Prayer in the first moments after waking up
P. Gorazd Cetkovský, O.Carm.
“When I wake up in the morning, angels watch over me, my Lord...” sings cheerfully a popular “pointing” song. And it continues to talk about how angels watch over each of us when we wash, have breakfast, go to school, throughout the day. Yes, from the moment we wake up, we are accompanied by God’s care, or rather: we are accompanied even at night, but we can think about it right from waking up. However, the experience of generations of Christians testifies that these very moments after awakening also come with their temptations.
In 1994, a book by Cardinal Martini titled You Have Remained with Me in My Trials (Reflections on Job) was published by the Cesta publishing house, and in my opinion, it slightly escaped the attention of a wider circle of readers. It is a transcription of the spiritual exercises that the Cardinal had with priests. In one of the meditations, he presents very valuable insights on an issue that troubles most of us and which he aptly names: disorder of the mind.
Every person is subjected to this multitude of difficult and contradictory thoughts that swarm around him like parasites, locusts, or mosquitoes, hindering him from focusing on what is his primary duty. Those who do not attempt to lead a spiritual life do not notice it and live from impressions, from reading, from newspapers, from listening to sounds, noises, and television, moving from one such thing to another in an incessant whirl of fantasies and desires. What they have seen, they quickly forget for what they will see shortly, just as someone who watches one television show after another remains constantly under the influence of a certain excitement.
The disorder of the mind is, we can say, a constant life situation, even if we are not aware of it. We become aware of it when we begin to quiet ourselves, meditate regularly: then a horde of unnecessary, futile, and disordered thoughts attacks us, and the struggle against them can become a real martyrdom, a true penance that can replace many other external penances.1
And just as this description of distraction and inability to coalesce perfectly corresponds to our own experience, we also agree with the lesson derived from it:
The struggle with the disorder of the mind is one of the most important activities for anyone who wishes to listen to God and fully surrender to his action.2
When the Cardinal describes some specific ways of disobedience of the mind, he explicitly states that the critical time for the organization of the mind is—among other times—the morning moments.
Such is the range of these thoughts: they seem quite innocent, filling the first morning hours when a person is waking up, they attack us at a time when we are not too busy, and in a moment they invade our minds in such a way that when we get back to work, we feel sad, dejected, and weak, without knowing why. In reality, we did not carefully discipline them, we did not stop them; and thus, we unconsciously fostered a kind of enthusiasm or displeasure, some energy or depression or anger at ourselves or at others, and we nurtured them. (...)
The discovery of this complex inner world is part of the spiritual journey and leads us to embark on a continuous and very urgent struggle.3
Vigilance, discernment of thoughts, and the fight against bad thoughts, vices, and passions are important areas of experience and teaching of the first monks and fathers of the desert.4 The necessity of such inner struggle was also recognized by the Jerusalem Patriarch St. Albert (+1214). Therefore, in the rules he wrote for the first Carmelites, which later became the rule of Carmel, he cites the words of Scripture: “Life on earth is a trial” (Job 7:1 – according to the Vulgate) and “all who wish to live godly lives are persecuted” (2 Tim 3:12) and thus begins a separate chapter of the rule, calling for vigilance and spiritual warfare—in thorough clothing with the full armor of God (again with a rich background in the statements of Scripture). This permanently presents a theme to us for the fathers and monks of Christian antiquity that was so important.
To provide guidance on how to purify our minds from disturbing influences, Cardinal Martini quotes the monk Evagrius in the aforementioned book. This educated and experienced teacher aptly described the process by which our inner being can become “clouded.” And Evagrius' warning specifically describes the temptation that comes in the morning time:5
There is a logismos, called vagabond (traveler), which approaches the brothers mainly at dawn: it leads the mind from one city to another, from village to village, and from house to house. It starts with simply chatting with others. Then it can have a lengthy conversation with someone familiar, corrupting (literally: decomposing – even in the sense of decay, rotting) its state according to the quality of those it meets, and little by little it strays from the awareness of God (= the presence of God) and virtue and forgets its vocation and promise.
