Rising Early (Part II)

I now have the luxury of discretionary time most mornings. Prayer time is less rushed and more relaxed. It is better to nourish the spirit before tending to the flesh. There is movement from the more formal prayer of the Office and Lectio Divina (the Scripture of the day’s Mass) to other reading and reflection. The sequence is not fixed. During Lent, I utilized Matthew Kelly’s Best Lent Ever. Many of you know Mr. Kelly’s Dynamic Catholic ministry. I’ve seen his books in our churches, free for the taking. The emailed BLE is even better: it’s free and takes up no physical space. Each day’s video clip featured Mr. Kelly and a Dynamic Catholic collaborator, who advances the theme. This Lent was based on his book The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity. That’s an attention-grabber. There is a 3-4 minute video, but my greater interest is in the community comments. How are followers hearing this message and answering the daily question, e.g., “How about you, when have you been attracted to holiness?” More than 600 comments appeared at the start of BLE. Two hundred was normal. I read about 20. The comments provide a window into hearts and minds. There is strife and sorrow, gratitude and joy. A bit more of the former than the latter, as one might expect. I suppose this is a Catholic version of Facebook.

Next up is ZENIT, a news service for “the world seen from Rome.” Most articles don’t interest me, but sometimes I get a heads up on developments in canon law. I find the occasional Q&A column on liturgy amusing and sometimes enlightening. On April 2, ZENIT published Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, his follow-up message from the Synod on Youth of October 2018. By the time you read this TLW, I may still be reading it, even though it is under 300 paragraphs (299, to be precise). Less voluminous is the text from the pope's Wednesday General Audience. Pope Francis has present- ed several series of instructions: the Mass, the Commandments, the beat- itudes, the works of mercy, the Our Father. These are quick reads that may prompt a little reflective time. Yes, ZENIT is free.

When I am looking ahead to a weekend in a parish, the Sunday readings are next. I follow up the Scripture with the Sunday website offered by St. Louis University that features commentary and reflections of various authors, men and women. I digest this material over two days, and it’s free. (I am not the cheap-skate you suppose me to be. Thanks to writing this article, I have been moved to send donations to all these free services.) When I don’t devote attention to a homily, there is more time for reading, like the exhortation or a "forever" spiritual/ theological book. No matter how short it is, it seems like forever before I finish it.

Well, does this sound like a full 30 minutes? I don’t watch the clock, but I am usually two hours or more into this prayer-reading-reflection cycle. In the interest of full disclosure, there are interruptions. My friend Father David frequently calls me. Is our conversation a distraction or an invitation? Maybe a bit of both. Finally, I multi-task two mornings a week: prayer and laundry. When the spin cycle ends, I take a break, but I return to the fill-agitate-spin cycle of morning prayer.