Prayer Of The Frog, Anthony de Mello

When Brother Bruno was at prayer one night, he was disturbed by the croaking of a bullfrog. 

All his attempts to disregard the sound were unsuccessful, so he shouted from his window, "Quiet! I'm at my prayers."

Now Brother Bruno was a saint, so his command was instantly obeyed. Every living creature held its voice so as to create a silence that would be favourable to prayer.

But now another sound intruded on Bruno's worship—an inner voice that said, "Maybe God is as pleased with the croaking of that frog as with the chanting of your psalms."

"What can please the ears of God in the croak of a frog?" was Bruno's scornful rejoinder.

But the voice refused to give up. "Why would you think God invented the sound?"

Bruno decided to find out why. He leaned out of his window and gave the order, "Sing!" 

The bullfrog's measured croaking filled the air to the ludicrous accompaniment of all the frogs in the vicinity. 

And a Bruno attended to the sound, their voices ceased to jar, for he discovered that, if he stopped resisting them, they actually enriched the silence of the night.

With that discovery Bruno's heart became harmonious with the universe, and, for the first time in his life, he understood what it means to pray.



~ Anthony de Mello, from Anthony de Mello; Selected Writing

or as James Martin S.J says :

"Relish the gifts that God gives us every day, 

and savour the sparks of divine light that illumine the darkness.

(It's a lot of fun if you have the two videos playing at the same time !)