Weekly Clergy Letter From Father Santiago Rodriguez

Prayer is at the heart of our Christian tradition – especially the kind of prayer that asks nothing of us except to sit still and let God love us.

 

These moments can feel magical. They are also surprisingly hard. Even when we’ve paused to be with God, our bodies often keep going. We get restless. We feel the urge to move, to do something. The body resists stopping. It resists rest. And so, contemplation (though gentle) can be hard work.

 

To pause with God means more than quieting our minds. It means inviting our whole selves – body, mind, heart, and soul – to slow down. Without that deep desire to rest, we’re likely to be swept back up by the inertia of our daily lives.

 

We’re creatures of motion. Our bodies are used to moving quickly, always on to the next thing. But when we slow down – truly slow down – something changes. Our restlessness begins to ease. The body and mind, deeply connected, help each other settle. And when they do, the heart opens more freely, and the soul begins to soar.

 

The Desert Mothers and Fathers taught that true prayer includes the body. We don’t just pray with our thoughts or words. We pray with our breath, our posture, our senses. We pray with our whole being. We experience this when we come to church. We can also experience this at home.

 

Before I enter into a moment of prayer, I often say to myself: “We are going to slow down now. We’re not going to run. We’re going to enjoy doing nothing with God.” It may sound simple, but it’s a powerful act of faith and freedom: giving myself permission to be still and let God love me.

 

It also helps me to listen to the rhythm of my breath: breathing in, breathing out. I pay attention to the quiet music my body makes: the heartbeat, the lungs expanding and releasing. I begin to hear it slow down. And when I do, I find myself more at ease, more present to God.

 

In the coming days and weeks, I invite you to find moments like these. Let go – if only for a few minutes each day – of the things that raise your mind and your blood pressure. Make space to stop. To breathe. To say to yourself: “We’re going to slow down now and rest in God’s love.”

 

 

The habit of running is strong. But the desire to be with God can be even stronger. And when we slow down, we discover that we are being held – completely – by the One whose love heals, renews, and sets our souls free.