We know that Jesus often went off alone into desert places to pray. And we Know he often admonished demons to be silent. And he often told those whom he healed to be silent. We also read that after a short conversation with Pilate Jesus became silent. These silences are especially present in Mark’s Gospel. Some have called this the Messianic Secret. As if to say, Jesus did not come out and say who he really was.
St. Ignatius of Antioch who was martyred around 100 CE had this to say about silence: “If we cannot understand the silence of Christ we will not be able to understand his words either.” And I wondered if he means some evidence of the silence of Christ in the Gospels or the fact that we experience silence from God in our own lives.
Ammonas (c.350 CE): “Beloved, my beloved, I have shown you the power of silence, how thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God. I have written to you so that you may know that it is by silence that the saints grew, that is was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them and the mysteries of God were known to them.”
St Benedict:480-543 CE had two words: quies and silentio. The quies is the stillness of the body. And of physical things. (like TV or some uses of the computer) The silentio is about our words and our thoughts. We keep silence so that we Can listen to God, listen to God’s work of love.
"Silence,how thoroughly it heals and how fully pleasing it is to God. I have written to you so that you may know that it is by silence that the saints grew, that is was because of silence that the power of God dwelt in them and the mysteries of God were known to them.”
Many saints speak of the interior silence in which we let go of our wandering thoughts, our worrying about the future, our complaining about the present and our harrowing of ourselves or others about the past. All the “if onlys” that come up should be dropped instantly as totally useless. Just turn to God in prayer – short and intense though not agitated.
Lent is a great time to try to have more silence in our lives. The quiet of less noise and less rushing. The effort to live in the now in our thoughts. the giving of more attention to spiritual reading and less puzzling out of the meaning of life. Taking a little more time to rest in God. Trying to be more assiduous in the practice of Christian Meditation or centering prayer.
Meditation – we say our prayer word in order to let go of our own thoughts and we are silent from them even if they are floating around, so that God will speak to our hearts in the mysterious way of love
Since the unselfishness of human love is always transformative, how much more is God who is love always transformative? The more we are willing to interrupt our wandering thoughts with prayer, the more we realize that the Presence of God is the reality which gives the real meaning,shape and purpose to everything we do. and everything we are.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Rebecca and the Cliff
My twelve year old cousin, Rebecca, was walking the big family dog near a cliff when we were visiting in West Virginia. They were not walking but running. All of a sudden she saw in front of her a cliff that they could just go over precipitously. The only thing she could do to stop was to sit right down on the ground which she did.
In the complexity of today’s world it is easy to fall off a cliff into a life of perpetual motion. A life that often leads to confusion of mind and heart. The need is to sit down. As Master Eckhart says, we need to have as much interiority as exteriority. And even in our interiority we need time just to rest in God, in total trust in the great Love that God has for us. When we trust God we are entering mystery. We are in God and God is in us. This is what Jesus has promised us. Abide in me as I abide in you. It was a promise that for the Apostles was beyond understanding. Then Jesus rose from the dead. Even then it was not so much a matter of understanding but of believing the words of Jesus because He had risen from the dead and that wonderful witness was quite enough to have them trust in his great Love.
Paul writes: If Christ be not risen from the dead we are of all people the most foolish. (1 Cor, 15) This is why we sit in silence. Why we make the time just to be with God in prayer. We trust our God enough to avoid going off the cliff by sitting down with God in meditative prayer.. We acknowledge consciously the reality that God is present. Then we just repeat a simply prayer word or phrase. And let go of all thinking, imagining, worrying, going over the past or planning the future. Even 10 minutes is good. But twenty minutes twice a day is better.
We are living the paradox of the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Paul expresses this in another way. He says: when I am weak then I am strong. So what looks like the weakness of just praying repetitively is actually relying so much on God that the Divine energy of Love can work freely in us. And that is our true strength.
In the complexity of today’s world it is easy to fall off a cliff into a life of perpetual motion. A life that often leads to confusion of mind and heart. The need is to sit down. As Master Eckhart says, we need to have as much interiority as exteriority. And even in our interiority we need time just to rest in God, in total trust in the great Love that God has for us. When we trust God we are entering mystery. We are in God and God is in us. This is what Jesus has promised us. Abide in me as I abide in you. It was a promise that for the Apostles was beyond understanding. Then Jesus rose from the dead. Even then it was not so much a matter of understanding but of believing the words of Jesus because He had risen from the dead and that wonderful witness was quite enough to have them trust in his great Love.
Paul writes: If Christ be not risen from the dead we are of all people the most foolish. (1 Cor, 15) This is why we sit in silence. Why we make the time just to be with God in prayer. We trust our God enough to avoid going off the cliff by sitting down with God in meditative prayer.. We acknowledge consciously the reality that God is present. Then we just repeat a simply prayer word or phrase. And let go of all thinking, imagining, worrying, going over the past or planning the future. Even 10 minutes is good. But twenty minutes twice a day is better.
