{"id":318602,"date":"2016-11-08T07:13:40","date_gmt":"2016-11-08T13:13:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/?p=318602"},"modified":"2016-11-07T23:04:13","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T05:04:13","slug":"keeping-the-inner-peace-on-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2016\/11\/keeping-the-inner-peace-on-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Keeping the (inner) peace on election day"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"peace\"<\/p>\n

I messaged a friend the other day,\u00a0“How ARE we going to keep calm on election day?”<\/em>\u00a0She wrote back:<\/p>\n

“I’m going to be drinking!\u00a0You don’t drink,\u00a0so you shall have to pray, I suppose. :P”<\/em><\/p>\n

I do plan to pray a lot, in whatever way I can, but most of all, I plan to pray in ways that simply keep me connected to God.<\/p>\n

As a Carmelite, I have a strong belief that cultivating a constant, loving awareness of the presence of God within is a service to the world, and that it has a gracious effect on everything, and everybody.<\/p>\n

I believe that when I am recollected, and in conscious contact with God, I have opened the fountain of living water in my soul. By doing so, I become a channel of grace for the world.<\/p>\n

Unsealing the living fountain of the Holy Spirit in my own soul mysteriously helps others do the same, and somehow they are helping me as well. To me, this is part of the Communion of Saints.<\/p>\n

\n

“Let us draw from the springs of salvation<\/p>\n

for our self, and for the entire parched world.”<\/p>\n

~ St. Edith Stein<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"SacredHeart5_tn\"<\/p>\n

Also, staying connected to God helps me to keep closer to His perspective when things get a little crazy.<\/p>\n

It also reminds me that whether there is the earthly appearance of what I think is justice or not, God is going to win in the end, win in His kind of way, and that His win lasts forever. My sister in Carmel, Pat Thompson says that God’s will is always love. Whatever happens, I can trust that will of love.<\/p>\n

\"224515_448894145152739_332211638_n\"<\/p>\n

So, in these days of fear, anger and chaos, division and anxiety, I hope to remain connected and recollected.<\/p>\n

I know I will have to be focussed about this commitment to myself, to God, and to the world. Sometimes I might become overwhelmed with what’s going on. However, I hope to make a consistent effort to draw myself back to the center every time; that center of my soul, and the center of the whole of existence, where God is. Here are some tips about staying on track for inner peace today.<\/p>\n

Make a plan for your day that cultivates peace.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"peace\"<\/p>\n