The psalmist is praising Our Lord in this beautiful verse 10 of Psalm 46. "Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!" It is a very meaningful verse which can be the basis of meditation or contemplation.

I used it as the title of this reflection because "Be Still and know that I am God!" has a secondary meaning. To me, it means that I am to go into my prayer room, place, seat, or closet, and very privately have a conversation with the Lord. I have friends who have made a little prayer room in a large walk-in closet. A place where they can totally shut out any distractions so that they can talk to Jesus and then, they can be still, and hear His voice.

Jesus told us, "... when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you." (Mat 6:6). Some people will sit by the pool (when there is no one else around), go into their private prayer space, but in general they take the advise of Jesus how to, and where, to pray to the Father. In that private place, we begin to praise Him. We begin to tell the Father, in the Name of Jesus, that we love Him so very much. We remember what he has done for us over the years and praise Him for it. He may have given us a large family, a wonderful husband or wife, great kids, some of whom weathered the teenage years (and you did too, without getting a nervous breakdown), and then they went off to college and became adults in their own right. And, eventually, they found a companion in life, and now they are getting married. Something like that... parents have much to be thankful for, and in your prayer life, tell Jesus about all this. Yes, he knows what is going on in our lives, but He hasn't as yet heard it directly from us! Tell Him! Share with Him. Praise Him. Thank Him, and keep telling Him of all the great things in your life, and even the things that are not as great.

Suffering befalls us from time to time. Sometimes it is not clear where it comes from or why we have to suffer in the first place. Nevertheless, thank Our Lord for the opportunity to suffer for Him, with Him. When you do this, you are sharing in His suffering and your intentions become a prayer. Your pain becomes a prayer. And He surely appreciates that in us. Suffering can be very bitter, but with the right attitude and with patience and strength, your suffering can do a tremendous amount of good. So tell Him, when you are alone with Him, about your experience in suffering, in the difficult times you experience.

We are here, on this earth to love God, and to love our Sisters and Brothers. When we do this, by trying to curtail faults, sins, in our life, we live in a state of "metanoia" (daily conversion) which turns one into the State of Grace. When we love God and our Sisters and Brothers, through action, charity, helping people, various ministries and apostolates, then we become spiritually closer to the Father. Prayer tends to be cumulative... Why? Well, from personal experience, I know that if I put zeal and emphasis in my prayer life, my life will improve. Since about 1983, I have been praying some parts of the Liturgy of the Hours every day. 1983 was a good year for me. It was the year that I returned to the Sacraments after a 20-year absence. It was also the year my Mother passed away, my only remaining relative except for some first cousins who write me about once a year, if that much. Part of the reason I had fallen away from Church was that in those 20 years I helped my mother get through some very trying years with Dimentia, her last four years of her life. During those years I was very unhappy. That's over now, but in 1984, I moved from New York to Miami (a job transfer) because I couldn't stand it up there anymore, the traffic, the smog, the snow, the cold, well, you know the rest of the story.

While I lived in Miami, a colleague at work, a Catholic, invited me to join his parish, and help him as an usher. And I didn't think about it too long, felt this was a Gift from God, and I confessed my sins, was forgiven, and returned to Church. In the years that followed, many blessings came to me. Some of these blessings were becoming a Franciscan friar (although I was looking for something more contemplative). And eventually, I became a monk for 5 years. I mention this because Our Lord gave me a wonderful Gift. Several, in fact. I began to sing again, and He has given me a pretty good voice (so people tell me), and when I came to Vero Beach in 1987, not all that long afterward, I joined the Youth Choir that used to sing at the Sunday 5 PM Mass (long before they called themselves 'Synaxis.' In Christian and liturgical use, the Synaxis is the assembly for any religious function. It's a pretty neat name as names go.) Then, after my religious life experience, I joined the Adult and the Resurrection Choirs and this is still the case today.

Anyway, so I was telling you that I prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, that is while a religious, the whole thing. The Vigils (Office of Readings), Morning Prayer, the various Daytime Prayers (also known as the "Minor Hours"), Evening Prayer and Night Prayer. And we did other prayers at other times. Now. When I returned to being a Lay person again in 2002, I rejoined the Secular Franciscan Order (Professed in 1994), and there we traditionally pray just Morning and Evening Prayer because that is the recommended parts of the Liturgy of the Hours. But then, I began to think, quite recently, in Lent 2010 - how nice it would be for the Father, if I would pay more attention to Him. Yes, I know, He doesn't need me, but we need Him! And when you love someone, you spend time with that person, so I figured more prayer will never hurt. So I began to return to the Office of Readings and added Night Prayer at the end of the day. And something wonderful happened... I began to become much happier. It comes to me in the little things, a smile I may discern on someone's face. A song I break into for no reason at all. Stuff like that. And I am relearning the meaning of "Be Still and know that I am God." I feel his Presence, and it is a very good feeling.

As some of you may have noticed, I have Parkinsons Disease. Now it is commonly known that this Disease is as yet uncurable. I take certain medicines to keep the trembling in check, but I have also been praying. And many, many others have been praying for me, too. I thank the late Pope John Paul II for his tremendous Faith and Love ... if you follow His life's story, there is much to love in that good soul. And, you know, he had Parkinson Disease pretty bad. This man really suffered in his final years!

I went to my Neurologist not long ago, and she remarked to me that I had been seeing her for five years (a fact that somehow seemed shorter than it is), and that usually even earlier the disease gets much worse in people, sometimes already after one or two years. Well, she noted that in my case, it was as if it had gotten better. It is a fact that I tremble much less these days than in the past. I used to take three pills a day, about 5 hours apart, and I began to notice that the trembling got heavier about 20-30 minutes after I took the medicine, and then it slackened off again. So I mentioned this to her, wondering if I was taking too many pills. She agreed it was worth trying to cut one back... I did, and I am trembling less! It's not gone yet, but it's a lot better. Praise God!

I really believe in the healing power of prayer. I'm with a team of people who pray for peoples' intentions in this parish, we call this the "Prayer Line" and it is part of the Prayer Group. There are currently 7 people involved in this Prayer Line. Some of the things we pray for, are healed. Now remember, we are not the healers, we only ask Jesus for His help.... Jesus is the Healer! He/God is the only one who heals! Many good things have happened through prayer like that. And I've found that the more one prays, the more I feel His joy (ergo, prayer is cumulative!). And when I feel His Joy, I can overcome some of the more difficult problems in my life, too.

Lent is always a good time to thank God for all that He does for us. And then, to quiet down and listen to His voice. You will hear Him when you minimize the daily distractions and give him your full attention and time. And He will heal you. God loves us more than we are capable of loving Him. In fact, if all the millions of people would love God (unfortunately, many don't), His love would still be greater than all of that. He wants us to be well, to do good, to be in his company. He wants us to partake of the Blessed Eucharist, His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, as often as possible. He wants to be our Brother! So let us invite Him into our lives anew, and I ask Him that you will be well again, and that you will begin to appreciate his friendship even more. Amen.

Fred Schaeffer, SFO
March 9, 2010

Fred Schaeffer is a Franciscan lay person, webmaster of St. Helen Parish website, and several websites of the Secular Franciscan Order. He has written hundreds of reflections, and catechetical teachings for SFO and for the Church in general. He gives all credit for his writing to the Holy Spirit, and hopes that people who read his stuff will love Jesus more!