Jesus Caritas

Niger tent chapel among the Tuareg

There is another aspect to this adoration that I have learned from Charles de Foucauld.  By trying to live a contemplative life that is part and parcel of the lives of others, the experiences and people who fill my days shape my prayer in a privileged way.  I am affected and changed by what I live, where and with whom I work, whether in a factory or an office or just hanging out in neighborhood.  I carry all of this within me as I sit before the Lord.  

It is not just that I carry it in my prayer as an act of devotion or intercession, although that is a part of my prayer also.  But more so, the events that have happened to me or around me change who I am over time, change my way of thinking and understanding, and focus my prayer as I sit in that silence.  I don't need to go away in order to pray, although times of real aloneness are precious.