I’ve had the fun of asking people this question over the last several weeks. In doing so, I realized how obvious it seems to most of us, that faith is what causes prayer. However, Mother Teresa would disagree, as one of her many famous quotes reminds us:
The fruit of silence is prayer
The fruit of prayer is faith
The fruit of faith is love
The fruit of love is service
The fruit of service is peace
This is quite the road map. Where is the starting point? In the silence. The idea of silence doesn’t seem overly original as meditation and yoga have become much more commonplace. In Catholic circles this idea is also fairly common, as authors like Matthew Kelly refer to “the classroom of silence.”
Faith comes from prayer and prayer comes from the silence.
Where do you find the silence? Wherever you choose.
A walk or jog in the early morning or evening. When you're alone in the car. The moments between meetings at your desk. The ride in the elevator. As you wait for the water to boil while making dinner. It doesn’t have to be in a church kneeling at a pew.
When we spend time in the silence we think about our lives. We think about the people and circumstances in our lives. And if we make a habit of going into the silence, it doesn’t take too long to realize how deeply we yearn for peace and love and fulfillment that is experienced and expressed when the silence is our anchor.
Don’t wait for your faith to cause you to pray. Rather, just start praying. WARNING: It will feel really weird at first, but it's worth it. When you do so with an open heart, and develop more and more consistency in going there, the good fruits you hope for will find you.
The fruit of silence is prayer
The fruit of prayer is faith
The fruit of faith is love
The fruit of love is service
The fruit of service is peace
This is quite the road map. Where is the starting point? In the silence. The idea of silence doesn’t seem overly original as meditation and yoga have become much more commonplace. In Catholic circles this idea is also fairly common, as authors like Matthew Kelly refer to “the classroom of silence.”
Faith comes from prayer and prayer comes from the silence.
Where do you find the silence? Wherever you choose.
A walk or jog in the early morning or evening. When you're alone in the car. The moments between meetings at your desk. The ride in the elevator. As you wait for the water to boil while making dinner. It doesn’t have to be in a church kneeling at a pew.
When we spend time in the silence we think about our lives. We think about the people and circumstances in our lives. And if we make a habit of going into the silence, it doesn’t take too long to realize how deeply we yearn for peace and love and fulfillment that is experienced and expressed when the silence is our anchor.
Don’t wait for your faith to cause you to pray. Rather, just start praying. WARNING: It will feel really weird at first, but it's worth it. When you do so with an open heart, and develop more and more consistency in going there, the good fruits you hope for will find you.