Prayer of the Heart - Christian Meditation, Pt.III

Part III in a Series on Meditation and Faith

Father John Main writes “The most important thing to know about meditation is how to meditate”. The why is also important, but first know the how.  The link below, by Paul Demeyer is 9 minutes and gives good information on the practice.

The mantra, maranatha, means Come Lord Jesus.  It is Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.  When I explained that on one occasion a young student asked, when did Jesus learn English?  A great question from an engaged student which brought a smile to my face.

I think of the mantra as an ego suppressant as it takes the spotlight of consciousness off ourselves. Father Laurence Freeman describes it as a bloodless sacrifice, a dying to self. However, distractions are sure to come, stay calm and focused and return to saying the mantra when you become aware that you are distracted.  Don’t judge your prayer; be faithful to the discipline of the daily practice. Don’t look for success, meditation is an act of faith and even if you think nothing happened during your prayer, persevere. Our job is to show up, what happens during prayer is God’s business - grace. Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, “God wants fidelity not success.”

“what happens during prayer is God’s business”

Contemplation is a process of transformation writes Father Willigis Jager, osb. Over time a contemplative practice awakens in us an awareness of our false self, our shadow, our constructed self.  We become aware of our biases, assumptions, beliefs, and world views that separate us and cause us to react to others in ways that put up barriers.

Image: Unsplash/Dingzeyu Li

Through fidelity in meditation gradually your whole life is changed in your attitudes, and behaviour; a peacefulness that is new moves you to say, ‘Thank you Jesus’ keep it coming.

Amen.

-Sister Ann Marshall, csj

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Sister Ann Marshall works on Christian Meditation in the classroom, in partnership with teachers in the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board.

Image: Unsplash Colton Sturgeon

Grow Through What You Go Through

Easier said than done. Yet, day in, and day out, all of us are gifted with incredible opportunities to grow.  If we dare embrace whatever life presents - even during a difficult pandemic - we will grow through what we go through. If we have the courage, the patience and perseverance, as well as openness to the much-needed grace, we can and will grow through what we go through.  It may not happen in leaps and bounds, but happen it will, even during this pandemic, though we may not recognize the growth instantly but only in hindsight. 

All of us are familiar with sayings such as, “This will either make or break you” or “Bloom where you are planted.” When we find ourselves in difficult situations, such admonitions may be helpful or put our backs up.  While pondering about growth during difficult times, I wondered about creating a sacred space within ourselves where we can discern and choose how to grow through what we are going through during this pandemic instead of letting it break us.  What might this look like if we keep in mind, that we are chosen and appointed “to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last?” (John 15:16)

Hmmm, bloom and bear fruit. That sounds like a tall order, even at the best of times, let alone during this pandemic.  For many of us it may seem highly unlikely that this pandemic would be conducive to growing. If we stay with adages for a moment, such as “The grass is always greener on the other side” might that be true because there is more manure on the other side? If that be the case, we who have been well entrenched ‘on the other side of normal’, should then all be greening, sprouting, and growing as there is plentiful manure on this pandemic side of normal. However, that is not necessarily true, right?

We all know and have experienced, that there is a huge difference between head and heart knowledge.  My mind may take in such words as “This will either make or break you” but what will my heart believe?  During a time like this pandemic, all that might stick in my head might be, “This will break you.”  Yes, like a seed, life breaks us open. Might our hearts be willing to believe though, that difficulties can ‘make us’ and that we can grow? We may all have modest beginnings but through life’s difficulties we can in fact grow into “God’s masterpiece.” (Ephesians 2:10) Just as great oaks from little acorns grow with sufficient sun, rain, and the ‘manure’ of stormy weather, we, too, can grow when we learn to embrace the storms of our lives when we view them with new eyes. Though blasts from our past may aggravate our present pandemic situation, with grace we can weather whatever this pandemic holds for each one of us, even if we’d prefer to avoid these tough situations.

“...find God in all things”

Like our Jesuit brothers, when we have the courage to put aside our preconceived ideas and gain a new perspective, even during these challenging times, surprisingly we just might learn to “find God in all things.” Who knows, out of our difficulties miracles just may sprout. If we dare let go of our illusions, which tend to lead to disillusions, we will gain wisdom, that fertile soil needed to grow through what we are going through. When we no longer cling to our delusions of what life should look like, particularly during this pandemic, no longer holding onto unrealistic expectations, we might surprise ourselves by growing through what we go through.  When we not only face but embrace our reality, even if this pandemic breaks our hearts open evermore, they will surely also be enlarged.

