January 9, 2013 WBAS Topics Prayer, REL Topic- Prayer, REL Asset - Prayer Card
By: Kathy Hendricks
I have been breathing a lot these days for other people. It’s a way for me to take in their pain, which I can do little or nothing to alleviate, and to pass along consolation. I learned this form of prayer several years ago while studying to become a spiritual director. Doing so feels like a participation in the lives of those who suffer rather than standing helplessly on the sidelines. I am not sure exactly what you’d call this form of prayer. I simply see it as breathing peace.
I have always loved the post-Resurrection stories in the Gospels. Jesus reassures his disciples, who were understandably jumpy at the sight of him, with warming gestures. He cooked a hot meal for Peter and the other disciples after their hard day of fishing (John 21:9-13). He let Thomas feel the fleshiness of his wounds (John 20:24-28). He told stories and broke bread with two heartsick disciples (Luke 24:13-35). He “breathed” on the group huddling behind locked doors as a sign of peace and the passing along of the Holy Spirit (John 20:19-22).
It’s this last passage that sticks in my mind during my breathing prayers. Sometimes words won’t suffice, especially when trying to wrap my mind around the losses and grieving and anguish besetting particular friends and communities at large. How do I begin to comprehend the sorrow of the parents and the community of Newtown? How can I reach out adequately to those who have lost spouses, jobs, or health? I must confess that my prayer often brings me the kind of peace I hope for my loved ones. Perhaps that’s what Jesus was trying to convey in breathing his Spirit on the disciples. They, in turn, needed to breathe it on others. As a new year begins, perhaps that’s the best we all can do.
Bright Ideas
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Read my blog about the peacemaking efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Consider how you can make Martin Luther King Day an occasion for being a peacemaker.
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Download my Prayer of Peace and use it as part of your daily meditation over the next week.
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