On September 22nd our entire school gathered for the Mass of the Holy Spirit honoring that mysterious Divine life which moves through and connects all beings. As we sat outside on that sunny morning I noticed a group of birds in a nearby tree chirping along with our high school’s orchestra. I wondered if they too prayed. And what is prayer.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, “Where two or three gather in my name, I am there.” Some mystics have interpreted this to mean that God is not the object of prayer, but prayer itself.
The masses and other prayer services we hold at school represent a break from our normal schedule. They are a time for us to stop and reflect on the beautiful and enchanted world around us, the wonderful community seated next to us, and, perhaps, ourselves. When we stop to reflect we often find that doing so is actually our purpose in life.
And so, as the students sang a song, the birds chirped, the leaves danced, and the sun shone lovingly down, I looked around to see that the entire world was God and was, for a moment, aware of itself.
