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NOW YOU KNOW MEDIA S T U D Y G U I D E

Serenity and Contemplation: A Christian Guide to Meditation

Presented by Fr. Donald Goergen, O.P., Ph.D.

SERENITY AND CONTEMPLATION: A CHRISTIAN GUIDE TO MEDITATION STUDY GUIDE

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Fr. Donald Goergen, O.P., Ph.D. Ph.D., Aquinas Institute of Theology

Professor, Aquinas Institute of Theology

onald Goergen, O.P., Ph.D., is a Dominican priest, teacher,

lecturer, and author. He has published many articles and ten

books in the areas of Christology and Christian spirituality.

His most recent book was Fire of Love: Encountering the Holy Spirit. He

has taught, lectured, and given retreats in Asia, Africa, and throughout

North America. He was previously Provincial for the Dominican Friars

of the Central Province, as well as President of the Dominican Leadership

Conference. He co-founded the Dominican Ashram, a contemplative

Dominican community and ministry of prayer, in which he lived for nine

years. He previously taught and currently teaches at the Aquinas Institute

of Theology in St. Louis, MO, where he is also prior of the formation

community. His doctorate is in systematic theology, his dissertation on Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and

his current interests include contemplative traditions, East and West, the evolution of consciousness, and

the thought of Thomas Aquinas as a spiritual master. Among other honors awarded him, he is the recipient

of the 2010 Yves Congar Award from Barry University in Miami.

*Cover photo by skyseeker (CC BY 2.0)

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Table of Contents

Course Information

Presenter Biography………………………………………………………………….i

Course Overview ......................................................................................................... 1

Course Materials

Topic 1. Introduction to Meditation: The Way of Silence .......................................... 2

Topic 2. Surprises from the Desert: Learning from the Philokalia ............................. 5

Topic 3. The Prayer Word: Praying with John Cassian .............................................. 8

Topic 4. Wrestling with Distractions: Quieting the Mind ......................................... 12

Topic 5. Scrupulosity and Freedom ........................................................................... 15

Topic 6. St. Augustine: Restless Hearts ..................................................................... 18

Topic 7. Praying with the Body ................................................................................. 21

Topic 8. Meister Eckhart: Is a Path Necessary? ........................................................ 24

Topic 9. Being Held by Love ..................................................................................... 27

Topic 10. Mystical Darkness and Perseverance ........................................................ 30

Topic 11. Meditation in Common .............................................................................. 33

Topic 12. Living in the Presence ............................................................................... 36

Supplemental Materials

Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 40


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Course Overview

“The very best and noblest attainment in this life is to be silent and let God work

and speak within.”

– Meister Eckhart

Gain profound insights into the Christian tradition of meditative prayer.

Many people are familiar with the practice of meditation in Eastern spiritual

traditions. What many do not know, however, is that Western mysticism also gives

us a rich meditative tradition. From the time of the desert fathers and mothers to the

present day, a long line of mystics has given us inspiring, prayerful practices.

In Serenity and Contemplation: A Christian Guide to Meditation, you will learn

powerful lessons about meditative prayer, or the silencing of the mind. Under the

guidance of Fr. Donald Goergen, you will explore such themes as silence, group

meditation, and the difference between meditation and contemplation. Along the

way, you will be inspired by the teachings of the Philokalia, John Cassian, St.

Augustine, St. Dominic, Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart, Teresa of Ávila, John

of the Cross, Thérèse of Lisieux, and many others.

As you will discover, the Christian tradition emphasizes focused awareness, the

union of mind and heart, the use of the body in prayer, and praying with a single

word or with the Jesus Prayer. This series will invite you to pray with fewer words

and deepen your contemplative practices. You will also learn how to use prayer to

face obstacles in life, as well as how to balance theory and practice.

In these 12 powerful talks, you will learn how to engage in meditative and

contemplative practices while appreciating the Christian mystical tradition that has

nourished these practices throughout the centuries. As you learn from the great

cloud of witnesses who have gone before us, you will grow deeper in your own

experience of prayer.

Embark on this sublime spiritual odyssey today.



Topic 1. Introduction to Meditation: The Way of

Silence

Overview

his first topic serves as an introduction to this series on contemplation. Meditation is one of the

most famous practices of the contemplative life, but the two are not synonymous. Meditation

certainly plays a role in the contemplative life, but it is a predominantly rational practice, and

while contemplation includes this it also seeks to go beyond it. One way of doing this is through the

silencing of the mind, which enables communion with God.

I. Key Points

The distinction between contemplation and meditation

The discursive, rational, thinking mind and the higher, intuitive, contemplative mind

Interior silence and the “silent mind”

“Kinds” of silence

The practice of silence and quieting the mental mind

II. Texts to Consider

“Be still, and know that I am God.”

– Psalm 46:10

“For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.”

– Psalm 62:1

“Intellect (intellectus) and reason (ratio) differ as to their manner of knowing, because the intellect

knows by simple intuition, while reason knows by a process of discursion from one thing to

another.”

– Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Part I, question 59, article 1.

“First we will take the words: ‘In the midst of silence there was spoken within me a secret word.’

— ‘But sir, where is the silence and where is the place where the word is spoken?’ — As I said just

now, it is in the purest thing that the soul is capable of, in the noblest part, the ground — indeed, in

the very essence of the soul which is the soul’s most secret part. There is the silent ‘middle’…They

must know that the very best and noblest attainment in this life is to be silent and let God work and

speak within.”

