Resting in the Lord

One of the pitfalls of making the daily Holy Hour early in the morning is that as a man settles himself and enters deeply into prayer, he also increases his chances of drifting into sleep. In and of itself, this isn't a huge problem. God understands that these things happen from time to time, and so long as we aren't going to prayer with the intention of falling asleep, it seems to me that the period of prayer is efficacious. Nevertheless, at least for me, slipping into sleep at prayer comes with certain side effects: I snore.

If I am praying alone, no one is the wiser. If, however, the chapel is half full, as it often is, snoring can be a bit of a problem. Likewise, talking while asleep can be a bit embarrassing if one does so in the midst of twenty of his peers - all of whom are discreetly trying to figure out who is making so much noise. There are, of course, ways to prevent the onset of sleep. This includes kneeling throughout the duration of prayer, or reading, or sometimes even standing. These are also accompanied by the risk (at least for me) of failing to accomplish any prayer or of falling asleep anyway and causing a scene when I drop my book or simply collapse.

Today I did not go to the early Holy Hour here at the seminary, but chose to use a little free time and pray at the Cathedral of St. Paul later in the afternoon. The church was warm, I was comfortable, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep. I must have leaned forward and rested my head on my arm, because when I woke up several minutes later, I could feel a very clear impression of the button of my shirt in my forehead! At least I hadn't been drooling.

While my initial reaction is to be somewhat disappointed in myself when I fall asleep in prayer, I do take a certain solace in the words of one of my formators from minor seminary. He would tell us on occasion, "Jesus works on us while we sleep." I think he was right. It isn't perfect prayer, but it is something. I like to call it "resting in the Lord."