Sunday, February 13, 2011

Saint Therese & Sweet Dreams!

Are you all familiar with St. Therese of Lisieux? She was a young French woman who became a Carmelite nun before dying at a very young age. She is known for her little way of holiness, and is sometimes referred to as the "Little Flower." And now she is not only a saint, but a Doctor of the Church!


The reason I mention her tonight is that she wrote about being upset with herself at one point for falling asleep during her community prayers. All of her efforts could not keep her consistently wakeful, and she poured out her heart to the Lord on this matter. And do you know what the Lord told Therese?

"He gives to His beloved even in his sleep" (Psalm 127:2).

I think God is giving that same message to me tonight. So goodnight, everyone!

Peace and all good,
Leslie

2 comments:

  1. Oh, dear, I can relate to this!
    Not too long ago, I watched a dvd series on contemplative/centering prayer, and the speaker, Fr. Carl Arico, addressed this very issue of falling asleep while praying. He was very encouraging, and although I don't recall his exact words, it went something like this:

    "Don't worry about it; besides, what makes you think you are any more interesting to God while you are awake?"

    Hope you are resting well!

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  2. Fr. Carl's comments, as paraphrased by CathyM, are right on the money...

    When I was younger, I use to fall asleep while I was praying all the time; sometimes at night, my right foot would twitch and I would imagine that an angel had come to wake me up - could of been just a twitch but I was sure it was an angel (when I woke, I could remember the feeling, the pressure, the warmth, of someone shaking my foot) and it often allowed me to complete my prayers so whose to say it's not both...

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