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– From sermon one in the M. O’C. Walshe translation of Meister Eckhart’s Sermons and Treatises,

vol. 1 (London: Watkins, 1979), 1–13.

“For silence itself is expressed in several ways. We know silences of contempt and of joy, of pain

and of pleasure, of consent and of solitude."

– Jean-Luc Marion, God Without Being (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1991), 53–54.

“Each order of experience has its own atmosphere. The atmosphere of presence, of giving, of

wholeness, is silence. We know that serious things have to be done in silence, because we do not

have words to measure the immeasurable. In silence people love, pray, listen, compose, paint, write,

think, suffer. These experiences are all occasions of giving and receiving, of some encounter with

forces that are inexhaustible and independent of us. These are easily distinguishable from our

routines and possessiveness as silence is distinct from noise.”

– Ralph Harper, The Sleeping Beauty (London: The Harvill Press, 1955), 110-11.

“We are built for contemplation. This book is about cultivating the skills necessary for this subtlest,

simplest, and most searching of the spiritual arts. Communion with God in the silence of the heart

is a God-given capacity, like the rhododendron’s capacity to flower, the fledgling’s for flight, and

the child’s for self-forgetful abandon and joy.”

– Martin Laird, O.S.A., Into the Silent Land: A Guide to the Christian Practice of Contemplation.

Oxford University press, 2006.



Reflection Questions

What frame of mind do you bring to contemplative or meditative practice?

Within what kind of space can you create space for spaciousness?

Do you see value in “interior silence”? What do you think it is? Have you experienced it?

Can you take at least ten minutes today to practice sitting still?



Topic 2. Surprises from the Desert: Learning from

the Philokalia

Overview

his topic more closely examines two concepts within the contemplative tradition of Christianity.

The first is the idea of praying with the heart, or bringing the mind down from the realm of purely

logical thought into the center of the being. The heart can involve emotion, but it is deeper than

purely affective sentiment. Rather, it is best understood in this context as the inner-most core of the self.

Also important to this session is the awareness of one’s breath. Simply regulating one’s breathing can

have a calming, centering effect on one’s disposition. As such it becomes plain why both the contemplative

traditions from the East and the great Christian contemplatives throughout our history have used the

control of breath as not the center of focus, but as a means of moving into a contemplative mode of being.

I. Key Points

Praying with the heart: bringing the mind

down into the heart

Praying “in the Spirit”

The Breath of the Lord

Components of contemplative practice:

breath, posture, a word

The Philokalia


“This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every fatherhood in heaven or

on earth takes its name. In the abundance of His glory may He, through His Spirit, enable you to

grow firm in power with regard to your inner self, so that Christ may live in your hearts through

faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, with all God’s holy people you will have the

strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; so that, knowing the love of

Christ, which is beyond knowledge, you may be filled with the utter fullness of God.”

– Ephesians 3:14-21 (New Jerusalem Bible)

From Nicephorus the Solitary:

“Some of the saints have called attention to the safe-keeping of the mind, others — the guarding of

the heart, yet others — sobriety, yet others — mental silence, and others again by other names. But

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all these names mean the same thing…. Attention is the beginning of contemplation, or rather its

necessary condition: for, through attention, God comes close and reveals Himself to the mind.

Attention is serenity of the mind, or rather its standing firmly planted and not wandering, through

the gift of God’s mercy. Attention means cutting off thoughts, it is the abode of the remembrance

of God and the treasure-house of the power to endure all that may come. Therefore, attention is the

origin of faith, hope and love…. You know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air.

The organ which serves for this is the lungs which lie round the heart, so that the air passing through

them thereby envelopes the heart. Thus breathing is the natural way to the heart. And so having

collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the

heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain

there. Accustom it, brother, not to come out of the heart too soon…. Just as a man who has been

away from home, when he returns is beside himself with joy at seeing again his children and wife,

embraces them and cannot talk to them enough, so the mind when it unites with the heart, is filled

with unspeakable joy and delight…. Moreover, you should know that when your mind becomes

firmly established in the heart, it must not remain there silent and idle, but it should constantly

repeat the prayer: ‘Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon me!’ and never cease.”

– Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, trans. E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer

(London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1973), 31–34.

From St. Gregory of Sinai:

“In the morning force your mind to descend from the head to the heart and hold it there, calling

ceaselessly in mind and soul: ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me!’ until you are tired…. When

you notice thoughts arising and accosting you, do not look at them, even if they are not bad; but

keeping the mind firmly in the heart, call to Lord Jesus….”

– Writings from the Philokalia, 84–85.

From the life of Abba Agathon:

“A brother asked Abba Agathon: ‘Tell me, Abba, which is greater, physical labour or the guarding

of the heart?’ The Abba replied: ‘Man is like a tree; physical work is the leaves, and the guarding

of the heart is the fruit. Since, according to the Scriptures, ‘every tree which bringeth not forth good

fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire’ (Matthew. 3:10), it is evident that all our care must be for

the fruit, that is, guarding the mind.”

– Writings from the Philokalia, 26–27.

