Praying in secret

Another verse from Psalm 51:

. . . in the secret of my heart teach me wisdom  (verse 8b)

This verse is about silence and contemplation, and about the fruit of a very personal and private relationship with God. When I pray it, I hear echoes of the teaching in the Gospel passage for Ash Wednesday, when the Lord says, “when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.”

Where is your “inner room” and how do you get there? I used to use a guided meditation with my students where I invited them to construct in their imagination an actual room, that was a private and safe space for them, where no one else could enter. It was for them a place ready to induce contemplation.

Perhaps you can do the same thing. Let the room be anything you like, and decorated in a way that would support you in your prayer. It isn’t located outside of you, but rather within you, in that deep and secret space where the Holy Spirit resides, and rest there. Use a prayer word or phrase to center your attention, and maintain as much inner silence as you can. Not only can you pray to the Father, but also the Father can speak to you without words, touching your innermost place with gifts of wisdom and peace.

What results from this is rarely something we can speak to others about, and it’s possible that we can’t even put it into words for ourselves. But as time goes by, we begin to see its fruits: perhaps a chance in attitude, or a new way of dealing with things that is completely different from what we do by habit.

We see the world differently, and things make sense where previously nothing made sense, and meanwhile our own ways of looking at things begin to evolve. Review the qualities of wisdom found in chapter 7 of the Book of Wisdom, and reflect on whatever word or term resonates with you at this point in your life.

You will experience more love in your life, more peace in your heart, you will become more kind and more sensitive to the times when you act or react without kindness.

Finally, you will notice that God is, indeed, creating within you a clean heart. Give thanks always.

God bless you.

What stifles the graces we are given?

The parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-20) can be applied to our own personal spiritual journeys and our ability to accept and act on the graces that God gives to us.

A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Some of the things that God wants to tell us don’t get to us because we simply are not ready or because our ears are closed. The noise of the world buries the Lord’s grace because his grace and only be received in silence.

Other see fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.

How many times have we formed good intentions in immediate response to grace, but we don't we don’t take the time to let the graces sink deep within us, and they wither the next day.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain.

What are the thorns in our life that inhibit or distract us from cooperating with the graces we are offered? Jesus talks about the care of money and the cares of this world. It’s difficult to move from a meditation or a reflection back into the world and still hold on to whatever insights the Holy Spirit has sown in us.

And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold.

There are times when the Spirit has left us completely open and ready to receive. And the word or insight that comes to us strikes a note deep within us, we cultivate it with reflection and meditation, we water it with prayer and gratitude, and wonderful things begin to blossom and bloom in our lives and in the lives of others.

God bless you!

Less worrying?

Those who have experienced or are experiencing a spiritual awakening tend to develop a loss of ability to worry. (The 7^th item on the list we have been discussing this year. The complete list is at the end of this reflection.)

The work we are doing to grow spiritually, whatever it may be, bears fruit in our lives. These consequences develop gradually and naturally over the course of time and can’t be rushed, or hurried, or stressed. We simply do the work, and experience the consequences that result.

This is particularly true of today’s item: a loss of ability to worry. How does this happen? It takes growth in our ability to trust that God is active in our lives at all times, that His love for us is total and unending, and that he works to bring good out of anything difficult that might occur. Never forget that his ultimate will for us is that we be saved and enter the Kingdom of Heaven for all eternity. Also remember what Saint Paul so beautifully said, that “everything works together for the good of those who love God.”  (Romans 8:28)

It can be helpful to look back over the landscape of our lives and see (even if only for the first time) how God has guided, sustained, blessed, healed, protected, comforted, inspired, and helped us in the past, and continues to do so in the present and for the future.

My own personal journey of growth in trust began in a special way when I discovered the 2^nd chapter of the Book of Sirach. Maybe it can help you as well:

Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.

You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall.

You who fear the Lord, trust him, and your reward will not be lost.

You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy.

Study the generations long past and understand;

has anyone hoped in the Lord and been disappointed?

Has anyone persevered in his fear and been forsaken?