We are living the paradox of the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Paul expresses this in another way. He says: when I am weak then I am strong. So what looks like the weakness of just praying repetitively is actually relying so much on God that the Divine energy of Love can work freely in us. And that is our true strength.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Elijah in a cave
When Elijah was in trouble and his head was filled with fears and all kinds of thoughts, he went and hid in a cave. There were all kinds of noises – mighty winds, an earthquake, a fire, but when there was the quiet of a gentle breeze, he stood in the mouth of the cave and listened. Then God gave him directions as to what to do next. 1 Kings 19:9 ff
I like the image of a cave ever since I went to Niagara Falls and stood in the cave behind the falls pouring down endlessly.
If we look at our process of thinking as a waterfall, a continual cascading of thoughts, then meditation is like going into the cave behind the waterfalls. Behind the endless stream of thoughts. We may see the cascade of thoughts, but we are out of the torrent for a while. Or maybe we feel ourselves immersed in mighty winds or aa earthquake or even a fire. Then if we to the cave of inner silence, we will hear the gentle breeze of God’s word to us.
IN Christian Meditation we sit quietly, let go of all out thoughts by simply repeating a prayer word and coming back to our prayer word or phrase gently when we realize we are thinking again. While we meditate we are just letting God act in our hearts and minds as God wills, for God loves us so much. God wants to change our hearts so that we more fully respond to God’s immense love for us. This is something we cannot do for ourselves.
So when we are feeling out of sync, dissatisfied, restless, distressed, we don’t look at our thoughts, we just go to our cave. We meditate. God teaches us quietly, secretly, without our knowing how, without our help, without words, in mystery. We enter a knowing without knowing. God’s love for us is hidden in silence. Perhaps so that we may long for God more intensely or with the patient waiting of faith, until the day dawns when we see God face to face.
Here is a great reading from the Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-19..
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
I like the image of a cave ever since I went to Niagara Falls and stood in the cave behind the falls pouring down endlessly.
If we look at our process of thinking as a waterfall, a continual cascading of thoughts, then meditation is like going into the cave behind the waterfalls. Behind the endless stream of thoughts. We may see the cascade of thoughts, but we are out of the torrent for a while. Or maybe we feel ourselves immersed in mighty winds or aa earthquake or even a fire. Then if we to the cave of inner silence, we will hear the gentle breeze of God’s word to us.
IN Christian Meditation we sit quietly, let go of all out thoughts by simply repeating a prayer word and coming back to our prayer word or phrase gently when we realize we are thinking again. While we meditate we are just letting God act in our hearts and minds as God wills, for God loves us so much. God wants to change our hearts so that we more fully respond to God’s immense love for us. This is something we cannot do for ourselves.
So when we are feeling out of sync, dissatisfied, restless, distressed, we don’t look at our thoughts, we just go to our cave. We meditate. God teaches us quietly, secretly, without our knowing how, without our help, without words, in mystery. We enter a knowing without knowing. God’s love for us is hidden in silence. Perhaps so that we may long for God more intensely or with the patient waiting of faith, until the day dawns when we see God face to face.
Here is a great reading from the Letter to the Ephesians 1:17-19..
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Purification of Heart
Purification of Heart
Purification of the heart is the endless struggle of seeking a more God-centered life. It is the minute-to-minute discipline of trying to be so aware of God's presence that the heart has no space for our own worries, ambitions, or attention to appearances. (Jim Forest, The Ladder of the Beatitudes. Orbis Press, Maryknoll.1999. Pg. 96)
It has often seemed to me that the best way to do this is through prayer, especially the walking prayer, that is, having a prayer phrase that we say whenever we are walking. It can be just a short walk, up a flight of stairs., or whenever we are walking anywhere. There are some tasks during which it is easy to pray. For me that might be setting the table. And sometimes intermittently while I am cooking. However, I know I have to be careful there. The other night I was cooking a new recipe. The base was familiar so I launched out. And did the first part. Then I looked down at the new part and did it, but alas, I had skipped an important phrase. Right after the familiar part it said “instead of this, do that! So the unused part is still in the frig! Many of us have work that requires total attention. Then we seek to find short intermissions in which to say a word to God, or simply acknowledge God’s sustaining Presence.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Mt 5:8. Moses begged to see the face of God. And God had him stand ‘in the cleft of a rock’, and God covered him with his hand while God’s glory passed by. Later Elijah too wanted to see God and he experienced God in a still voice. In the Transfiguration, the three apostles saw Jesus surrounded with light and Moses and Elijah talking with Him.
These strong experiences tell us that God wants to reveal Himself to us. So it is immensely worth our while to try to pray always, and let go of worries and critical thoughts and any other garbage that floats into our conscious mind. It is by having prayers and hymn phrases and memory gems from Scripture or poetry that we call upon whenever possible that we gradually find our hearts and minds less congested.