From John Chrysostom:

“By prayer I mean not that which is only in the mouth, but that which springs up from the bottom

of the heart. In fact, just as trees with deep roots are not shattered or uprooted by storms…in the

same way prayers that come from the bottom of the heart, having their roots there, rise to heaven

with complete assurance and are not knocked off course by the assault of any thought. That is why

the psalm says: ‘Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord’ [Psalm 130:1].”

– Olivier Clément, The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic Era with

Commentary, 2nd ed. (Hyde Park: NY: New City Press, 2013), 182.




What does it mean to “pray with the heart”?

What role, if any, do you see for the mind in prayer?

Does “breath” have any significance for Christian prayer, any symbolic value?

Who were the desert fathers and mothers? What is the Philokalia?



Topic 3. The Prayer Word: Praying with John

Cassian

Overview

his topic focuses on the role of simple prayer in the contemplative life. There are many

distractions in our modern, technological society (and we will address this more in a later topic),

but one of the most effective ways of centering oneself is to focus the mind. Our minds typically

continue to race, even when we want them to be silent, and so the role of a simple, repetitive prayer is to

free one from distraction by giving the mind a simple tool to focus upon. The Jesus prayer is one such

example. As we shall see, many of the great Christian contemplatives, especially John Cassian, used this

technique to clear away the distractions of life so that they could focus on the awareness of the presence

of God.

I. Key Points

Praying with a word: beyond thoughts

“O God, come to my assistance”

The Jesus Prayer

Being in the present; being in the presence

A review


Abba Isaac:

“The formula for this discipline and prayer that you are seeking, then, shall be presented to you.

Every monk who longs for the continual awareness of God should be in the habit of meditating on

it ceaselessly in his heart, after having driven out every kind of thought….This, then, is the

devotional formula proposed to you as absolutely necessary for possessing the perpetual awareness

of God: ‘O God, incline until my aid; O Lord, make haste to help me…..Not without reason has

this verse been selected from our of the whole body of Scripture….This verse, I say, is necessary

and useful for each one of us in whatever condition we may live….If I am seized by the passion of

gluttony….If a headache disturbs and hinders me….If carnal titillation suddenly pricks me….If I

am disquieted by the urges of anger, avarice, or sadness….If I am boiling over with a multitude of

different distractions of soul and with a fickle heart….This verse should be poured out in unceasing

prayer so that we may be delivered in adversity and preserved and not puffed up with

prosperity….You should not stop repeating it when you are doing any kind of work or performing

some service are on a journey. Meditate on it while sleeping and eating and attending to the least

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needs of nature…Let sleep overtake you as you meditate upon this verse until you are formed by

having used it ceaselessly and are in the habit of repeating it even while asleep.”

– John Cassian, The Conferences, trans. Boniface Ramsey (New York: Paulist Press, 1997), 379–

383.

Abba Isaac:

“I do not think that all the different kinds of prayer can be grasped without great purity of heart and

soul and the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit….Therefore it is absolutely certain that no one’s

prayer can be uniform….We must explain one by one the different kinds of prayer that the Apostle

divided in fourfold fashion when he said: ‘I urge first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions,

and thanksgivings be made’ (1 Tm 2:1)….in the fourth place there are thanksgivings, which the

mind, whether recalling God’s past benefits, contemplating his present ones, or foreseeing what

great things God has prepared for those who love him, offers to the Lord in unspeakable ecstasies.

And with this intensity, too, more copious prayers are sometimes made, when our spirit gazes with

most pure eyes upon the rewards of the holy ones that are stored up for the future and is moved to

pour out wordless thanks to God with a boundless joy.”

– John Cassian, The Conferences, 335–338.

Abba Isaac:

“But, although our Lord distinguished the four kinds prayers to be offered, individually and at

different times, as we understand, nonetheless he shows as well by his own example that they can

also be included together in a perfect prayer…And so a still more sublime and exalted condition

follows upon these kinds of prayer. It is fashioned by the contemplation of God alone and by fervent

charity, by which the mind, having been dissolved and flung into love of him, speaks most

familiarly and with particular devotion to God as to its own father…It leads them by a higher stage

to that fiery and, indeed, more properly speaking, wordless prayer which is known and experienced

by very few.”

– John Cassian, The Conferences, 340–345.

Hesychius of Jerusalem:

“Just as it is impossible for us…to chase birds in the air or to fly as they do, since it is contrary to

furniture; so it is impossible for us to be free of the incorporeal thoughts of the demons, and freely

and attentively to direct our mental eye to God, without sober and constant prayer. If you have not

got this, you are on earth and are chasing things of the earth. If you truly wish to cover thoughts

with shame, to keep silence as you should and to be sober in your heart without effort, let the Jesus

Prayer cleave to your breath — and in a few days you will see it in practice. As letters cannot be

written in the air but should be engraved on some solid body to preserve them for a long time; so

we must combine the Prayer of Jesus with the most laborious sobriety, in order that the beautiful

virtue of sobriety should abide with Him in us, remaining forever whole and so, through Him,

become an inalienable part of us.”


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– Hesychius of Jerusalem, in the Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, trans. E.

Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1973), 316–317.