Has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?  (Sirach 2:6-10)

One last thing: sometimes it might seem to us that we have been disappointed, or forsaken, or rebuffed by the Lord. Even then, however, do not give up hope. Time will show you that He is working to answer your prayer, although not in a way that you would have liked Him to satisfy you at the moment. Once again, I encourage you to look back over your life and see if you can find times when this has turned out to be true.

Think on these things. Pray about them. Journal about them. Continue your program of meditation. You will find yourself worrying far less; you will experience times of calm when everyone else is running around fretting and fearing. You will know peace. God bless you!

12 Signs that one is undergoing a spiritual awakening:

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.

Losing control

Today we look at the first of the twelve “Signs that you are spiritually awakening” which was posted yesterday. Notice that I just used the present tense—you are spiritually awakening—rather than the past tense—you have had a spiritual awakening. The awakening itself is a process that takes time. What these twelve items suggest is what we discover happening in our lives if we are consciously practicing habits of prayer, mind and spirit that do produce a gradual spiritual awakening in us. After all, we are all in via, “on the way.” So here is the first of the list:

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

It takes so much work, so much energy, so much preoccupation for us to serve the illusion that we are in control of what happens in our lives, or that we can exercise control to make sure that something we want happens.

 And more often than not, our efforts don’t produce the effect we wanted them to produce. Something happens. Something gets in the way. Someone foils our plans, often unwittingly. And yet, we continue to try, because the need to control things is an instinctive urge that we are born with. And for many, that need takes over and the illusion that we are, indeed, in control, runs our lives.

Consider King Herod and his reaction when he finds out that a great king has been born in Bethlehem. Right away, he sets up his program of control: the Magi are to report back to him after they have found the Christ Child, and then he will put his henchmen to work. But things don’t turn out that way, and Herod, enraged, orders the murder of all male children under the age of 2. And yet, even this doesn’t do the trick.

The Good News of the story revolves around the mysterious: angels and dreams. Joseph is warned in a dream to take his family to Egypt. The Magi are told in a dream to take a different route home to avoid Herod putting his plan into action. Herod, at last, is not in control; God is. But because of Herod’s rage, thousands of families are made to suffer.

So, with all this in mind, I have a few questions for you:

·         Do you have any programs in place to control what is happening in your life? Are you really in charge? How often to your programs succeed? And what is it costing you to live your life this way? And how are others made to suffer because of your imaginary sense of control?

·         Have you ever noticed that many if not most of the wonderful things that have happened in your life are not the result of your planning or plotting, but rather happen, it seems, by accident (or we might say, by Providence)?

·         Have you learned yet that the issues you are most concerned about, or most anxious about, tend to work themselves out in unexpected and often wonderful ways once we have let go of our desire to control and rather simply put things “in the hand of God”?

It takes practice. It takes thought. It takes prayer, especially meditation or contemplative prayer.

Here is a simple mediation for those who have never done it before: Close your eyes and pay attention to your breathing without controlling it. As you exhale, let go of your urge to control. As you inhale, inhale your faith that God is working things out. If you’d like, as you exhale, you might think the words “into your hands, O Lord,” and as you inhale, “Lord, increase my faith.”  Or else simply follow your breath and remain without words. If you’ve never done this before, try it for a minute or 2.

The peace that can't be described is meant for you.

From the second reading for the Third Sunday of Advent (Year C): Philippians 4:4-7

. . . Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

So what is this peace? Have you experienced it? Can you describe it?

Of course you can’t. This peace which is given to us who believe defies description because we are limited in our language, especially when it comes to spiritual things. We don’t have the words or concepts to speak about it rationally, or logically, or in merely earthbound terms.

What we do know is that the peace itself is conditional. There are things we have to do that end up calling this peace down upon us and within us. The passage from Philippians lists the requirements for us:

·         Rejoice in the Lord always (even during those difficult times).

·         Be extraordinarily kind.

·         Be free from anxiety because you know the Lord is near (=with you in all things). Sit calmly, breathe deeply, feel the anxiety and then offer it up to God who will touch it and heal it. Focus on the body sensations you have when you are anxious; imagine the Lord touching those sensations, and as you breathe deeply, experience them growing fainter and lighter until they all but disappear. Don’t think about the problem or the issues: focus you attention on the feelings and the sensation.

