Celtic Lent Day 18

God is the friend of silence. We need to find God, but we cannot find Him in noise or in excitement. See how nature, the trees, the flowers, the grass grow in deep silence. See how the stars, the moon, and the sun all move in silence.
The best way to show gratitude to God is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love.
Teresa of Calcutta

The Moor
It was like a church to me.
I entered it on soft foot,
breath held like a cap in the hand.
It was quiet.
What God there was made himself felt,
not listened to, in clean colours
that brought a moistening of the eye,
in a movement of the wind over grass.
There were no prayers said. But stillness
of the heart’s passions — that was praise enough; and the mind’s cession
of its kingdom. I walked on,
simple and poor, while the air crumbled
and broke on me generously as bread.
R. S. Thomas

Sometimes we're trying so hard to find God that we forget to just stop, to pause, to remember that God is all things, waiting for us to realise it.
I'm really bad at stopping, of letting the silence wash over me, but I never regret it when I do.

Scripture
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
Psalm 131.2

Celtic Lent Day 11

Listening to the rain
What a thing it is to sit absolutely alone, in the forest, at night, cherished by this wonderful, unintelligible, perfectly innocent speech, the most comforting speech in the world, the talk the rain makes by itself all over the ridges, and the talk of the watercourses everywhere in the hollows. Nobody started it, nobody is going to stop it. It will talk as long as it wants, this rain. As long as it talks, I am going to listen.
Thomas Merton

There's something overwhelmingly spiritual about being immersed in nature, I never feel closer to God than when I'm outdoors. The connection to the patterns and rhythms of the seasons, feeling connected to something so much bigger and ancient than myself. My understanding is that this lies at the heart of Celtic spirituality; the never-ending relationship between humankind and creation.
Overnight (at work) I've watched everything be transformed by a blanket of snow; there's a silence snow creates which invites me to listen to its peace and find something in it.

Scripture
Deep calls to deep
   at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
   have gone over me.
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,
   and at night his song is with me,
   a prayer to the God of my life.
Psalm 42.7-8

Celtic Lent Day 6

The peace of wild things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Wendell Berry

Sometimes we need to just stop, step outside of our lives and take a moment to breathe. Lent gives us permission for this. If I think too far ahead I'm overwhelmed and anxiety creeps in. Some things need to be planned for and thought about but many things don't.
In training for the priesthood we were told to learn the difference between urgent and important; some things are important but not urgent, some things urgent but not important. Some things are both or neither. Spending this apart in nature helps me regain a sense of peace, and with that a sense of priority and of what really matters.

Scripture
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
Matthew 6.26-27

Day 5

Be praised Good Lord for Brother Sun
who brings us each new day.

Be praised for Sister Moon: white
beauty bright and fair, with wandering
stars she moves through the night.

Be praised my Lord for Brother Wind,
for air and clouds and the skies of every season.

Be praised for Sister Water: humble,
helpful, precious, pure; she cleanses
us in rivers and renews us in rain.

Be praised my Lord for Brother fire:
he purifies and enlightens us.

Be praised my Lord for Mother Earth:
abundant source, all life sustaining;
she feeds us bread and fruit and gives us flowers.

- St. Francis of Assisi

A suggestion for meditation and prayer:

Go outside right now and search for a glimpse of God's good creation. 
I think you'll know it when you see it!
Pastor Patty Fox 40 days with 40 Christian mystics

I'm most comfortable with Christianity that embraces all aspects of nature and creation, I'm with Bob Seeger in that I see a forest as a cathedral. It's difficult to be in tune with the natural world when you're working 12 hour shifts on an isolation Ward but there are two parts of my which I try to savour. Firstly the walk into walk. There's some very mature trees on route which means for those 10 minutes in the morning walking in from my car is hear birdsong- it's so loud you wouldn't believe it in such a built up area. Secondly the walk back to my car. The cool night air hits me as soon as I walk outside- I especially love it if it's raining a bit! It's so refreshing after being indoors for so long. I often wonder how my patients must feel, some of whom will have been inside for weeks, taking those first steps outside.

Notice the World Around You

Today was one of those days that reminds me why I love my job. It was just the right sort of busy, I achieved my objectives, there were teaching opportunities for staff and patients- I felt like a good leader and a good nurse. Sadly with working a 14 hour day it gave little opportunity to enjoy the world around me, so I had to try in my own small way.
I was a little rushed when leaving the house (the grand prix qualifying was on the radio!) But it was lovely to step out into the cool morning air- and daylight. My first 7am daylight drive of the year. My walk from the car to the hospital was short and I took little notice of things, I have to admit. I promised myself I would pay extra attention when I left work.

I left though a door I don't usually use but it got me outside quicker. The air was cool and fresh, which is always welcome after a long day. Sadly the area next to the door is filled with building materials and the path is narrow, running between parts of the building. About half way down the path is a shrub and I could make out pale blossoms even in the dark. At the end of the path is a mature tree, covered in tiny buds. Stepping out onto Pallatine Road it's always lovely to look up at the huge mature trees which line it. I turned towards where my car was parked and spotted an older man, muttering to himself, heading towards the hostel on the other side of the road. I admit I was apprehensive, but as I passed him him exclaimed "nice weather!", with a smile I replied "it could certainly be worse."
And with that I was at my car and headed home.

Psalm 92:4

For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.