“The outward form of the prayer is easily learnt. Basically it consists of the words ‘Lord Jesus

Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.’ There is, however, no strict uniformity. The verbal formula

can be shortened: we can say ‘Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me,’ or ‘Lord Jesus,’ or even

‘Jesus’ alone, although this last is less common. Alternatively, the form of words may be expanded

by adding ‘a sinner’ at the end, thus underlining the penitential aspect. Sometimes an invocation of

the Mother of God or the saints is inserted. The one essential and unvarying element is the inclusion

of the divine Name, ‘Jesus.’ Each is free to discover through personal experience the particular

form of words which answers most closely to his needs. The precise formula can of course be varied

from time to time, so long as this is not done too often: for, as St. Gregory of Sinai warns, ‘Trees

which are repeatedly transplanted do not grow roots.’”

– Kalllistos Ware, The Power of the Name: The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality (Fairacres

Oxford: SLG Press, 1997), 5.




What is the value of a prayer word, phrase, or mantra?

What are some possible “prayer words”? What did John Cassian recommend? What did John Main

recommend?

What is the Jesus Prayer? Can you spend five minutes praying with the Jesus Prayer?

How does a prayer word help ward off distractions? Help us to bring the mind into the heart? Be

an aid to interior silence?

Take ten minutes to sit quietly, being conscious in the beginning of one breathing, the inhalations

and the exhalations, and then begin repeating a prayer word as you let yourself relax and quiet

down.



Topic 4. Wrestling with Distractions: Quieting the

Mind

Overview

n this topic we will discuss one of the most difficult aspects of contemplative prayer—dealing with

distractions. Thoughts will enter our minds when we attempt to pray and quiet ourselves; this is an

inevitability acknowledged by everyone from the contemplatives of the desert to Saint Thomas

Aquinas. Rather than seeking to rid ourselves entirely of these thoughts that we have negatively labeled

as “distractions” it is perhaps more helpful to work towards having the mind witness these thoughts and

then return to the prayer words in such a manner that the thoughts are acknowledged as something that is,

but not dwelled upon in a manner that becomes truly distracting.

I. Key Points

The nature of the mind and the mind’s obsessions

To wrestle or not to wrestle: letting go

Stillness and the prayer of quiet

From judging to witnessing


“Sobriety is the way of every virtue and every commandment of God. It is also called silence of the

heart, and it is the same as guarding the mind, kept perfectly free of all fantasies…. Attention is

unceasing silence of the heart, free of all thoughts. At all times, constantly and without ceasing, it

breathes Christ Jesus, the Son of God and God, and Him alone…The seas are compounded of many

waters. Resolute sobriety — wakefulness and profound silence of the soul, as well as the depth of

miraculous and ineffable contemplation and of wise humility, righteousness and love — all these

are compounded of supreme sobriety and ceaseless prayer to Jesus Christ with sighs and without

thoughts; but with the utmost effort but without despondency or fainting.

– Hesychius of Jerusalem, in the Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, trans. E.

Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer (London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1973), 280–281.

“One way of sobriety then is to watch closely imagination or suggestion; for without imagination

Satan cannot form thoughts and exhibit them to the mind to seduce it by deceit. And another way

is to keep the heart always deeply silent, all thought stilled, and to pray. Another is to call humbly

and unceasingly on our Lord Jesus Christ for help. And another way is to have remembrance of

death unceasingly in the soul. All these doings, beloved, keep off evil thoughts like

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doorkeepers…He who struggles inwardly must practice at every moment these four [doings]:

humility, extreme attention, resistance [to thoughts] and prayer.

– Hesychius of Jerusalem, in the Writings from the Philokalia, 282.

“One who strives after pure prayer will hear noises and uproar, voices and insults. But he will not

be dismayed nor lose his composure if he says to God, ‘Thou art with me, I fear no evil.’ At the

moment of such a temptation use a short intense prayer.’

– Evagrius of Pontus. Olivier Clément’s The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts from the Patristic

Era with Commentary, 2nd ed. (Hyde Park: NY: New City Press, 2013), 187–188.

Abba Moses:

“It is, indeed, impossible for the mind not to be troubled by thoughts, but accepting them or rejecting

them is possible for everyone who makes an effort. It is true that their origin does not in every

respect depend on us, but it is equally true that their refusal or acceptance does depend on us…In

the same way the mind cannot be free from agitating thoughts during the trials of the present life,

since it is spinning around in the torrents of the trials that overwhelm it from all sides. But whether

these will be either refused or admitted into itself will be the result of its own zeal and diligence….

Above all we should know what the three sources of our thoughts are: They come from God, from

the devil, and from ourselves.”

– John Cassian, The Conferences, trans. Boniface Ramsey (New York: Paulist Press, 1997), 56–57.

Abba Serenus:

“Because of its [the mind’s] nature, then, it can never stand idle, but, unless it has some foresight

into where it will move and what will preoccupy it, it will inevitably run about and fly everywhere

due to its own changeableness until, having become accustomed by lengthy practice and constant

habituation…it gains experience and learns with what things to equip its memory, to what purpose

it should direct it unceasing flight, and why it should acquire the power to remain fixed in one

place…We should not, then attribute this wandering of our heart either to human nature or to God

who created it…You see, then, that it is in our power to set up in our hearts either ascents, which

are thoughts that touch God, or descents, which sink down to earthly and carnal things.”

– John Cassian, The Conferences, 250.

“The human mind is unable to remain aloft for long on

account of the weakness of nature, because human

weakness weighs down the soul to the level of interior

things: and hence it is that when, while praying, the

mind ascends to God by contemplation, of a sudden it

wanders off through weakness…but to wander in mind

unintentionally does not deprive prayer of its fruit.”

– Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, II.83.13, responses to the second and third objections.




Based on your own experience, and on the reflections shared in this topic, what can you say about

the nature of the mind?

The mind is clearly one of our greatest assets. At the same time, it needs disciplining. What does

this mean?

What do you do when the mind wanders during contemplative practice? When it gets “distracted”?

What are distractions?

What is meant by “the witnessing mind”?



Topic 5. Scrupulosity and Freedom

Overview

here is a freedom to be found in the contemplative life, and it is a freedom expressed in the person

of Jesus, acknowledged by Paul. It is an interior freedom wherein we are not bound by the goings

on in the world, or even the thoughts within our own minds. Nonetheless, when we begin living

contemplatively, thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions that we may have suppressed or simply never

had the time to deal with can rise to the surface. There is a strength and a freedom to acknowledging these

things as what they are when they arise, be they good or bad. We then return to our contemplative state.

However, there is a fine line between when a thought or feeling arises and we are able to then put it aside;

and when these tendencies become obsessive and/or damaging to our daily life and interpersonal

interactions. Knowing when and being able to seek help beyond the contemplative practices is important,

and it shows strength, not weakness.

I. Key Points

Busy mind or obsessive mind?

The seven capital sins

The sensitive conscience

Paths to freedom

Living “in Christ”


“There is no question but that one of the characteristics of Jesus, along with his association with

social outcasts, his way of praying, and his obedient servanthood, was his remarkable freedom. This

seems to be the way Paul understood Jesus, even if Paul had not been a disciple when Jesus was

still in the flesh. For Paul, Jesus means freedom. To some degree this insight has continued

throughout Christina history, even if at times the Christian churches have felt uncomfortable with

it.”

– Donald Goergen, O.P., Jesus, Son of God, Son of Mary, Immanuel (Collegeville, MN: The

Liturgical Press, 1995), 175.

“The juniors asked Hilarion to speak about distractions during prayer. As usual he was brief but

helpful. ‘Ants and flies invade every picnic. So, we must learn not to sit near ant hills or their trails.

And waving extra blessings will chase the flies. And remember,’ Hilarion continued, ‘too many

sweets invite these pests. Enjoy prayer even when the distractions are part of it. Anyway, what’s a

picnic without little visitors?’”

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– Gary Young, CR, Cactus Spirituality: Pater Hilarion (2011), 16.

“Do I need professional help?” One should consider professional help in at least the following

circumstances: (1) The symptoms have led to serious depression with thoughts about dying or urges

to harm oneself physically. (2) The symptoms interfere with a sense of well-being or happiness. (3)

The symptoms interfere with an occupation [paid employment, schoolwork, homemaker]. (4) The

symptoms interfere with interpersonal relationships [friendships, colleague, family living, intimacy

issues]. (5) The symptoms interfere with leisure time.”

– Joseph Ciarrocchi, The Doubting Disease, Help for Scrupulosity and Religious Compulsions

(New York: Paulist Press 1995), 103.




How can one distinguish a more normal, or common, “obsessiveness” from true scrupulosity?

What are some common patterns of recurrent thoughts?

When is meditation, or therapy, a more appropriate response to life’s challenges?

What is true freedom, and how do we come to be free?



Topic 6. St. Augustine: Restless Hearts

Overview

S Saint Augustine observed, our hearts are restless until they find peace in the Lord. Finding

rest in the Lord is the goal of the contemplative life, but this slowing down does not come

naturally to us. Our minds are often restless, and we must guard against the over-attachment to

the feeling of a good contemplative prayer session. Rather, we must be ready to take what comes. Too

strongly pursuing the feeling of any previous contemplative session can lead us to dissatisfaction and

disappointment with our new commitment. Living a more contemplative life is a process, and like any

process it takes time. Disappointment comes, but as with all else, we need to persevere and give these

moments over to God, allowing us to re-center.

I. Points to Ponder

Obstacles in the path (see five hindrances)

Slowing down

Dissatisfaction

Disappointment


“‘You are great, Lord, and highly to be praised (Psalms 47:2): great is your power and your wisdom

is immeasurable’ (Psalms 146:5). Man, a little piece of your creation, desires to praise you, a human

being ‘bearing his mortality with him’ (2 Corinthians: 4:10), carrying with him the witness of his

sin and the witness that you ‘resist the proud’ (1 Peter 5:5). Nevertheless, to praise you is the desire

of man, a little piece of your creation. You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you

have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”

– St. Augustine, Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford University Press, 1991), I.1.

“But where in my consciousness, Lord, do you dwell? Where in it do you make your home? What

resting-place have you made for yourself? What kind of sanctuary have you built for yourself? You

conferred this honor on my memory that you should dwell in it. But the question I have to consider

is, ‘In what part of it do you dwell?’”

– St. Augustine, Confessions, X.25.

“Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within

and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those

lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things

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kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at

all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent,

you put to flight my blindness. You were fragrant, and I drew in my breath and now pant after you.

I tasted you, and I feel but hunger and thirst for you. You touched me, and I am set on fire to attain

the peace which is yours.”

– St. Augustine, Confessions, X.27.