The desert fathers and mothers used a verse from Ps 70: O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me. Many over the years have used some variation of a prayer with the Name of Jesus. As simple as Jesus, Mercy. Or as a friend of mine says: Jesus, Jesus, help, help, help. He likes it because he can say it rhythmically as he walks. Find a phrase - often from Scripture that you can repeat as you go about your day. Remember: Blessed the pure of heart, for they shall see God
Purification of the heart is the endless struggle of seeking a more God-centered life. It is the minute-to-minute discipline of trying to be so aware of God's presence that the heart has no space for our own worries, ambitions, or attention to appearances. (Jim Forest, The Ladder of the Beatitudes. Orbis Press, Maryknoll.1999. Pg. 96)
It has often seemed to me that the best way to do this is through prayer, especially the walking prayer, that is, having a prayer phrase that we say whenever we are walking. It can be just a short walk, up a flight of stairs., or whenever we are walking anywhere. There are some tasks during which it is easy to pray. For me that might be setting the table. And sometimes intermittently while I am cooking. However, I know I have to be careful there. The other night I was cooking a new recipe. The base was familiar so I launched out. And did the first part. Then I looked down at the new part and did it, but alas, I had skipped an important phrase. Right after the familiar part it said “instead of this, do that! So the unused part is still in the frig! Many of us have work that requires total attention. Then we seek to find short intermissions in which to say a word to God, or simply acknowledge God’s sustaining Presence.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. Mt 5:8. Moses begged to see the face of God. And God had him stand ‘in the cleft of a rock’, and God covered him with his hand while God’s glory passed by. Later Elijah too wanted to see God and he experienced God in a still voice. In the Transfiguration, the three apostles saw Jesus surrounded with light and Moses and Elijah talking with Him.
These strong experiences tell us that God wants to reveal Himself to us. So it is immensely worth our while to try to pray always, and let go of worries and critical thoughts and any other garbage that floats into our conscious mind. It is by having prayers and hymn phrases and memory gems from Scripture or poetry that we call upon whenever possible that we gradually find our hearts and minds less congested.
The desert fathers and mothers used a verse from Ps 70: O God come to my assistance, O Lord make haste to help me. Many over the years have used some variation of a prayer with the Name of Jesus. As simple as Jesus, Mercy. Or as a friend of mine says: Jesus, Jesus, help, help, help. He likes it because he can say it rhythmically as he walks. Find a phrase - often from Scripture that you can repeat as you go about your day. Remember: Blessed the pure of heart, for they shall see God
Monday, February 02, 2009
“Where have you hidden, Beloved, and left me groaning.”
John of the Cross in The Spiritual Canticle
It has fascinated me that John of the cross wrote this beautiful poem while imprisoned in a tiny dark cell where three days a week they brought him into middle of the dining room where he had to eat kneeling on the floor.. They also beat him three times a week. Those wounds were bad enough that they took years to heal.
In a way St. John teaches us by this long beautiful prayer that the place within where not everything is all right, where you feel wounded, that it’s the place to go for prayer.
As I was going to write more about this, we received news that there is political turmoil in Madagascar where we have many friends. Everything is closed, government, schools, stores. And it is dangerous to go out. So our friends are stuck in their homes.
And that is sometimes how we feel about our own inner ache or confusion or sorrow. It is then and there that we have the opportunity to turn to God in faith. To act in our prayer with faith no matter how we may feel. And when we hear news like this we know that whatever ache or sorrow or confusion we may have, it is not a private affair. It is always joined to the cries of Jesus on the Cross. While Jesus cries out My God, My God why have you forsaken me, following that he says a word of comfort to the good thief, and a word of great trust: Into your hands I commend my spirit.
This is a good way of prayer then: to feel our way to the wound that is in us, (in case we have the insight to discover that place) to the place of our need, - to go there and hold our need before the Lord.
And always to remember that Jesus rose from the dead. We live in hope, we walk by faith, we trust in the love God has for us.
It has fascinated me that John of the cross wrote this beautiful poem while imprisoned in a tiny dark cell where three days a week they brought him into middle of the dining room where he had to eat kneeling on the floor.. They also beat him three times a week. Those wounds were bad enough that they took years to heal.
In a way St. John teaches us by this long beautiful prayer that the place within where not everything is all right, where you feel wounded, that it’s the place to go for prayer.
As I was going to write more about this, we received news that there is political turmoil in Madagascar where we have many friends. Everything is closed, government, schools, stores. And it is dangerous to go out. So our friends are stuck in their homes.
And that is sometimes how we feel about our own inner ache or confusion or sorrow. It is then and there that we have the opportunity to turn to God in faith. To act in our prayer with faith no matter how we may feel. And when we hear news like this we know that whatever ache or sorrow or confusion we may have, it is not a private affair. It is always joined to the cries of Jesus on the Cross. While Jesus cries out My God, My God why have you forsaken me, following that he says a word of comfort to the good thief, and a word of great trust: Into your hands I commend my spirit.
This is a good way of prayer then: to feel our way to the wound that is in us, (in case we have the insight to discover that place) to the place of our need, - to go there and hold our need before the Lord.
And always to remember that Jesus rose from the dead. We live in hope, we walk by faith, we trust in the love God has for us.
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