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Recent journal entries:
Make Haste to Help Me!When Sister Elizabeth (who was at that time Lieutenant Elizabeth Hillmann) returned from World War II, her post-traumatic stress disorder did not show up right away. It surfaced after she entered the Cenacle, when she was sent to our retreat house in Middletown, Connecticut. There, in order for the sisters to go from one place to another, it was necessary to walk through a long basement corridor where all the doors were closed – in other words, where there was no place to run. For this is what she had been taught during the war, always to have a place to run – to take cover from strafing aircraft, to escape from any potential attack. The long corridor brought back with a vengeance the terror of war. Then something else came back to her, something she had read – that the early desert monks had walked about all day reciting the first verse of Psalm 70: “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.”* She began to follow their example. Descending into the corridor, Sister Elizabeth prayed, over and over, “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.” Walking through the corridor, she prayed, “O God, come to my assistance; O Lord, make haste to help me.” And eventually, throughout the day, she would pray, “O God, come to my assistance; Lord, make haste to help me.” Gradually, the terror dissipated. Here is a brief portion of what John Cassian (ca. 360 – 435) says about this verse:
For a helpful reflection on the same verse, see Father Pat Collins, CM, “Learning to Pray at All Times.” __________ * Douay-Rheims version. This is the translation of Psalm 70:1 used at the beginning of each hour of the Divine Office (the Liturgy of the Hours). Sister Rose Hoover To leave a comment, go to the Cenacle Journal blog, "Caught Up in God." -- - - - - - - - - - |
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