The Pilgrim's Rule
Chapter 3
The Breath of the Soul
Prayer: The Air of Eternal Life
Let every spirit praise the Lord.
"And the Lord God... breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul."
Among all the gifts bestowed upon the body, none is more constant than breath. A man may live many weeks without food and several days without water, but only a few moments without air. The strongest prince and the weakest infant stand equally beneath this law. No wealth can purchase exemption from it, nor can any earthly power suspend it. Every breath proclaims that life is continually received.
How quietly the Creator teaches.
He did not require man to command each breath by conscious effort. Were this so, sleep itself would become impossible. Instead, God placed within the body a hidden rhythm that continues through labor and rest, through youth and old age, through joy and sorrow. Day and night the lungs faithfully receive what they did not create, reminding man that the Author of life continually sustains the work of His hands.
The soul likewise possesses an atmosphere in which alone it can flourish.
That atmosphere is prayer.
As the body cannot live without air, neither can the soul remain spiritually healthy without continual intercourse with God. Prayer is not merely one pious exercise among many, nor is it reserved for priests, religious, or those called to lives of contemplation. It belongs to every Christian because it belongs to life itself.
The saints have often called prayer the breath of the soul, and rightly so. The body draws air into itself almost without thought. So too the faithful soul gradually learns to lift itself toward God throughout the ordinary duties of the day. Whether occupied with labor or resting in silence, whether rejoicing or carrying a heavy cross, the soul breathes most naturally when it remains in the presence of its Creator.
Yet breathing teaches another lesson.
Air surrounds us continually, yet many pass through life scarcely giving it a thought until it becomes difficult to breathe. So also God is never absent from His creatures. "In him we live, and move, and are." Yet how often men pass through an entire day without once lifting their minds to Him from Whom every blessing comes.
This forgetfulness is among the quietest dangers of the spiritual life.
The enemy of souls rarely begins by persuading a man to renounce his faith altogether. More often he whispers that prayer may be postponed. There is work to finish, correspondence to answer, errands to complete, and countless distractions that appear urgent. The seems small. Yet as one neglected breath would scarcely be noticed while many neglected breaths would bring death, so the gradual neglect of prayer quietly weakens the soul until what was once fervent becomes indifferent.
The Christian pilgrim must therefore guard against measuring prayer only by its length. A man does not remain alive because he once took a deep breath many hours ago. Life is preserved by constancy rather than intensity. Likewise, the soul is sustained not only by moments of prolonged prayer, but by a continual remembrance of God throughout the day.
A brief aspiration offered with love.
A thanksgiving before beginning a task.
The Sign of the Cross made with reverence.
A glance toward Heaven in the midst of .
The quiet repetition of the Holy Name.
These are like steady breaths that keep the soul united to the source of its life.
There is another lesson hidden within the lungs.
Breath must both enter and leave the body.
To inhale continually without exhaling would soon become impossible. Thus the body receives and returns in an unceasing rhythm established by Divine Wisdom.
So too in prayer.
The Christian receives God's , His truth, His mercy, and His strength. Yet he is not to keep these gifts for himself alone. He returns them in praise, thanksgiving, acts of , endurance, and faithful . Prayer that never bears fruit in resembles lungs that draw breath but cannot release it. True prayer transforms the whole life because it continually receives from God and continually returns all things to Him.
Even the sighs of the weary possess their lesson.
There are times when the soul finds no words. Sorrows press heavily upon the heart. The mind is distracted. The burden of the Cross seems almost beyond endurance. Yet the Heavenly Father, Who hears even the cry of the smallest sparrow, understands the silent language of the soul. A sigh offered in faith may become a prayer more pleasing to Him than many eloquent words spoken without devotion.
How often Our Divine Lord withdrew from the multitude to pray. Before choosing His Apostles, He prayed. Before working great miracles, He prayed. In the Garden of Gethsemane, while His disciples slept, He prayed with such perseverance that His sweat became as drops of blood falling upon the earth. If the Son of God desired continual communion with His Father according to His sacred humanity, how much more ought fallen man to seek the same .
The Christian pilgrim should therefore consider every breath a gentle invitation from God.
As often as the lungs draw in the air of this passing world, let the soul draw nearer to the life of Heaven. As often as the breath is quietly returned, let the heart quietly return praise to its Creator. In this manner, even the simplest rhythm of bodily life becomes a continual reminder that all things begin in God, are sustained by God, and return to God.
One day the body shall draw its final breath.
The chest shall rise no more.
The lungs shall fall silent.
The dust shall return to the earth from which it was taken.
Yet if the soul has learned throughout life to breathe the atmosphere of prayer, that final breath will not be an ending but a passage. The air of earth shall give way to the eternal praise of Heaven, where the pilgrim shall breathe forever the peace of the City of God.
For Meditation
Pause for a moment before continuing your day's labor. Consider that every breath entering your lungs is received freely from the hand of God. As naturally as your body receives the air that sustains it, strive to let your soul continually receive His through prayer, until remembrance of God becomes as constant as your breathing.
Rule for the Pilgrim
Let no day pass without prayer. The body deprived of air soon perishes; the soul deprived of prayer grows weak long before it knows it is dying.