"Tears are the prayer-beads of all of us, men and women, because they arise from a fullness of the heart."
Fr. Ed Hays, "Pray All Ways"
Yesterday's lesson on praying all ways was about praying with the eyes...taking in all of God's glorious creation and appreciating that beauty. So, I went down to the Greenbelt and took a walk. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful blue. My prayerful eyes took it all in, and my response to this moment of pure Presence of God was today's prayer form--the Prayer of Tears. Fr. Ed Hays says that our tears are prayers...powerful prayers! Our tears come from deep inside us and are not under our control. They are spontaneous and not-formulated, like our more formal prayers. They are not of our conscious doing but come from deep within our heart and soul. Prayerful tears are cleansing and can come from sorrow and joy...but, the point is that we allow them to come! I can think of so many times when the prayer of tears just took me over and the freedom of this prayer form made me feel closer to God. So, praying with our eyes involves what our eyes take in--God's beautiful creation, as well as what our eyes let out--the tears of our heart. Love, heidi
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