My Thoughts on 05/11/2020

As we start this month long lockdown I thought I would resume a short daily thought. In the Times on Tuesday there was an article suggesting many ways we could cope during this month long time of staying indoors and staying safe. Here are my thoughts about how I will cope with this time.

I see this month as an opportunity given to me to reflect and stay in the present. Yesterday they were putting up the Christmas lights here in Burgate, and in town we see all the Christmas window displays. This encourages us to plan for the future and to think ahead about what we are doing in December. I know however pleasant thoughts of Christmas might be, I need to remind myself that it is important to stay in the present. Today is the day that God speaks to me, reveals himself to me, in the present moment. It is today that God wishes to speak to me and reveal himself to me. In psalm 94 there is the verse “O that today you would listen to his voice harden not your heart”. What does God want to say to me today? Each day take time to be still, to be present to God who is closer to us than we are to ourselves.

“The present is ever filled with infinite treasure, it contains more than you have the capacity to hold. Faith is the measure. Believe and it will be done to you accordingly. When we abandon ourselves to God in prayer, then each moment becomes a sacrament of joy, gratitude and loving acceptance of the love of God manifest in that moment” ( Jean-Pierre de Caussade, The Sacrament of the Present Moment)

Canon Father Anthony Charlton
Canon Father Anthony CharltonParish Priest