Pause and Pray as an Action

 

When we Pause and Pray, first we are stopping whatever we are doing, whether it is being impatient, getting angry, or anxious or worried, and taking that moment to calm ourselves then follow up with a prayer to help us be calm or put things in God's hands.  This simple act can be a gift to other people surrounding us. They don't need us losing our temper, or getting angry at them.  Our Pausing and saying a short Prayer is a way to not only help ourselves, but also we don’t contribute to the angriness of the world.  The world has enough anger flowing through it.  If we could just add a sense of peace and calm to our own surroundings that would have an effect on those surroundings and help other people be calm. 

Think about when you are standing in a long line at the store.  You begin to get impatient, you tap your foot, sigh loudly, maybe even begin complaining out loud.  Your actions have an effect on those around you.  It contributes to others beginning to lose patience and act out.  But if you could take a break, pause, calm yourself and even try to smile at those around you, that simple act can help stop others from also losing patience.   

It's like de-fusing a bomb, acting calm and patient will help others be calm.

In Pope Francis' address on January 26, 2022, he even encouraged us to connect prayer with an action, that prayer is an active practice always connected to charity. “Prayer, however, is never an abstract or purely internal gesture, like these spiritualist movements that are more gnostic than Christian. No, it’s not that, prayer is always inextricably linked to charity. It is only when we combine prayer with love, the love for children in the cases I just mentioned, or the love for our neighbor, that we are able to understand the Lord’s messages.” 

So as we Pause during our day, say a prayer for others, whether it's our family members or perfect strangers around us at the traffic stop or in the store.  If we can start a movement towards peace, we can help it grow outward and encourage more peace in our world.