A PRAYER FOR WHEN YOU WAKE UP ALREADY RUSHING.
Before you even get up, you've already opened three messages and thought of five things to do. Let's stop for a moment, in the morning that there really is.
The alarm sounds. You reach out and you find the messages of the night. A request for today, a change of schedule, the reminder you set when you were convinced that this morning you would have more time.
You haven't laid your feet on the ground yet, and the day seems to have left without you. Even the prayer, which you wanted to live calmly, risks becoming yet another thing postponed until you finally finished everything.
We can start in a simpler way: to bring before God just this morning. The haste, the people to meet, the enthusiasm for a beautiful thing and the concern for what you would like to avoid. Without waiting to hear from us already collected.
A recognizable moment within the day
The Catechism, at number 2698, recalls different rhythms that feed prayer, including morning and evening. It does not set an identical duration for everyone. Tradition offers a rhythm in which a person can seek his or her own concrete way of addressing God.
You can choose a moment that really exists: before you open notifications, while you wait for the coffee to be ready, when you arrive at your destination and you still have a minute. If you are driving or carrying out an activity that requires attention, wait until you can stop safely.
These are possibilities, not an organizational contest. Some mornings will be quieter, others will surprise you. A missed moment doesn't require you to start all over again: you can resume as soon as you have the chance.
The morning of Jesus and our need for space
Mark 1,35 tells us that Jesus rises when it is still dark and retires to a deserted place to pray. The song is found in a story of meetings and mission; it does not give an obligation to wake up before dawn.
We can let ourselves be questioned by the place that the relationship with the Father occupies in his life. We too can look for a space to turn to God before all requests seem to have the same urgency.
The following words are an original prayer of CHIARA!, not a liturgical text. You can read it whole, stop on a part or use it to find your own words. Its length does not measure the attention with which you pray.
Lord, I'm going into this day with you.
Sir, I'm just up and my head is already full. There are things waiting for me, people to respond to, deadlines that all seem close to me.
Before we start, I'll entrust you with this day. You know what I've prepared and what I don't know yet. You know my desire to do well and the fear of not being able to keep up with everything.
Help me to distinguish what is urgent from what can wait. Give me honesty when I have to say that a commitment is too much and courage when I can face what I keep putting off.
Guard my speech. When I'm in a hurry, help me remember that there's a person in front of me. Make him know how to ask a question, listen to an answer, apologize if the tone is unfair.
Come with whom I meet today. Who works next to me, who waits for news, who carries a burden that I don't know. Open my eyes to a possible good, even a small one, even without applause.
Help me to accept what I will receive: help, advice, a cheerful moment, a shared break. Let him be able to thank you without going immediately to the next request.
I'll give you my limits too. If anything changes schedule, help me look for the next step. If I need a hand, give me simple words to ask.
Today I wish to walk with you. In work, in expectations, in successful things and in things to be reviewed. Stay close to my heart and pay attention to the life that comes to me. Amen.
After prayer choose a real priority
You can look at the commitments and identify what needs to be addressed first. If two requests overlap, you may need to notify someone, agree on another schedule or ask for cooperation.
Bring that small act into prayer: the work ahead, the people you will meet, the patience you hope to find. When the day takes another turn, return to a simple line: ‘Lord, help me be present now, too.’
You can also choose a single sentence to guard: help me remember that there is a person in front of me. It might come back to you at a crate, at a meeting, or when you answer to someone at home.
If you can only say a few words today
Sir, accompany this day. Help me to see what matters and to love in concrete things. This can also be your prayer.
When evening arrives, you can return to what you have experienced: thanking for a good, recognizing a struggle, asking for forgiveness. The relationship with God can go through hours like this, taking the thread back on the real day, without waiting for it to become perfect.
