Prayer is that divine seed whose roots draw food from earthly existence. Like the lotus flower that does not bloom in arable ground but in marshes, prayer thrusts its roots into human misery as if into mud. But the lotus flower does not show any trace of the muddy water from which it drew life; turned toward the sky, it blooms.
~ from AWAKENING TO PRAYER by Augustine Ichiro Okumura
We are made for Light. There are moments of perfect happiness,
moments when one feels so well, at peace with oneself and with others.
Such moments of fullness exist. They are rare, perhaps, but we have
all experienced them. Each of us is capable of living such moments.
They continue to send signals to us even when we are in despair. For
on the mountain God summons us to the Light.
