Lectio
“Hyperichius said, ‘Let your mind be always on the kingdom of heaven, and you will soon inherit it.’”
— Hyperichius, The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks,
Meditatio
It is not easy to keep our mind always on God, nor to pray without ceasing. Of our own power and our own will, it is nigh impossible. Without the grace of the One we seek, our minds will wander and our words and actions will follow. Like leaves in a windstorm, we will be blown to and fro by every whim and want that arises, and distracted by every shiny and seductive thing of the world.
How, then, are we to keep our minds on God and on His Kingdom of Heaven? How, then, are we to live lives of unceasing prayer? The answer is that we cannot. The answer is that we are utterly powerless to do so on our own. The answer is that, without Him who is the source of all hope, we are without hope. Without Him who is the source of all grace, we are without grace. Without Him who is the source of all love, mercy, and truth, we are without these as well.
Without God, we are devoid of God, absent of the very thing we seek and the means to seek it. Without God, we are but empty vessels wandering aimlessly, trying to fill ourselves with all that is not-God when, in truth, we are made only to be filled with the very thing we lack, which is God. Without God, our lives have no real meaning, no real purpose, and no destination worth journeying toward.
The good news, however, the Gospel of the Lord, is that we are never without God. We are never without His love, mercy, grace, and truth. We are never alone because He came to us, to give Himself to us, and to leave us with His Spirit so that we may never wonder hopelessly in this life and so that we do not wander aimlessly into hell. The very God whom our lives are empty and fruitless without gave His life so that we might know Him, so that we might receive Him, and so that we might join Him now and forever.
He is not, then, far away from us to be sought in some distant place or some distant future. To keep our minds on God, on His Kingdom of Heaven, is to turn inward toward His graced presence — in silence, in stillness, in solitude. It is to turn outward toward His creation and His body, the Church, through which He is constantly revealing Himself to us — in charity, in service, in obediential surrender. To pray without ceasing is to pray, perhaps even to beg, for the grace to see Him in all things, to receive Him in all things, and to love Him in all things, even, or perhaps especially, when to do so feels like crucifixion.
Oratio
My Every Thought
remember me O Lord
remember me to You
keep Your mind on me
keep my mind on You
do not forget Your child
nor allow Your child to forget
Your love poured out abundantly
for all to share in You
Your life given up generously
that all may be saved through You
be my first thought in the morning
my last thought in the night
my every thought for always
in the darkness and in the light
remember me in this moment
in this moment
remind me of You
Contemplatio
The kingdom you are trying to remember is already remembering you. You cannot keep your mind on God any more than a leaf can keep itself from the wind — but you can stop resisting the hand that steadies you. Sit with this in silence, consenting to His presence, and let Him move in you however He wills.
Related Scripture
“Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’”
For Further Reading
If you enjoyed this post, you may also like Sit Down, Be Still: The Cloud of Unknowing and the Craving for God (Lectio Divina), which sits with the same struggle to quiet a restless mind, trusting that even unknowing can become a deeper way of love.
Robert Van Valkenburgh
Grappling With Divinity.
Wrestling With God.
Returning To Love.
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