Therefore, it is necessary for one who has distanced themselves from the world to look at this demon and observe where it comes from and where it stops (settles, presses, sticks around – the used word has all these meanings). Because the whole range of this journey is not undertaken for nothing or by accident. But it is done with the intention of undermining the inner state of the anchorite, so that the mind, heated by all this, drunken with many conversations, in that moment succumbs to the demon of lust or anger or sadness,6 that most damage the transparency (clarity, permeability to light, brightness) of its inner state (composition, its structure, form).
At this moment, allow me a small digression from our topic. When we were preparing the aforementioned translation, I was also struck by the previous paragraph of Evagrius' writing concerning the discernment of thoughts. It is very important to recognize whether the thought that fills my being comes only from my mind or is an inspiration from God (angelic) or demonic. Depending on that, I will take a stance towards it. Evagrius therefore wrote:
As we have recognized through long observation, between angelic, human, and those thoughts that come from demons, there is this difference: Angelic thoughts seek to know the essence of things and investigate their spiritual significance, such as for what purpose gold was created and why it is scattered in the form of sand somewhere in the depths of the earth and is obtained with great difficulties and effort. How it is that what is found is washed with water, subjected to fire, and then handed over to the hands of artists, who make from it a lamp for the tabernacle, incense burners, chalices, and vessels (2 Chron 4:21), from which – by the grace of our Savior – the king of Babylon no longer drinks (Dan 5:3). Cleopas carries away a burning heart from these mysteries (Lk 24:32).
The demonic thought knows this and does not understand it, but shamelessly incites to the seizing of (acquiring, owning, accumulating, extracting, coveting) the senses of tangible gold and predicts the enjoyment and glory that arises from it.
And the human thought does not strive to seize gold, nor does it seek what gold symbolizes, but only introduces a plain image into the mind, without passion or covetousness.
A similar distinction should be made about other subjects when a person will use reasoning inwardly (literally: secretly) according to this rule.
From these sentences it is clear how different forms our life can take – depending on the thoughts we allow space in our hearts: we can be people of contemplation, deep respect and love towards God and creation, or we can be people of grasping, perpetually dissatisfied and violent, or we can live dully, meaninglessly, and only from our own strength.
Let us now return to our reflection on raising the mind to God in the morning hour. We have recognized that the first moments of the day are very important: we can immediately turn to the Lord with a mind purified by sleep, or through negligence or foolishness, we can let into our hearts and allow to reign anything at all, while later we may declare that we somehow “got up on the wrong foot.”
But let us add a few more thoughts for completion. With greater understanding, we now notice how persistently the ascetic tradition of the Church emphasizes morning meditation (that we should meditate as much as possible in the morning, even at the cost of various personal sacrifices that may be associated with it) and silence during the night, which begins after the evening prayer and lasts until the end of the morning prayers, sometimes even extended further into the late morning. This especially concerns the environment of religious communities, but in a wisely adjusted form, it has always been adopted by individuals “in the world” – according to the possibilities of each individual person.
In essence, it always involves a deliberate “fasting from perceptions,” which then facilitates connecting with God through prayer. Translated directly into today’s practical life, this can mean: I must carefully consider when I first let the radio receiver or even the television sound in my day, when I first reach for newspapers or so enticing magazines with colorful covers and contents. Otherwise, I may easily find myself directly jumping into the arms of Evagrius' “vagabond,” and in doing so “I didn’t mean it badly...” I am clumsily “bleeding” my subsequent effort at prayer. Similarly, I should be more mindful of when and through what dialogue (or monologue!) I am entering into the dawning day of my neighbor.
