Our society seems to hold up the idea that spontaneity is the be all an end all of a happy life. We love the “rebel”, the one who goes out of their way to buck the system and do things on the fly that end up working out in the long run. It is interesting that we don’t appreciate the person who does the same thing with less than stellar results.
So what is the answer? What is the answer spiritually?
Fortunately in our tradition of prayer, Catholics have answers for both types of people, the routine and the spontaneous. We have tended to favor the routine in the past and that has served well for those that are on a routine schedule. As our lives become more and more impulsive, with less routine, we find that it is affecting all parts of our lives.
We skip a meal here to go to this meeting. We skip a workout there so that we can get into work early. We miss this mass so that we can get to soccer practice.
It doesn’t seem to end. Everything in our lives is moldable to the priorities that in the end don’t seem to have much effect.
What if we took the time to re-establish a routine. Not just a routine, but a routine of spontaneity?
Think about it for a second. Instead of sticking to a rigid schedule of doing something at a particular time, missing that time and then becoming disappointed, we instead commit to little reminders to prayer throughout the day.
Think of Jesus every time you walk through a door way, carrying Christ with you as you enter and leave each room.
Say a Hail Mary every time you encounter a mother.
Say an Our Father every time you encounter a father.
Say a Glory Be every time you pass by a Church or a Cross.
Ritualistic, routine prayer on a spontaneous schedule.
I am certainly not maintaining that there is anything wrong with routine. We certainly can benefit from having routine in our lives as much as possible as it centers us, focuses us, helps us to maintain a perspective in our busy world. If we have a problem with breaking that routine, it is important that we take the time to let ourselves be in prayer at other times.
Spontaneous times.
Give yourself a break an let yourself pray spontaneously today. Get yourself into the spontaneous routine.