“Look into my heart, my God, look within. See this, as I remember it, my hope; for you cleanse me

from these flawed emotions. You direct my eyes towards you and ‘rescue my feet from the trap’

(Ps 24:15). I was surprised that any other mortals were alive, since he whom I had loved as if he

would never die was dead. I was even more surprised that when he was dead I was still alive, for

he was my ‘other self.’ Someone has well said of his friend, ‘He was half my soul.’ I had felt that

my soul and his soul were ‘one soul in two bodies.’ So my life was to me a horror. I did not wish

to live with only half of myself, and perhaps the reason why I so feared death was that then the

whole of my much loved friend would have died.”

– St. Augustine, Confessions, IV.6.

“I wish I could say something to help you in the time of separation which lies immediately ahead.

There is no need to speak about its difficulties, but as I have learnt something about it myself during

the last nine months, having been separated during that time from all those I love, I should like to

pass it on to you. In the first place nothing can fill the gap when we are away from those we love,

and it would be wrong to try and find anything. We must simply hold out and win through. That

sounds very hard at first, but at the same time it is a great consolation, since leaving the gap unfilled

preserves the bonds between us. It is nonsense to say that God fills the gap: he does not fill it, but

keeps it empty so that our communion with another may be kept alive, even at the cost of pain.”

– Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison (Fortress Press, 2010).

St. Augustine by Sandro Botticelli, 1480




What are some of the obstacles in the path of meditation or contemplative prayer?

How does one address these “stones on the path”?

How does one deal with disappointments and dissatisfaction in one’s life?

What insights does St. Augustine have to contribute to our spiritual journey?

What would “slowing down” mean for you in terms of an adjustment in your lifestyle?



Topic 7. Praying with the Body

Overview

his topic examines the role of the body during prayer. Posture and position are often overlooked

in the modern, Western world when discussing prayer, but they have a rich history in the Christian

tradition in earlier periods. One of the more well-known examples is the Nine Ways of Prayer of

St. Dominic, which is a short book discussing the various postures and ways in which St. Dominic was

seen praying, and how these might be useful for the contemplative life. It is noteworthy that several

Eastern contemplative traditions focus more on posture than Christianity in the modern era, but this should

not alarm us, because such wisdom can almost always be found within our own tradition if we search for

it, and as mentioned, it played a much larger role within Christianity in the past.

I. Key Points

Sitting meditation, and concept of “more than sitting”

The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic

Posture and the Desert Fathers

Shigeto Oshida and learning from Zen


“Certainly there are countless attitudes of the body, but that in which we stretch out our hands and

lift our eyes to heaven is to be preferred for expressing with the body the dispositions of the soul

during prayer. That at least is the way we should act when there are no obstacles. But circumstances

may lead us to pray sitting down, for example when we have a pain in the legs; or even in bed

because of fever.… In regard to kneeling for prayer, this is essential when we are accusing ourselves

of our sins before God and entreating him to heal and absolve us. It symbolizes the prostration and

humility of which Paul speaks when he writes: ‘For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,

from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named’ (Ephesians 3:14) …The Apostle seems

to be alluding to this when he says, ‘At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on

earth and under the earth’ (Philippians 2:10).”

– From Origen’s On Prayer as quoted in Olivier Clément’s The Roots of Christian Mysticism: Texts

from the Patristic Era with Commentary, 2nd ed. (Hyde Park: NY: New City Press, 2013), 196.

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“Let us be precise about the symbolism of standing or kneeling: for praise, worship and

thanksgiving, pray standing up with outstretched hands; for penitence or intercession, pray

kneeling. However, there is nothing mechanical or magical about this. Christianity knows nothing

of the oriental technique of postures. They are only one of many possible languages for

communication, so they have only a relative value. The same applies to place. When possible it is

good to have a peaceful place at one’s disposal for prayer, one furnished no doubt with sacred

pictures. But it is possible to pray anywhere at all.”

– Olivier Clément, The Roots of Christian Mysticism, 195–196.

“However, what we must say something about here is the way of praying in which the soul uses

members of the body in order to rise more devotedly to God, so that the soul as it causes the body

to move, is in turn moved by the body, until sometimes it comes to be in ecstasy like Paul,

sometimes in agony like our Savior, and sometimes in rapture like the prophet David. The blessed

Dominic used often to pray like this… First of all, bowing humbly before the altar as if Christ,

whom the altar signifies, were really and personally present and not just symbolically… St.

Dominic also often used to pray by throwing himself down on the ground, flat on his face, and then

his heart would be pricked with compunction, and he would blush at himself and say, sometimes

loudly enough for it actually to be heard, the words from the gospel, ‘Lord, be merciful to me, a

sinner.’… For this reason, rising up from the ground, he used to take the discipline with an iron

chain, saying, ‘Your discipline has set me straight towards my goal.’ … After this, St. Dominic,

standing before the altar or in the Chapter Room, would fix his gaze on the Crucifix, looking intently

at Christ on the cross and kneeling down over and over again, a hundred times perhaps…

Sometimes he would hold his hands out, open, before his breast, like an open book, and then he

would stand with great reverence and emotion, as if he were reading in the presence of God…

Sometimes, as I was told personally by someone who had seen it, our holy father Dominic was also

seen praying with his hands and arms spread out like a cross, stretching himself to the limit and

standing as upright as possible… He was also often found stretching his whole body up towards

heaven in prayer, like a choice arrow shot straight up from a bow. He had his hands stretched right

up above his head, joined together or slightly open as if to catch something from heaven… Then

hoy father Dominic also had another beautiful way of praying, full of devotion and grace…he would

sit down to read or pray, recollecting himself in himself and fixing himself in the presence of God.

