Last Sunday we hosted Archbishop Etienne for one of our two confirmation Masses this season. It is always a joy to be visited by our chief shepherd because it serves as a reminder of our communion with him and, through him, with the universal Church. One of the additional joys for Fr. Ross and myself is that we were then able to have a private dinner with the Archbishop on Sunday night.
At one point during the dinner, the Archbishop spoke about his own private prayer life. He said that for many months after being named to Seattle, it was an incredible struggle for him to want to get out of bed each morning and fulfill his ministry. For one thing, his previous dioceses (Cheyenne and Anchorage) were much smaller, so the sheer amount of work and responsibility that comes with a place like Seattle requires an exhausting learning curve. For another thing, as the country divides more and more and becomes one extended shouting match, so has the Church, and it is easy for the Archbishop to be overwhelmed by bad news and angry letters day in and day out. Prayer, for him, became a refuge (as it should be!), but not necessarily a place to be built up in the Lord.
Some months ago, however, this all changed for him. Apparently, a spiritual director on a recent retreat suggested that he begin each day (he prays at the beginning of his day) with the question, “How is the Lord going to bless me and bless the Archdiocese of Seattle today?” The Archbishop reports that this has been hugely impactful for him. After all, we believe that God does love us and does desire our good, so we should expect his blessings on ourselves and the Church. Even in difficult times, God never abandons us and never stops blessing us. So beginning each day with the assumption and reminder that he is going to bless us will help us to be more attentive to the existence of that love throughout each day.
I have already tried this method out during my holy hours this week. I have seen some small fruit but, like with everything in the spiritual life, the real success is only going to come once the practice becomes deeply ingrained and habitual. I am excited to see how my own relationship with the Lord might improve if I keep this practice up over the course of a few months. If you do it, too, please let me know how things go.
Fr. Moore 