When you can't pray, wash the dishes!

In the walk of faith, we often engage in gatherings for prayer or teaching or spiritual exercises, or adoration.  From these we receive spiritual consolation or we attain indescribable feelings or confirmations where we simply know that God is present, listening to us, remembering us, praying with us, lifting us up in His Hands (Is 49:14-16). 

At other times, we experience nothing.  A dryness.  We get bored or, during a prayer cycle, decide that this litany being offered is tiresome and not fruitful.

Here, good Thomas has some advice for us:  Get over yourself!  Get to work!  Go out and help someone!  Wash the dishes without complaint - maybe even at your own house or at the bread line(Jas2:26).  Jesus may show up.

Here's what today's reflection says - I am copying the whole chapter because it is short.  See my note at the end about the Psalm citation.

Book III, Ch 51: Exercise in Humility - We Must Exercise Ourselves in Humble Works When We Cannot Attain to the Highest

Christ:
  Son, thou canst not always continue in the most fervent desire of virtue, nor stand in the highest degree of contemplation; but it must needs be that thou sometimes descend to lower things by reason of original corruption, and though bear the burden of this corruptible life, even against thy will, and with irksomeness.
  As long as though carriest about with thee thy mortal body thou shalt feel trouble and heaviness of heart.
  Thou oughtst, therefore, as long as thou art in the flesh, oftentimes to bewail the burden of the flesh: that thou canst not without intermission be employed in spiritual exercises and divine contemplation.
  2.  At these times, it is expedient for thee to fly to humble and exterior works, and to refresh thyself in good actions, to look for My coming and My heavenly visitation with an assured hope; to bear with patience thy banishment, and the aridity of thy mind, till thou be visited again by Me, and delivered from all anguish.
  For I will make thee forget thy pains and enjoy internal rest.
  I will lay open before thee the pleasant fields of the Scriptures, that thy heart being enlarged though mayst begin to run in the way of My commandments (Ps 119:32).
  And then thall shalt say that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come which shall be revealed in us (Rm 8:18).

A note on citations to the Psalms:  when you are looking up the verse, if it is after Psalm 9, you need to add one chapter.  Here's why -

The version of The Imitation of Christ being used here cites to Psalms in Roman Numerals.  However, the citation is usually one chapter LESS than modern translations of the Psalms.  Thus, in the passage above, the translation I am using is: CXVIII, 32  or 118:32.  Most modern translations of Scripture renumber the Psalms beginning with Psalm 9 & 10, whereas the translation used by this edition of The Imitation, has the older version.  So, when you are looking up the verse, if it is after Psalm 9, you need to add one chapter.