How can we learn to hear God’s voice in our lives?
Sleeping with Bread,
by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn, S.J., explores the
deep value of asking two simple questions daily: “For what am I most grateful? For what am I least grateful?” This very straightforward book proposes ways
in which a simplified version of St. Ignatius of Loyola’s “examen” can help
individuals, families, and faith sharing groups to understand God’s will in
their lives and find direction for a given day or for a lifetime.
How does it work?
Well, identifying what we’re grateful for helps us to remember to give
thanks to God for the blessings in our lives.
Identifying what we are least grateful for helps us to appreciate that
we are not denying the negative aspects of life; it also allows us to feel that
God is with us even in difficult moments, and helps us to heal. Doing this exercise in a group (say, at
dinner with our family) means sharing our greatest joys and challenges, which,
in turn, can give us the strength to cope with whatever difficulties we
encounter. When we are attentive to
everyday experience, we come to understand how daily experience is in fact
divine revelation, which, in turn can help us to understand and articulate
God’s “sealed orders” for our lives. And
that’s what discernment is all about: moving
forward in our journey.
A copy of this book is available in the Religious
Education Office, if you are interested in checking it out.
BTW, why the title?
According to the authors, “During the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of
children were orphaned and left to starve.
The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they
received food and good care. But many of
these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once
again homeless and without food. Nothing
seemed to reassure them. Finally,
someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at
bedtime. Holding their bread, these
children could finally sleep in peace.
All through the night the bread reminded them, ‘Today I ate and I will
eat again tomorrow.’”
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