Offer a ‘Sunrise Prayer’ with Fr. Ron

‘As morning breaks, I look to you O Lord, my God, to be my strength this day.’

By Fr. Ron Will, CPPS

One frosty, fall morning I stepped outside to pray a “sunrise prayer.” I invite you to pray with me. Perhaps you will be inspired to do the same with your own sunrise prayer.

I sit out on our porch in the dim morning light. I begin by listening to “Morning Prayer” from the Liturgy of the Hours which is recorded on an app on my phone. The first psalm proclaims, “As morning breaks, I look to you O Lord, my God, to be my strength this day.” Hmm … how appropriate!

I sit in the quiet and take note of what sights, sounds and scents.

A bird or two chirps here and there. More birds begin singing as more daylight appears. I guess they are welcoming the rising sun. The air smells fresh. Nature is waking up.

The roof of my house has been dusted with white frost. As daylight appears I can see my own breath.

The sun is not visible yet, but the effect of the sun is sure obvious. Everything is lighting up.

Looking out into the east there is just a glimmer of red through the clouds. The rising of the physical sun is beautiful for me to experience, but it also reminds me of the rising of Son of God, Jesus, and the impact that has on me and on my life.

I turn toward our lake and see the cold morning air and the warmth of the water from the previous day creates steam that rises from the lake like a cloud lifting. I remember the cloud that protected the Israelites in biblical times as God led them toward the Promised Land away from the approaching Egyptian army.

It also reminds me of the shekina presence into which Moses entered and conversed with God face to face. It is how I believe that Jesus will protect me today.

The sound of traffic is becoming more obvious. The city is beginning to wake up.

The sun is now too bright for me to look at it directly. The sun now fully risen, allows me to see the world around me as it really is. Not shadows. Not guessing. I can see what I didn’t see before with the help of Jesus, the Risen Son.

Later that day, we celebrated the Feast of St. Gaspar, the founder of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. In the 1810s, Napoleon dominated Europe’s political world and for many years he tried to suppress the Catholic faith. Central Italy, where Gaspar was a young priest was largely lawless and chaotic. Gaspar’s preaching brought light into that dark time. Gaspar’s preaching reawakened the local people’s faith.

I am reminded of Pope Leo XIV’s recent visit to France. Secularism has become strong in France in recent years, but there was something in Pope Leo’s preaching that drew thousands of young people to listen to him. He had a message that — perhaps on an unconscious level — they longed to hear. He may have re-ignited the Catholic faith among the youth of France. I think it might be a parallel to what happened during St. Gaspar’s preaching.

I wonder: How can I bring some of the Light of Christ into my circle of influence today?
How can you?

[Fr. Ron Will, a Precious Blood priest and spiritual director, is a graduate of Catholic Theological Union and Creighton University’s School of Christian Spirituality. He has a special interest in helping form intentional disciples of Jesus, encouraging others to go spiritually deep-sea diving to explore a deeper relationship with God, and walking with people as they dive into the ocean of God’s mystery experiencing God rather than simply dipping one’s toe into the water.]

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