{"id":20340,"date":"2012-07-31T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2012-07-31T15:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=20340"},"modified":"2012-07-31T01:45:55","modified_gmt":"2012-07-31T06:45:55","slug":"an-invitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2012\/07\/an-invitation\/","title":{"rendered":"An Invitation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Life feels like this sometimes, but we still need to take a break.\u00a0Photo by\u00a0Milton CJ<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hey you.<\/p>\n

Stop.<\/p>\n

Just stop, and pray. And especially listen.<\/p>\n

If you didn’t read the rest of this article, got off the computer, and went and just prayed, even for thirty seconds, I would praise God with great thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

But, nevertheless, I’ll keep writing, just in case you need more convincing.<\/p>\n

You see, I’ve found that if you don’t stop on your own, sometimes God will stop life’s distractions for you. How many times have you heard conversion stories of someone living a reckless lifestyle, then something tragic happens and later they’re grateful for the tragedy because they feel they’ve been set back on the right track?<\/p>\n

Recently, I spent an hour at Saint William’s perpetual adoration chapel and just stopped. I was amazed by how much discipline it took to do so. I was so tempted to pray a rosary or read a few chapters from the Bible to pass the time. I found myself shifting anxiously in my seat. (I was in adoration, surely I should be doing something<\/em>.) But somehow, maybe out of sheer mental exhaustion, I felt the need to stop.<\/p>\n

I looked into the monstrance and told the Lord, “I love you. I just need to be<\/em> for a little while. Be with you. Be with me too, ok?” And we did.<\/p>\n

As I sat, thoughtless for a while, my thoughts turned to contemplation. How amazing it was that I was able to do what I was doing.<\/p>\n

Our Catholic faith tells us that although we are only able to perceive a wafer of bread, it is Jesus Christ truly present – \u00a0body, blood, soul and divinity.<\/p>\n

What a great gift that God has given to us in the Eucharist. The ability to actually, physically be with Him. Man, separated from God through original sin, is allowed through his plan for our salvation (the Death and\u00a0Resurrection\u00a0of His Only Begotten Son) to be with Him again. On this earth and for all eternity in the next.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite phrases from the new translation of the mass is “like the dewfall.” It came to mind as I was contemplating, because peace descended on me, like the dewfall.<\/p>\n

I reflected on that feeling and in my heart I could hear the Lord say, “Thank you for being with me, my precious child. I love you, too.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you need a little bit more motivation to stop, check out this site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Hey you. Stop. Just stop, and pray. And especially listen. If you didn’t read the rest of this article, got off the computer, and went and just prayed, even for thirty seconds, I would praise God with great thanksgiving. But, nevertheless, I’ll keep writing, just in case you need more convincing. You see, I’ve… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[4,90],"tags":[899,132,120,74],"class_list":{"0":"post-20340","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-blog","7":"category-faith-blog","8":"tag-adoration","9":"tag-eucharist","10":"tag-peace","11":"tag-prayer","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":178164,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/12\/living-praying-novena\/","url_meta":{"origin":20340,"position":0},"title":"Living and Praying a Novena","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"December 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A novena can be a special time between God and the praying soul, a pilgrimage of transformation and insight, as well as a way of \u201cstorming heaven,\u201d with a petition. \u00a0A novena prayed with faith is also a time of expectant waiting. Whatever I am praying for,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"photo Shawn Chapman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/IMG_0365-e1448574829459-197x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":120372,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/easy-green-reflection-ordinary-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":20340,"position":1},"title":"Easy Green: A Reflection on Ordinary Time","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"June 16, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"My daughter, Maire, got in trouble at her Catholic middle school for wearing green nail polish, which was against the rules. (Only clear or light pink nail polish allowed, if I remember right.) When asked about her indiscretion, she said, \u201cIt\u2019s for Ordinary Time!\u201d I laughed hearing about that. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Faith"","block_context":{"text":"Faith","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/faith-blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"circular-liturgical-calendar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/circular-liturgical-calendar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":132866,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/07\/lectio-lovers-praying-lectio-divina-couple\/","url_meta":{"origin":20340,"position":2},"title":"Lectio for Lovers: Praying Lectio Divina as a Couple","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"July 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"In silent open-ness to God, we set aside our own agendas and open ourselves to God\u2019s agenda, which is always love, love, and more love. What could be better than that? Lectio Divina (Holy Reading) \u00a0is an ancient Christian way to pray the Scriptures. 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It became a natural part of my daily life over the years and has grown and changed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog"","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/category\/acnm\/blog\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rosary made by Shawna Marcontel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/IMG_1177-e1444105559518-127x190.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":167680,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/prayer-love-love-prayer-reflection-praying-dead\/","url_meta":{"origin":20340,"position":4},"title":"Prayer is Love, Love is Prayer: A reflection on praying with and for the dead","author":"Shawn Rain Chapman","date":"November 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"November is the month the praying Church dedicates to remembrance of the dead. As one whose life has been especially marked by death and grief, my prayer with and for the dead is an important part of my spiritual life. 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