The strong emphasis of traditional piety on morning prayer actually relates more to the morning hours in a broader sense – not just those moments immediately after waking up. Certainly, the former lifestyle and the ancient order of the day influenced this, which placed the emphasis of the day precisely in the morning hours. The natural psychological suitability of the morning time for meditation is explained by the Carmelite P. Jan Brenninger as follows: “The morning is the most suitable time for meditation because the spirit is usually the calmest and it is easy to focus it on a particular thing. Moreover, it is common to set meditation for that time because this way it well focuses on God the work of the entire day.”7
Let us also briefly glance at the Scriptures of the Old Testament. To the verse of the psalm: “... when I wake up (O Lord), I shall be satisfied with seeing you,” (Ps 17:15 – translation by Dr. Bogner) the Jerusalem Bible adds a note: “The hour of morning awakening is a privileged moment for manifestations of God's generosity.”8 This statement is very interesting for us in connection with everything we have said so far. The note continues: “It is also a time of justice.” This is a dual basic characteristic of the Old Testament view of the morning time. An explanation is added: “The Morning Star and light symbolize salvation. Evening and darkness, on the other hand, symbolize trial and misfortune.”9
However, as I go through the relevant places of the Old Testament that the Jerusalem Bible refers to, I would express my overall impression somewhat differently. In my conviction, the psalmist's thinking can be summarized as follows:
- The morning is the beginning of a new state of affairs (now it is different than before, than the previous evening).
- This new beginning is eagerly awaited and fervently sought by the psalmist (and every believer).
- The expected new state of affairs (and the end of the old) is God's work.
- If something happens from the very dawn, it is firm and lasting.
- If things are new from the very dawn (the change occurred unnoticed by human sight at night), it is evidence of the sovereign power of God's will and a guarantee that this new state of affairs will be permanent, reliable!
(Where for what I would amateurishly call “the new state of affairs,” Scripture, however, has a special term that may have become somewhat mundane: salvation.)
Situations most similar to this can remind us of various folk or household customs, whose essence lies in children finding gifts behind the window upon waking up in the morning, or simply the first white snow-covered morning of the coming winter.
Morning as a time of joyful surprise...
Let us therefore cite some Scripture quotes:
MORNING IS A LONG-AWAITED TIME
Ps 130:6:
My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning,
when they watch for the dawn.
Ps 57:9: (after the lament, suddenly a song of trust and praise:)
Awake, harp and lyre, I will awaken the dawn!
MORNING IS A TIME OF A NEW ORDER OF THINGS
Ps 73:20:
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord,
You will despise their phantasm when you arise.
(morning as a time of discarding the old, bad)
Ps 30:6:
In the evening there may be weeping,
but joy comes in the morning.
(morning is the time of awakening to a new state of affairs)
MORNING IS A TIME OF REVELATION OR RECOGNITION OF GOD'S SAVING ACTS
Ps 49:15:
They rush like sheep to the grave,
death itself is their shepherd.
In the morning the upright will trample them ...
Ps 143:8:
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
WHAT BEGINS EARLY IN THE MORNING IS STABLE AND LASTING
– be it the long-term fate of a person:
Ps 73:14:
Every day I am beset with wounds,
every morning I am punished.
Job 7:18:
(What is man,) that you visit him every morning
and test him every moment?
– be it the works of people:
Jer 21:12:
... thus says the Lord:
In the morning carry out justice ...
– be it individual specific manifestations of God’s care:
Ps 46:6:
... God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
Ps 90:14:
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Isa 33:2:
(O Lord) Be the arm of your people every morning ...
Sof 3:5:
The righteous Lord is in the midst of her
(i.e., rebellious Jerusalem),
He does no injustice;
every morning he brings his justice to light,
he does it without fail...
We could argue that in these texts it is indeed about the awaited dawn, not the currently experienced one. And then the question arises: Can we even find instructions on how to start our day? I believe so. If I experience the morning in prayer, if I enter into the new day through prayer, then this prayer renews and strengthens my faith in God’s closeness, gives me to glimpse – with the eyes of faith – that new state of affairs, that is, salvation in its constant approach or growth to fullness, connects me with God, and leads to trust and praise. Let us recall the text:
Ps 5:4:
Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
Our morning sacrifice is prayer.
And the prerequisite for morning prayer is a keen vigilance and fasting from perceptions from the moment of waking up, as we have considered above, but perhaps also an explicit renewal of the basic decisions of our lives, possibly specific renunciation: I want from the very morning not just to pay attention to the “vagabond” and not to let myself be dragged, but I declare anew (before God and before myself) the intention to head in a certain direction. Thus, I can shortly after waking up renew my decision to live for God (not for myself, not in slavery to influences and fears), my willingness to take up my cross, to build relationships with specific people...
