In Matthew we hear about how James and John were mending their nets when Jesus came up to them and asked them to follow him. I have imagined that these men were also being mended while they attended to their nets. My guess is that they were silent and attentive and even contemplative while they mended their net. Silence and attention can mend and heal and can lead to prayer. Perhaps their hearts were at peace and silent and this was what was needed in order for them to be able hear Jesus call them. I believe anybody's imagination can help awaken God's endless truth, endless goodness, endless beauty for all of us.

Probably 40 years ago I read a book called ''Lets Start Praying Again by Bernard Bassett S.J. I have used (how I understood) his version of contemplative prayer quite a bit since then and have found that this way of praying gave me interesting, new, spiritual and personal insights. I am happy to hear what Fr. Martin has to say about this because it is exactly what I felt was in Fr. Bassett's book.