"What can we do, you might ask, if we wish to awaken our sleeping noses and learn how to pray with them?"
Fr. Ed Hays, "Pray All Ways"
Pray with our noses? Are you kidding me? One of the most distinctive memories I have is that of incense in church. I remember my dad and I visiting each Catholic church in Billings on Holy Thursday night for Adoration, and the lingering smell of incense. When we think about it, smells can trigger many memories for us and those smells and memories can draw us into prayer. I jotted down a few "smell memories" that can make me pause and smile...I invite you to do the same today!
The air after a cleansing rain
Applesauce cooking in the crock pot
Bread, cookies, or anything like that baking
Coffee brewing
Fresh Christmas trees
A baby's head
I slept with son Blaine's tee shirt after he left for college, because it smelled of him.
Everyday various aromas fill our noses, but we may not think of them as prayer. If they take us back to a joyous time or remind us of Home, they can indeed draw us closer to God. Fr. Ed Hays suggests adding incense to our prayer time, so my little place is filled with a tiny waft of a beautiful smell this morning! Today, let's be aware of the aromas around us and thank God mightily for the gift of our nose! Love, heidi
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