What is ‘Ordinary Spirituality’?

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SLICING POTATOES

It helps,

putting my hands on a pot or a broom,

in a wash

pail.

I

tried painting,

but it was easier to fly 

slicing potatoes.

And isn’t this true? The Islamic poet Rabia knew of the ‘ordinariness’ of daily spirituality. Her challenging life of abuse left her emotionally unable to accept human touch until at the age of fifty when she was released from servitude and began a life of prayer and meditation. This led to providing spiritual direction to many people who sought her for her wisdom and practicality.

I picture Rabia happy among her pots and pans, tidying her kitchen, baking her bread. The spiritual act of painting just didn’t cut it for her. Or perhaps she didn’t have time or patience to paint. But cook? Domestic work? Do you know any Syrian or Middle European woman who doesn’t love to cook magnificent meals? Rabia was one of them.

She appears, from evidence of her poetry, to have enjoyed elevated spiritual experiences while doing the mundane things of life. She saw God in everything she did writing, “In my soul there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church where I kneel.”

In my work, I often encounter people who say they will never achieve sanctity. Some think they are too ‘foreign’ from God to even pray. Others believe that since they do not practice a faith or a religion, God has no use for them. God won’t even recognize them when they appear after death! And I wonder how they acquired such fault-laden beliefs. So, let’s try and get a few things straight.

First, God absolutely never gives up on you. God just wants you to recognize him in your heart. All it takes is a humble conversation with God; unlock the door—let him in. Talk as you would to a neighbor or a beloved friend. Second, realize you are praying when you do that. And pray often throughout your day. Ask God to help you through something at work, or through a decision you have to make, an appointment you have to keep. Third, under no circumstances should you ever think God does not appreciate you or that you have failed God. Simply ask God to burn off the edges of your failures with his look of Love—and you’re in! God’s compassion is greater than your sins, your desires, your shortcomings. And God does not even care about these when it comes to you. God only cares about YOU! 

As you work or take on your day, try to see God’s hand in your life. Setting a table? Ask God to come to the feast. Ask God to bless all who will attend. Shopping for groceries? Praise God for the bounty provided for you. Laboring as a construction worker? Ask God to keep you safe and to lead you to take pride in a job well done. Share a joke with a fellow worker. Tell someone you will pray for him. Whether wielding a curling iron or a baton, a soup ladle, or a garden hose, think of God’s blessings and ask for guidance to be a better ‘ordinary’ worker. Closing your briefcase at the end of the day, think of God who has been with you every hour of the day. Pulling the shades in your shop at closing time, facing a traffic jam on the way home, thank God for a productive day. These are the prayers that will make you holy. They may come from an ‘ordinary heart’, but they are not ordinary holiness. No prayer or effort at prayer is ever ordinary. They are the seeds of your personal sanctity and God simply loves it.

The church has always honored ‘ordinariness.’ We have a period of liturgical time, post Pentecost to Advent, called, Ordinary Time. The giant of theologians, St. Thomas Aquinas, once wrote, “One may never have heard the sacred word, “Christ,” but be closer to God than a priest or a nun.” So never think of yourself as unable to be holy or unable to pray. Just pray throughout the day in the kind of work you do and know that God will love that so much and you will feel that love. Can you do this during the coming week? I think you can.

Reflection

Make a point to offer each day this week through a simple resolution to include God in your thoughts as you struggle to get through life being ‘ordinary.’ Remember, saints are made through the ‘ordinary’ everyday tasks—even the slicing of potatoes.

I promised some suggestions of authors and sources you will find helpful for contemplative prayer. Do not be afraid of this quest. These are easy-to-understand writers, and you will learn much. Look each of them up through Google and choose what you want to read and savor.

Thomas Keating: Any of his books.

James Martin, SJ: A Jesus Guide to (Almost) Everything

Richard Rohr, OSF: The Universal Christ; A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

Henri Nouwen: Any of his later books on prayer.

Caryll Houselander: I recommend her The Reed of God, a wonderful book for Advent about Mary. Truly, a contemplative book.

Julian of Norwich: Be ready for amazing guides into a deep, personal quest for the God of our love and life.

Evelyn Underhill:  Read anything from her. She is an amazing mystic whose words will speak to you.

Etty Hillesum: A Jewish mystic who perished in Auschwitz but whose stories and journals detail an amazing biography of a soul who finds God even after a life of regret culminating in a holy offering of self.

You can google any of these writers for the titles of their books. I highly recommend all of them. Of course, there are others, but this is a good start. I wish you a grace-laden journey toward these magnificent teachers.

God bless my readers and my Anonymous Angels who contact me after each post.I love all of you and I pray each day for you.