I am firmly convinced that only from such a “woken” interior can true praise arise, i.e., this newly decided direction for God should precede the moment I open my breviary (and morning praises are no longer a prayer only for priests and religious)... Otherwise, I am trying, figuratively speaking, to play beautiful compositions from quality notes, but on an unprepared instrument.
Regarding the Jewish tradition of morning prayer, Di Sante10 writes: “In the sight of the light that daily arises thanks to God's goodness, Israel blesses the Eternal and praises him, thus joining his voice with the voice of the angels in heaven and the whole universe. (...) Creation is a sign of God’s love, given to man as a gift. This berakhah, however, speaks more of re-creation than of creation... (...) (A believing Jew) each morning looks face to face at the fresh, new world that God has just created!”
How beautiful a subtext this reality that “it is morning” receives! And there is not even a mention of God's deeds that are spoken of in the New Testament.
Let us therefore add just two quotes from the Gospel:
Mk 1:35:
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.
Mk 16:2:
And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb...
For Christians, every morning is primarily a reminder of the resurrection of Jesus, the atmosphere of Easter and Sunday.
The morning hours are therefore truly a time “charged” with spiritual content.
When I shared these reflections with Father Michal Špaček at the beginning, he also pointed out two closely related themes. The emphasis on the morning hours in our piety tradition is also related to the offering of first fruits, as we find with many ancient nations. The first fruits (in Latin primitiae) belonged to the deity. It could be a part – the first portion – of spoils, produce, or offspring.
Here, we easily find space for contemplation. It is an endeavor: to give to God, to first give to him, to give to him then when the choice is still the greatest (as was likely the case with the spoils), to give him the first what we have after a time of expectation (and that we thus hold onto the most), to give him what already is (what is certain) – not to promise until something else comes “sometime,” “later…” (as was the case with produce and offspring), simply to give him the best...
It seems that even among the Israelites, the offering of the first fruits to the Lord began as a completely spontaneous act, which was later regulated by the Law (see especially the beautiful text Deut. 26:1–10). And the Old Testament prescription on the first fruits of the harvest then translated into Christian spirituality in the phrase “primitiae diei adherent Domino” – the first fruits of the day belong to the Lord.
Another related area is the rule of St. Benedict's demand: “Let nothing take precedence over the service of God.” This precedence is usually understood in the sense of meaning: let nothing be given greater importance ..., but it is also possible to interpret this requirement of the rule in terms of the temporal arrangement of what our day contains – simply: let it start with prayer, worship...
The thoughts I now convey and share with you I have long carried within myself without daring to put them into the form of an article. What prompted me to do so was a paragraph from the directory (a sort of collection of guidelines for life in the monastery) of the barefoot Carmelites and nuns from over fifty years ago.11 It expresses something important about what we have considered so far in a very simple analogy:
Not only religious persons but all pious Christians should strive to dedicate the first fruits of their hearts to the Lord God. Thus, the very first thing they should desire upon waking in the morning should be God himself; after him, they should stretch out the hand of their fervent desire, so as to firmly grasp him and not let go, like pilgrims who have gold and jewels with them. For scarcely do they awaken from sleep than they anxiously and fearfully reach for their treasure to assure themselves that they have not lost it. Thus, whoever wants to bring this pleasant morning offering to Divine Majesty must strive so that worldly thoughts have no access during that brief time when he lifts his heart to heaven; indeed, his very first thought should be directed to Jesus Christ, our Lord, the Bridegroom of his soul. However, he must not forget that the devil, who seeks to fill the human spirit with so many vain and harmful thoughts, will also make an effort to seize this dwelling as quickly as possible, thus depriving God of the honor of the offering that rational beings owe to their Creator.
A concrete example of how such offering to the Lord may look right after waking up is provided by a “pocket” guide for Carmelites published at the beginning of our century.12
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Blessed be, Holy Trinity and Undivided Unity; we wish to praise God, who has shown us his mercy.
In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I arise;
may he himself bless, guide, guard me
and lead me into everlasting life.
Amen.
I thank you, Most Holy Trinity,
for keeping watch (over me) this night,
for the mercifully granted integrity against harm
and for the other bestowed benefits;
please grant that I may
continually render thanks to you.
Amen.
(Follow prayers while dressing.)
