess to these people, myself included, praying in a church is very different from praying "anywhere for God is everywhere". It is just different psychologically, for somehow knowing that Jesus' body is in the tabernacle or perhaps just the grandious size of His Crucifix just creates an awe-effect to focus our attention.
I encourage all of you to take time off to your own parish and pray sometimes, not for mass or for other activities, but just to pray and spend some time with Him. It can be very gratifying and interesting. You might actually hear God speak.
He usually does when I'm there.
Nick Teo
2 comments:
I started organ lessons and now practice a few times a week on our church pipe organ during the day when the church is open. One or two people are in the church praying every time I practice, and I feel bad disturbing their peace, but I don't have another choice. They have inspired me to spend time in quiet prayer as long as I'm there, and you're right; it's really something special. I benefit more from the prayer time than I am the organ practice time.
Ummm..yeah...if the didn't lock the doors. something about "insurance liability"... and we have daily Mass, only now and again, when we're not having a funeral...that suffices, we are told. so how do we know whether to show up at 8am or not? we don't!
That's a good reason why we're losing so many young people...lack of consistency. Oh well.
I'm sure God will find a way to fix this...
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