Sometimes it is just really hard to begin once you have stopped. It has been months since my last posting of thoughts and reflections and each time I sit down in front of the computer screen to write about something…excuses begin to enter into my mind and distractions begin be discovered and another day will pass.
I shared this part of my spiritual journey a couple of weeks ago during a homily. How, the soccer (football) season in England, begins on television at 4:30 a.m. and the choices this invites me to make. The first choice is to get out our bed. I am usually awake at this time so this is not to hard. The second choice is at 5:00 a.m. I normally go over to the church and spend my Holy Hour in front of the tabernacle in prayer. The decision to step away from the television and the ease of watching the game rather than walking over to the church to pray is a temptation that can be hard to resist…especially when I am texting my older brother in conversation about the game being played. I know that the right choice is and most of the time I choose to spend the best part of my day with God and trust in the games that are being played later in the day.

I write this little story because, If I don’t go over at 5:00 a.m. then all my “plans” of doing it later in the day fall to dust as I get busy and find other distractions to hold me away from this vital and important moment of prayer.
This same thing happens when I write…in making the transition from St. Lucy Parish to St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish almost a year ago I lost the tempo, space and “normal time” to write. The routine disappeared and I discovered distractions are much easier to follow than the work of writing.
It is not that I didn’t have good intentions. I have a small note book full of ideas to write about. I have several dozen “beginnings” saved on the computer where I didn’t complete what I had begun.
Therefore on this day of 16 August 2022 I am making a new commitment to put forward weekly posts for two very small reasons.
It makes me think about where God is in my life at this moment. It is not that this isn’t on my mind often, rather it is the intentionality of forming my thoughts and prayers around a singular idea about the presence of God in a focused way. In a way it is reminding me to be renewed each day and moment and be unafraid to share these thought and prayers with others.
It organizes my life. Routine in prayer and service is so very important. I talk about how I need to schedule my prayer…to schedule celebrations of Mass…and to take time in personal and emotional growth in a structured manner. Writing is one of the ways I do this and my growth in all these senses has been lessened over the past six months of not taking the time to write these posts.
So there it is…I will have a post ready for this Friday August 19 and with God’s grace and a little perseverance on my part I will succeed.

God Bless
Fr. Mark