Sitting there quietly he would open some book before him, arming himself first with the sign of the

cross, and then he would read… This [ninth] way of prayer he used to observe when he was going

from one country to another, especially when he was in a lonely place…So sometimes he went

aside from his companion or went on ahead or, more often, lingered far behind; going on his own

he would pray as he walked, and a fire was kindled in his meditation.”

– From “The Nine Ways of Prayer of St. Dominic” in Early Dominicans, Selected Writings, ed.

Simon Tugwell, O.P., Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1982), 94–103.

“When you sit for zazen, your waist line should be like rock, stable as a rock. But the upper part

should be as if it does not exist. Just be relaxed. Especially, this posture is not for tension, it is for

relaxation. Breathing should be something natural and vital.”

– Takamori Sõan, Teaching of Shigeto Oshida, a Zen Master (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones

Continente, 2007), 34.




What roles do posture, place, and time of day play in the practice of contemplation?

What is the difference between posture and gesture? What are some specifically Christian gestures

that we might find in Christian prayer?

Can you name the nine ways of prayer associated with St. Dominic?

Do you see any value in a cross-fertilization between Buddhist meditation and Christian

meditation?



Topic 8. Meister Eckhart: Is a Path Necessary?

Overview

his topic functions as a counter-balance to the topics we have been discussing thus far. So far we

have talked at length about breath, prayer words, silence, posture, etc. These could all be

considered ways of entering into contemplation, or various paths to contemplative life. A

common theme in Meister Eckhart’s mystical tradition is the idea of a “pathless path.” This sentiment

serves as a counterpoint for us because it reminds us that while breath, posture, etc., are important, we

must not become over-fixated on the way we are doing our contemplative practices. What we are doing is

important, but we must not lose sight of the goal by becoming distracted trying to make sure we are “doing

it right” so to speak.

I. Points to Ponder

Methods of meditation

Contemplation as “graced receptivity”

Meister Eckhart’s “Wayless Way”

Surrender and detachment


“This is what the text I have given you is concerned with: ‘God sent His only-begotten Son into the

world.’ You should not take this to mean the external world, as when he ate and drank with us, but

you should understand it of the inner world. As surely as the Father in His simple nature bears the

Son naturally, just as surely He bears him in the inmost recesses of the spirit, and this is the inner

world. Here God’s ground is my ground and my ground is God’s ground…Out of this inmost

ground, all your works would be wrought without Why. I say truly, as long as you do works for the

sake of heaven or God or eternal bliss, from without, you are at fault. It may pass muster, but it is

not the best. Indeed, if a man thinks he will get more of God by meditation, by devotion, by ecstasies

or by special infusion of grace than by the fireside or in the stable — that is nothing but taking God,

wrapping a cloak round His head and shoving Him under a bench. For whoever seeks God in a

special way gets the way and misses God, who lies hidden in it.”

– Meister Eckhart, Sermons and Treatises, 3 vols., trans. and ed. M. O’C Walshe (London: Watkins,

1979), Vol 1, sermon 13b, 117–118.

“And as I scrutinize all these writings, so far as my reason can lead and instruct me, I find no other

virtue better than a pure detachment from all things, because all other virtues have some regard for

created things, but detachment is free from all created things. That is why our Lord said to Martha:

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‘One thing is necessary’ (Luke 10:42), which is as much as to say: ‘Martha, whoever wants to be

free of care and to be pure must have one thing, and that is detachment.’”

– Meister Eckhart, “On Detachment,” in The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises, and

Defense. Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1981), 285.

“God gives to every man according to what is best and most fitting for him. If you are making a

coat for someone, you must make it to his measure; what fits one man will not fit another at all.

You take everyone’s measure, and then it fits him. And so God gives to everyone the very best that

he sees to be closest to his needs. Truly, anyone who trusts God completely in this accepts and

receives as much from his smallest gift as from the greatest of all. If God wanted to give me what

he gave Saint Paul, I should be glad to accept it, if that were his will. But since he does not want to

give me that—for there are very few people whom he wishes to know so much in this life—he is

as dear to me, I pay him as much thanks and I am as much at peace because God does not give it to

me, that he withholds it from me, as if he were giving it to me. I am as satisfied and well pleased

with that as if he were to give it to me, if either be acceptable to me. Truly, this is how God’s will

ought to be to me so dear and so precious, because it is so according to his will, that for him not to

give me the gift, not to do the thing, would be as pleasing to me as if he did.”

– Meister Eckhart, “Counsels on Discernment,” in The Essential Sermons, Commentaries,

Treatises, and Defense. Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 1981), 283.

“Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many

rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go

and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may

be also. And you know the way where I am going.”

– John 14:1-4




How important is a particular method of meditation? How important is consistency of practice?

How important is perseverance?

What does Meister Eckhart have to say about focusing our attention on a particular way?

In what way is the awareness of “stages” in the spiritual journey a help? In what way is it a

hindrance?

What do Eckhart and many others have to say about comparing ourselves to the spirituality of

others?



