Murray Bodo

Landscape of Prayer Murray Bodo

Prayer is opening the door every morning and every evening even when there is no one on the doorstep. Prayer is the hope that one day, if I continue to open the door, God, or God s messenger will be there to greet me. from The Pasture Spring

I have written these personal reflections in order to de-mystify prayer. They sound, I hope, like someone s first couple of days on vacation. The gradual unwinding, the letting go of the need to judge and justify, the beginnings of observation, of noticing tangible things like the tenor of the morning, the taste of coffee, the sun on the bay, the fishing boats still and expectant, looking almost afraid to rock or move lest they betray their presence to the unseen fish, the feeling that something more should be happening. Instead, there is only the silence, the absence of obligation, of schedules, of people to assuage or assure or simply attend to. I am doing nothing; I am trying not to be disturbed or anxious about that. from Surrendering to Now

This lyrical and inviting exploration of prayer by Franciscan poet and writer Murray Bodo offers a centering peace for a busy world. Landscape of Prayer may be read as an examination of a personal prayer history, in various settings Thomas Merton s hermitage at Gethsemani, Kentucky; a Navajo hogan in the Southwest; fly-fishing in the middle of a trout stream; in a comfortable armchair with his mother s Navajo rug about his knees; the center of Franciscan thought and prayer, Assisi or it may be read as a how-to-pray guide.