·         Ask for things by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. God already knows what you need, but it is important for you voice your requests in your own words.

If you do all these things, then you will know that peace which surpasses all understanding. Give thanks for it. Don’t try to explain it to anyone else, or even to yourself: simply rest in it.

When you emerge from this meditative process, you will be better able to face the things you have to face in your life, and you may perhaps even be given insight about what you are to say or do.

I can’t say any more about it. I don’t have the language to do that. But I do what I can do in my own imperfect way. I pray that the suggestions I make will inspire you to make yourself ready to receive that peace. Just remember: on this third Sunday of Advent, the color is pink, not purple, for this a day given to us that we may rejoice.

Blessed Advent to you.

Making Room for Wisdom

Wisdom, part 2.

O come, O Wisdom from on high,

who orders all things mightily:

To us the path of knowledge show

and lead us in her ways to go.

Rejoice!

I don’t know about you, but there are times when I seem to be all filled up with “mind stuff: ” Things I’ve learned, things I think I have figured out, my continually rehashing of things from my past and constant predictions about what the future will bring (which are almost always nothing more than fantasies). In addition to this, of course, I have my own attitudes, opinions, attractions and distractions to deal with minute by minute and moment by moment.

This is a serious problem. If my mind is already full of stuff, how can I possibly expect Wisdom to come to me, to show me where true knowledge lies, and to lead me in a wise and holy path?

We’ve got to make room for Wisdom. In order to do that, we’ve got to do some serious housecleaning, some serious letting go. We’ve got to put our thoughts on “hold” and silence the constant internal chatter so that we can begin to hear the voice of Wisdom prompting us to a new way of life.

This is where and when meditation, or Centering Prayer or mindfulness  becomes so important. It doesn’t matter what you call the process or technique: the process is always the same.

If you’ve never meditated before, do a search for one of the methods I’ve named above or seek out one of the many excellent books on the subject. But, for what it is worth, here is meditation in a nutshell:

Sit quietly and focus you attention on your breathing. Notice the breath as it goes in and out of your body. If possible, count the breaths up to 10 and then begin again. Keep your attention on your breath (or on some phrase such as ”Come, Lord Jesus.” You mind will begin to wander and thoughts and feelings will arise that take your attention away from your breath or your phrase. When you notice this happening, gently return to your meditation. This will continue to happen, and each time it does, return to the basic meditation.

After a time, you will come to realize that you are the “space” through which thoughts and feelings move. You are not your thoughts; you are not your feelings. You are the one who has thoughts and feelings passing by in an endless parade. Let them pass through.

If you do this on a regular basis (15-20 minutes is good), you will begin to discover and realize many things that you have not realized before. Perhaps this is the voice of Wisdom speaking to you . . .

Blessed Advent to you.

Be still

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:11)

Picture this: You’re walking down the street when suddenly you hear the peal of a tower bell announcing that it is 1 o’clock.

Consider what you experience: A sound comes to your ears, and then moves away, while perhaps your ears pick up another sound such as a horn honking or a friend speaking to you.

Meanwhile, you are there, the same as you were before. A sound came into your mind and then passed through you. Other sounds began to appear.

When we meditate, sitting in silent attention, an occasional thought or idea arises. What do we do with it? Do we entertain the thought and end up getting carried away from our meditative space, or do we acknowledge it and allow it to pass through us, just like the sound of that bell?

If you are able to remain still you can reach a point where that stillness is present in your life no matter what happened. Psychologists call this the “being mode.” This mode has several characteristics:

·         It is focused on the present moment.

·         It accepts and allows what comes to mind.

·         It is non-judgmental.

·         Thoughts and feelings are related to as events that come and go.

The words of Psalm 46 encourage us to enter into “being mode.” The psalm talks about calamities happening around us, mountains falling into the sea, waters raging and foaming, and so on.

Read Psalm 46 and related it events in your own life. And then, right at the conclusion, the word comes from the Lord: Be still and know that I am God. I'll take care of all of that!

Meditate. Trust. Stay at peace. Let things go.