Cosmic Connection

Grace

“Grace is a pre-existing condition.”

David Finnegan-Hosey (Christ on the Psych Ward)

In his book, Christ on the Psych Ward, David Finnegan-Hosey wrote: “When we join together in prayer for those who are hurting, we link ourselves to the cries of creation, and find ourselves, there, in the heart of God. Prayer links us to Christ in solidarity with the groaning of creation.” The question always comes up for me, what does it mean to pray? Is it a laundry list of requests and laments? Do I need to get on my knees and wail and beg? I've done all those things in my life, and have come to understand that prayer, at least for me, doesn't have to include words at all—it's a state of mind.

Whether we like it or not, acknowledge it or not, we are an integral part of creation. We share the energy and matter of stars that erupted from the cosmos billions of years ago. We exist in space—on a small blue planet in the middle of nowhere. There is no escaping being part of a greater whole. I would add that we are just as significant and just as insignificant as all the rest of creation—no more, no less, just part of it. So we are connected with that which we call God and with one another in a cosmic net that we cannot escape. Prayer is one form of communication with the rest of the net—energetic in nature and more powerful than we imagine. And, since there is no linear time in the universe, that energy spans past and future without barrier or boundary. Prayer energy, then, is timeless. 

I like to picture prayer as a light bulb in the center of a spiderweb of circuits. When my light bulb ignites, it lights up the network around it. That network connects to other light bulbs close by, and each of those connects with others until the entire network is ablaze. Prayer doesn't need to be words. It can simply be holding an intention for good with gratitude. Whatever the outcome, prayer is a way of realizing grace, because holding oneself open to that which is good in the universe is grace itself.

                                                       In the Spirit,

                                                          Jane