Seán Walsh: Pre-Lenten Reflection

Here’s the Thing!

“But when you pray, go into your room,

close the door and pray to your Father,

who is unseen.” (Matt 6: 6)

Unseen – but there for all that…

Present. A presence…

Stay in, stay safe. Wash your hands –

the all-too-familiar diktats of the Pandemic.

Now here’s a thing:

social distancing does not cut ice

with Jesus Christ!..

He is having none of it!

On the contrary, He invites us

– Come to Me –

to search for Him, seek Him out,

find Him… go to Him… touch Him –

even the hem of His garment…

Sure you only have to turn to Him

to find He is already turned to you!

Arms extended – to embrace… welcome…shelter.

Then cling to Him! Yes, cling to Him!

And this you can do very well –

oh, not in a packed hall or crowded arena –

but in the quiet of your own space –

your house, home, room, apartment, bedsit…

Stay safe, find Jesus.

And in so doing you may well encounter

the Risen Christ – warmer, richer, more alive –

than ever before…

Why? Because – and this is the thing –

the company of Jesus – His friendship –

nourished and sustained

by a deep, deepening

awareness of his presence

in the privacy of one’s own space –

that is what was – is – and always will be –

of the utmost importance.

Words?.. A few… maybe… some times.

But more to the point:

an awareness of Presence….

the warm realization that there is

someone… Another…

close by… beside you… at your side…

sharing your space…

And the meaning of the Risen Jesus

will surely come home to you, anew…

But it is only in quiet, in stillness,

that the Spirit will stir in your soul…

the Sacred Heart… speak to your heart.

Stay in, stay safe… with Jesus.

 –

Sean Walsh.

July 2020

(Came to me in Lockdown, June, 2020, rewritten again and again until I got it ‘right’)

www.sean-walsh.me