Decluttering: a spiritual perspective

My room in the monastery is very cluttered. I simply have too much stuff. (Or is it that the stuff has me? hmmmm……) Anyway I finally got to the point where I couldn’t stand it any more. So for the past several weeks, a couple of times a week, I’ve set to eliminating some of the clutter. Boxes of books were donated to the college library, and bags of trash have been filled and discarded.

And I began to notice something: whenever I look at a space or shelf in the room which has been cleared of clutter, I actually take pleasure in the sight of it. I feel like I’m getting free from things which have been weighing me down.

Several books are available nowadays about de-cluttering or simplifying you life. I’ve read none of them, yet even the titles have somehow served to give me this inspiration to simplify and purge, or cleanse.

Interestingly enough, I have also noticed that my prayer is getting more focused, and that I am less easily distracted during the Divine Office or during times of meditation. Might there be a connection between what I’m doing in my room and what happens during prayer time?

Well, just this morning I read something which proves that there is indeed a connection. It’s from The Art of Prayer which I’ve mentioned in a few posts lately. A couple of these things may be quite challenging. Take what you are ready for, and leave the rest for another time.

The spirit is quenched by distraction of the attention from God and God’s works, by excessive anxiety about earthly matters, by indulgence in sensual pleasure, by pandering to carnal desires, and by infatuation with material things. (p. 149) . . .

If you have filled your mind with earthly things, if you have given yourself up to the cares of daily business, you have already quenched the Spirit.

From the first moment of the awakening of the spirit by grace, man’s consciousness and yearning pass from the creation to the Creator, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the temporary to the eternal. In this realm lies his treasure, and there is his heart. (p. 151)

And finally, a wonderful quotation from the Letter to the Colossians. We sing these verses as an antiphon frequently during the season of Easter:

Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:1-2)

God bless you.

Signs of a spiritual awakening

Happy New Year to you all!

We’ve seen several lists of New Year’s Resolutions over the past week or so, but one list came my way that isn’t a list of resolutions but rather a list indicating signs that one has had a “spiritual awakening.”

In the days to come, I’ll be discussing each item in terms of the spiritual journey which we are all beginning to take. (When it comes to the spiritual life, I prefer to think that we are all beginners, hence the name of this blog.)

Anyway, look it over and see what you stand. What do you need to pray for? What do you need to constantly practice? How have any of these qualities been developing in your life over the past year, and where to you hope the Lord guide you to develop in over the year to come? And God bless you.

1. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than to make things happen.

2. Frequent attacks of smiling.

3. Feelings of being connected with others and nature.

4. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

5. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fears based on past experiences.

6. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

7. A loss of ability to worry.

8. A loss of interest in conflict.

9. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

10. A loss of interest in judging others.

11. A loss of interest in judging self.

12. Gaining the ability to love without expecting anything in return.

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The light comes gently

From the 6^th verse of O Come, O Come, Emmanuel:

                O come, O Dayspring from on high,

                And cheer us by your drawing nigh.

Think of the coming of the dawn. Consider how slowly it rises, and how gentle is its first light.

And then, consider the coming of the Savior of the World into the world: not as a mighty king, but as a little child, poor and homeless. Gradually, over the course of years, that child will grow into a man, into the God-man ready to teach and to heal, to suffer, die and to rise again. To be “a light in the darkness,” to quote the prologue in St. John’s Gospel.

These things come slowly.

Conversion, enlightenment, awakening: most often, these come slowly as well. Slow, gradual but inevitable.

I like to think of it in this way:

We are in a room that is completely dark. And we strike a match and light a single candle. At first, there is just a tiny, flickering light, but then the light slowly spreads and begins to fill the room with a soft gentle light. The light is there with us, but the room is still somewhat dark. Light and darkness exist together in the beginning. And then, if we use that tiny light to light other candles and spread them throughout the room, then the darkness recedes while there is only the light left.

This is the process of conversion, of enlightenment, of awakening or of anything else you might like to call it.

Sometimes Christ comes into our lives as a blast from heaven knocking us off our horse, as happened to Saint Paul. But for most of us, most of the time, the light begins as a dayspring, or as a single candle in a darkened room.

As you pray for the coming of Christ into your life this year, pray also that you might be able to see the gentle light as it begins its process within your heart and your mind and your soul.

Blessed Advent to you.