30 minutes.

I will commit myself to half an hour of silence in the middle of each day of Lent. This will be a time of sitting still and doing.... nothing.
12 o'clock will be a moment to stop the headlong rush of my day and pause.
It will be a moment to remember those who suffer.
It will be my moment of listening to my breathing. And trusting that the Creator will breathe with me for a moment.
Why not join me? All it takes is 30 minutes a day.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort,
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger,
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears,
to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their
pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness,
to believe that you can make a difference in this world,
so that you can do what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor

Amen.

This poem is a Franciscan Benediction found in Phillip Yancey's book "Prayer".