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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Michael Kelly

Good morning!

When my mother was dying five years ago, she taught my family and me a great lesson in peaceful acceptance and serenity.

Always a prayerful and spiritual woman, her prayer had usually been silent and discreet – but in her great trial, terminal illness in her mid-60s – prayer became the soundtrack of her life.

At the start, I thought she was praying for a miracle – and the rest of us certainly stormed Heaven for such a miracle…but Mum never once spoke of praying for a miracle. Instead, she prayed for strength to be able to cope with whatever came…and she prayed for the rest of us.

The image of Irish boys and their ‘mammies’ is so cliched now, it has become a stereotype. But, if I’m honest – I think we never really grow out of being those little boys carried in our mother’s arms.

Even now, whenever I feel ill, I recall the childhood belly rubs and memories of the legendary cure-all boiled lemonade…and somehow, I think it helps make me feel better.

Acceptance is what theologians call a grace. It is about trust and surrender.

These are not easy ideas – particularly in a highly technology-driven age where there is a software application for almost everything, and we forever appear on the cusp of the next big leap forward.

Acceptance reminds that we are not islands – that none of us operate as hyper-individuals. We are all dependent on others, and we need one another.

And even when the news is bleak, and even the latest technologies can’t help us to outsmart our human condition, we can face it with the love and support of those around us.

So, today I pray for the humility of acceptance and for the wisdom to know that we are all part of a bigger picture.

Amen.

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