Transition to Evening

This week we've experimented with prayers at the Twilight Hour -- Vespers (Latin for "evening") -- and I've tried intentionally to watch for the changing light. To the point of setting an alarm that sings a welcoming chorus so I won't skate right past the coming of night.

Reflecting on blessings (or blessing unfinished business with a promise to return) and offering these reflections in gratitude to God has been quieting ... hope-inducing. I've especially embraced the idea of a ritual to mark the shift from workday to evening. This week, I've lighted a candle to symbolize that. The aesthetic draw to a dancing light and the incense of its aroma seems to help me make an internal transition.

St. John of the Cross said, "In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human success, but rather on how much we have loved." How well have I loved this day?

I close each twilight experiment with a quote from Psalm 34.1-2, 5a: "I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the LORD ... We look to you ... and so we shine."  Lord, I look to you. Shine through me; shine through us.