In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change in one state of a deterministic nonlinear system can result in large differences in a later state. A property of chaotic systems (such as the atmosphere) by which small changes in initial conditions can lead to large-scale and unpredictable variation in the future state of the system.
Jeff Goldum’s character in the iconic Jurassic Park scene explains chaos theory. “It simply deals with unpredictability in complex systems,” he says. “The shorthand is ‘the butterfly effect.’ A butterfly can flap its wings in Peking, and in Central Park, you get rain instead of sunshine.”
When I completed my Marian Consecration through ‘33 to Morning Glory’ several years ago, this ‘Butterfly Effect’ struck me differently. Father Gaitley writes about surrendering your prayer and needs to Mary without question. He says that for some this can be difficult because they think, “if I am in need of Mary’s intercession in my life, why would I risk she give my prayers to someone in China?” Not an exact quote from the book, but you get the gist, right?
The truest form of trust in prayer is to give the prayer and intentions to the Immaculate Mother and to our Lord without ‘demand’ of the prayer’s application. The truly trusting soul offers the prayers in total “Thy Will be done” trust.
Pray here, affect there. Pray now, affect then.
This small paragraph in the Consecration has stuck with me through the years. It hasn’t always been easy when my daughter lay in a hospital bed suffering from dire illness but I give all that I can of my heart in the prayers I beg and trust the Blessed Mother to give them to her Son to be applied where they will mean the most in the Kingdom of the Father.
It’s not easy to let go this much but one can always without doubt know that the Blessed Mother’s love and that of our Lord Jesus Christ can never be outdone. If we are giving our needs and intercessory prayers to them in full trust, we can move forward knowing the grace flowing from the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sacred Heart of Jesus will always flow back a million times more upon us.
Pray here and now and trust our Lady’s love and God’s grace to flow into your soul as a spring of the most refreshing water. Let your prayers flow out like ripples upon the water and crashing waves within the Kingdom of God.