In his everyday spirituality, St. Francis de Sales counsels us to begin at the beginning. Making God a part of that first consciousness of the new day starts things out on the right footing. Thus, St Francis’ Spiritual Directory opens with this exhortation:
First of all on awakening, we are to direct our minds completely to God by some holy thought such as the following: Sleep is the image of death and awakening that of the resurrection.
Not merely as the first among many things to do each day, but first of all the devout person thinks of God, whose graceful action makes awakening possible (with the aid of an alarm clock to make it timely!). That we are alive for another day is the gift each morning brings. Recognizing the source of that gift by directing our mind to do so is the appropriate response to such a gracious gift. It may take some practice, but it …