Since I am finishing this reflection on Earth Day, I recall a recent conversation I enjoyed with a wise sage of a woman about pollinators.  What was unusual and fascinating about our conversation, was that she was not telling me about pollinators such as the amazing bees.  No, she spoke eloquently about people being pollinators.  In nature, “Pollination ensures that a plant will produce full-bodied fruit and a full set of viable seeds.” (www.pollinators.org) In the context of this reflection, however, I am pondering the concept of people being pollinators for others. Who are these pollinators, I ask myself, who help me till the inner soil so I can grow, bloom, and “produce full-bodied fruit” in my life and in turn help others seek “greening” in their lives?  In conclusion, then, I would like to invite you to ponder who the pollinators are in your life, particularly during this pandemic. Who is helping you not only to grow through what you daily go through but to bear fruit in great abundance?  On the flip side, for whom are you a caring pollinator?

-Sister Magdalena Vogt, cps

ARE YOU HOME?

Early Saturday mornings tend to be my ‘sacred space’ after a busy week at work.  Recently, on a chilly Saturday morning, I cracked open a soft-boiled egg for breakfast. As I peeled back its shell and tough skin, poet Mary Oliver’s admonition, “make room to be astonished by the wonder of it all” surfaced in my mind.  In order to ‘make room’ I consciously peeled back the thin skin of my egg, ‘astonished by the wonder of skin.’  Skin, you may ask?  Yes, isn’t it amazing how everyday, ordinary things can be the gateway to the more sublime?  But I digress.

While I ate the egg, I scrolled through my emails and chose to check out Henri Nouwen’s daily reflection.  I was immediately drawn to its title, “Are You Home?” Well, yes, I thought, I am home.  However, the question Nouwen posed asked something far deeper.   He focused on one of society’s deep-seated ills – “worrying [which] means to be occupied and preoccupied with many things.”  Nouwen went on to point out how, in our highly technological and competitive world, many of us are “all over the place” but seldom at home.  He further reflected on how hard it is for many of us, “to avoid completely the forces that fill up our inner and outer space and disconnect us from our innermost selves, our fellow human beings, and our God.” Nouwen’s poignant closing sentence truly hit home (no pun intended), “One way to express the spiritual crisis of our time is to say that most of us have an address but cannot be found there.”  (Henri Nouwen: Daily Meditation, January 26, 2019)

Home.  Where is ‘home’ for us earth dwellers?  There are many of us who feel like nomads on this earth.  Do we have a place where we are rooted, a place we call home? A place where we feel at home?  It seems to me both the question and the answer lie far deeper.  Are we at home even in our own skin?   Did you know that our skin is our body’s largest organ?  It is our body’s coat.  It protects us.  It helps us stay warm when it’s cold and cool when it’s hot. Skin is tough and stretchy; perhaps that’s why we call some people thick-skinned.  Our skin keeps all our insides in. It is our home.  Then why do so many of us not feel comfortable or at home in our own skin?  This may well have something to do with our outer appearance, though the real challenges usually are not merely ‘skin-deep’.  How we feel in our own skin goes beyond our physical bodies, for true comfort with ourselves is a state of mind rather than what we look like.  We only really become truly at home in our own skin when we accept ourselves, warts and all. 

Might there be something else to aid us with this process of being comfortable in our own skin? Over the years I have discovered that there is another way to help me be more comfortable in my own skin, another way of ‘being home’.  One of my all-time favourite scripture quotes is, “Make your home in me just as I do in you” (John 15:4). When we heed this invitation and make our home in Jesus, we will discover that the spiritual life is about becoming more at home in our own skin.  I remember the day a friend told me how someone she loved deeply made her feel at home in her own skin, and that it was one of the greatest gifts anyone had ever given her.  Being invited to make our home in God, and subsequently feeling more at ease with ourselves, is one of the greatest blessings we can receive.

Jesus himself knew about the importance of a connection to home, which led him to return to Nazareth from time to time.  His invitation to us to make our home in him, reminds me of the first time I heard someone say, “I need God with skin on.” All of us at times have a need for God with skin on, that is, God who is physically real and touchable. Physicality is important in any relationship and especially in our most important relationships.  In the hospital where I minister, for instance, I have witnessed the dramatic positive effects skin-to-skin contact, known as Kangaroo care, has on preemies and full-term babies.

Keeping this in mind, it makes me wonder if it is perhaps not too far fetched to think of Jesus as the ‘skin’ which holds us, the body of Christ, together.  Let us be astonished by the wonder of this – that God’s embrace enfolds us all.

- Sr. Magdalena Vogt, cps