SPRINKLES OF GRACE

SPRINKLES OF GRACE

It is at twilight, the outside magical lights begin: tiny flickering lanterns silently create a sparkling wonderment in the night. On warm summer evenings, fireflies turn on and off their dazzling signals, zigzagging through the darkness, illuminating our hearts. This blinking gift of nature is a reminder to creation—it was made in a blink of an eye by God. It is in the dark of night, a firefly draws attention with its twinkling light to its presence, but in daylight, its presence is invisible. 

So too, it is the invisible Light of the Lord, which calls and draws us to His Spiritual Presence —separating us from darkness, to light. Within this Presence, invisible gifts of grace are sprinkled among us, delegated from heaven to enrich our lives, hearts and souls. This grace is then administered, from one person to another, to those we meet on our journey. This gift giving is a continual enhancement: uplifting hearts, from emptiness and brokenness; sharing our graces

 with others—relieving despair.

This light of faith, invisible to the eye, is a spark of spiritual energy cascading from Our Lord’s Merciful Heart, upon those who seek His Presence. It is in prayer, the flickering lanterns begin to illuminate our inner self with the flame of the Lord’s Presence, igniting the contrite of heart.

In silence contrite prayer begins with a moving gentleness to a deep conscious awareness. The fragrance of a contrite heart begins to illumine embers of the heart, multiplying with compassion, to a flowing burning desire to captivate Our Lord’s Presence. It is in the depth of this realm, the Holy Spirit is focused upon one’s heart: siphoning away forces of distractions, creating a reservoir of internal peace. These flickering impulses of prayer are the catalyst to enlighten our heart and soul—opening and molding our spiritual journey.

There is a time of night, when silence is in its most delicate, quiet moments. It is at 3:45 a.m., when the sounds of night are mute, when all surroundings and distractions of day are absent, the peacefulness of the heart and soul opens to receive a blanket of grace. Sprinkles of compassion mist upon the heart, seeping in the most reverent of moments, when heaven feels the closest to our soul. The delicacy of prayer becomes most fragrant—words and thoughts unhurried: unfolding a mirror of reflection, penetrating the shadows of our inner self. The clock ticks away, but time is suspended, in this gentle illumination of the heart, when grace touches us—like a feather, indelible and serene.
Through this intercession we become flickering lanterns to others, beacons of spiritual examples to proclaim and build Our Lord’s Kingdom; our floating sprinkles of grace are the spark that illumine the torch, that brings light to the path of those in despair. Our mission is clear, for we are the custodians to those that are

 lost, and wander about with no direction.

These sprinkles of grace are all around us, inviting, waiting. They are the simple hello, the passing smile, a word of kindness, a gesture of friendship, a telephone call, a word of thanks, a kind deed. It is the simplicity of these actions which are like fireflies, zigzagging on our journey penetrating the darkness of someone’s life; our spiritual presence, visible or invisible, by deed or by prayer, is our call of mission to rejuvenate, inspire, and illuminate the hearts of the abandoned, the broken hearted, the discouraged, the homeless, the sick and diseased.

It is the heart and soul, that dwells in a stagnant of darkness, avoiding illumination of prayer, that is unable to see, the simple grace, of the fireflies.

Robert J Varrick

 rjvarrick@gmail.com