Reflection 4 - O BREATH OF LIFE! O BREATH OF GOD!

O BREATH OF LIFE! O BREATH OF GOD!

We come yet again to Winter. Yet a winter with sunshine greets us as I write this reflection.

Winter sunshine and cold stand together as indeed do God's breath which is our breath of life.

In caring for those who are very ill we always look for what we call the vital signs and one of these is the pulse of the sick person. If there is no pulse there may be no breath, and indeed, there may be no life. When our loved one no longer has these signs - breath is gone; life as we have known it up to now is gone and we are left – yes, we are left still breathing.

As time moves on we breathe into our pain; our loss; our sorrow and our suffering. At times we are overcome by all this and breathing can be difficult and yet in all this tragedy God bestows upon us the breath we need. He breathes into our lives and our stories.

Part of God's breath is the breath of Healing. He sent Jesus to bring healing to broken humanity and this He still does in you and I, and indeed, in so many other wonderful people. God heals my loss; my wounds and I of course, co-operating as best I can, as together we make the journey into an experience new yet unknown; an experience now pain filled that hopefully brings me to new life. Yet God in his wondrous and wonderful generosity breathes both into us His breath and most comfortingly breathes with us in His silent, yet profound, Presence. He breathes His healing love into my pain; He breathes His healing hope into my darkness and uncertainty and above all else He breathes Life's breath into each of us, inviting us to a place of freedom and serenity within; where His breath becomes so gentle that we might miss it in our dramas.

O breath of God! O breath of Life bring us your healing this Wintertime.

Written by Frank DOWNES OP

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