18th May 2014

The Wandering Mind
I was reading a book about “everyday spirituality” recently, when I came across this reflection written by a parishioner.

“At Mass I like to sit in the front. I can see better and it’s much easier to concentrate. That’s what I tell everybody. What I don’t say is that it often doesn’t work!

Once I’ve received communion and should be reflecting that Jesus, the Son of God is now living in me, I find myself once more brushing up as to what people wear in my parish. Truth be told I’m quite an expert! Whether it’s discovering what the latest fashions are amongst teenagers, to marvelling as to why so many of them make the effort to look smart, but still can’t be bothered to polish their shoes!”

“But the other day, I did find my mind wandering down a different path. I was so impressed at the old lady who managed with crutches. To walk down the aisle to receive communion; I hoped she was able to manage at home. Then there was the old man in his old fraying suit and shirt cuffs slightly yellowing. So proud, but how was he managing? Was he lonely and needing a visit?”
“The mum struggling with her three young children: she looked so harassed. I wanted to hug her and tell her she was doing such a great job, even to get her children to church; and so on…”
“Then the penny dropped, that’s how God sees people. He’s not interested in the latest fashion. But he is all caring and compassionate. He wants to comfort us. And I wished and I prayed, “please help me more often to see others through your eyes.”

Amen to that.

There was one thing that occurred to me after reading this very honest reflection. Perhaps in Mass, there is nothing that we struggle with more, than the wandering mind. The more we become aware of it, the harder it seems to control and the worse we feel. And yet…isn’t it also the truth that as with this parishioner, our wandering thoughts aren’t always negative or irrelevant. In fact they can be grace filled moments, we do receive genuine insights. Our problem might simply be that, as ever we are more aware of our negative thoughts than our positives and so something that could sometimes be seen as a blessing is, “always a problem.”