Disturb Us, Lord...

Something worth reflecting as we journey through life...

Prayer of Francis Drake, 1577

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

Simply 'Being'...Not 'Doing'...

“We are so obsessed with doing that we have no time and no imagination left for being. As a result, men are valued not for what they are but for what they do or what they have - for their usefulness.”

Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968)
Trappist Monk

We need a purpose, something to live for, a goal that will truly fulfill us and bring us happiness...an identity...social status...power

Yet, none of these can completely satisfy. No matter what we have, there is always something else we want. These things cannot give us lasting happiness; for human weakness, tragedy or death can destroy all that we have; in a heart beat. Yet, we continue this aimless pursuit. The world of science and business is continually conditioning us to be constantly getting things done...accomplishing things.


Most of the time, we forget that we are human beings; not human doings.

What is life all about?

Some say life is a journey back home. We need to search within the depths of our beings...simply to listen within the quiet depths of our being.

Acquiring Happiness...

"To acquire happiness you don't have to do anything, because happiness cannot be acquired. Does anybody know why? Because we have it already. How can you acquire what you already have? Then why don't you experience it? Because you've got to drop something. You've got to drop illusions. You don't have to add anything in order to be happy; you've got to drop something. Life is easy, life is delightful. It's only hard on your illusions, your ambitions, your greed, your cravings."

Anthony de Mello (1931 - 1987)
Jesuit priest


How true! People often allow their lives to be seduced by the noises of the world. Our human condition is such that we are always tied up in the status quo; anxious about everything. Despite our worldly pursuits of the so-called "success", our hearts seem restless...

What Is Life All About?...

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the seas, at the long course of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars, and yet they pass by themselves without wondering."

St. Augustine (354 - 430)


What is life all about?

Nothing in life can seem to fulfill us and bring us happiness. The human heart is yearning for something more. No matter what we have, there is always something else we want.

Strange moral thinking we seem to have in our culture. It seems anyone can rationalize anything these days.

Yet, we must acknowledge that none of these can completely satisfy our inner longing...a peace that the world cannot give or understand.

In order to L.I.S.T.E.N to the inner voice of our hearts, we need to first be S.I.L.E.N.T...be simply quiet


"We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature — trees, flowers, grass — grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence.... We need silence to be able to touch souls."

Blessed Mother Teresa (Theresa) of Calcutta
A Gift for God (1975)