Topic 9. Being Held by Love

Overview

his topic focuses on the nature of love, both Divine Love and human love. Our society is a very

distracted and materialistic society. In our obsessions with obtaining things, we are ever in a

pursuit that cannot be satisfied, and as such we are notoriously unhappy. Love is an appropriate

countermeasure to this obsession with possession, and is the natural fruit of contemplative practice. In

contemplative union with God who is Love, one becomes rooted in that Love, and a natural result of this

is the diminishing of our selfishness, enabling us to be content and present.

I. Points to Ponder

Contemplative prayer and contemplative love

To “have” vs. to “be”

A way of life


“Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not

insist on its own way; is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the

right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…So faith, hope,

love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

– 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, 13

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you

also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one

another.”

– John 13:34-35

“Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is both of God and knows

God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made

manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.

In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for

our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God;

if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us…If anyone says, ‘I love

God,’ but hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother or sister whom

he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him,

that he who loves God should love his brother or sister also.”

– 1 John 4:7-12, 20-21

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“Theoretical considerations demonstrate that radical hedonism cannot lead to happiness as well as

why it cannot do so, given human nature. But even without theoretical analysis the observable data

show most clearly that our kind of ‘pursuit of happiness’ does not produce well-being. We are a

society of notoriously unhappy people: lonely, anxious, depressed, destructive, dependent—people

who are glad when we have killed the time we are trying to save (5-6). To be an egoist refers not

only to my behavior but to my character. It means: that I want everything for myself; that

possessing, not sharing, gives me pleasure; that I must become greedy because my aim is having, I

am more the more I have… (6). The main thrust of this book is the analysis of the two basic modes

of existence: the mode of having and the mode of being (11–12).”

– Erich Fromm, To Have or To Be? (New York: The Continuum Publishing Group, 2004).

“In contemporary society the having mode of existing is assumed to be rooted in human nature and,

hence, virtually unchangeable…[But] We human beings have an inherent and deeply rooted desire

to be: to express our faculties, to be active, to be related to others, to escape the prison cell of

selfishness…The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously wrong.”

– Erich Fromm, To Have or To Be?, 100–102.

“Charity gave me the key to my vocation. I realized that if the Church was a body made up of

different members, she would not be without the greatest and most essential of them all. I realized

that love includes all vocations, that is all things, and that, because it is eternal, it embraces every

time and place. Swept by an ecstatic joy, I cried: ‘Jesus, my love! I have found my place in the

bosom of the Church and it is You, Lord, who has given it to me. In the heart of the Church, who

is my Mother, I will be love.”

– Thérèse of Lisieux, The Story of a Soul (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1989), 155.

Saint Therese of Lisieux (1873–1897)




Consider the relationship between praying and loving. How do they mutually impact each other?

Can one’s prayer be deep without one’s love being expansive?

How can one consider Christian meditation or contemplative practice as not something we do, but

as a way of life?

Erich Fromm speaks of two modes of existence: of being and of having. In which mode do you

find yourself most? What does it mean “just to be”? Is your identity wrapped up in what you have?

In what does personal identity consist? Distinguish your “person,” or “self,” from your “persona,”

or “ego.”



Topic 10. Mystical Darkness and Perseverance

Overview

he metaphor of mystical “darkness” is a common concept in the contemplative traditions of

Christianity from the early centuries through the Middle Ages, and even into the present. God

can come to us in very challenging ways, and the grace of the contemplative life is not always

pain-free. “Darkness” has various shades of usage and nuance. It can refer to the incomprehensibleness of

the infinite being of God to the finite human mind. The mystical darkness can even reference the way in

which, as our relationship with the infinite God deepens we come to realize that the ways we were

comfortable relating to God begin to become insufficient. As we deepen in our knowing, we learn how

little we are even able to know.

I. Key Points

The many ways “Darkness” can be understood

Conflictive thoughts; afflictive emotions

The gift of sadness

The grace of perseverance


“One dark night

Fired with love’s urgent longings

— Ah, the sheer grace!

I went out unseen,

My house being now all stilled.

A deeper enlightenment and wider experience than mine is necessary to explain the dark night

through which a soul journeys toward that divine light of perfect union with God which is achieved

insofar as possible in this life, through love. The darknesses and trials, spiritual and temporal, that

fortunate souls ordinarily encounter on their way to the high stage of perfection are so numerous

and profound that human science cannot understand them adequately, nor does experience of them

equip one to explain them. He who suffers them will know what this experience is like, but he will

find himself unable to describe it.”

– John of the Cross, The Ascent of Mount Carmel, in The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross,

trans. Kieran Cavanaugh, O.C.D., and Otilio Rodriguez, O.C.D. (ICS Publications, 1991) 68–70.

“As I have said, the dark night of the soul is an ongoing transition from compulsively trying to

control one’s life toward a trusting freedom and openness to God and the real situations of life. It

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is the same in prayer, where the effort and forceful focusing of meditation are gradually eased, and

the more willing receptivity of contemplation grows. In life the process is often marked by a feeling

of emptiness and lack of energy for the old ways of living. Similarly, one often experiences growing

dryness in the old ways of praying and an absence of consolation and lack of energy for meditation.”

– Gerald G. May, M.D., The Dark Night of the Soul (HarperSanFrancisco, 2005), 135–136.

“Tourism is great for a break. But it is a sad way of life. It means never unpacking one’s suitcase,

so never knowing the meaning of ‘home.’ It means plenty of acquaintances, but no deep friendship;

a million sensations, but no inner growth; at best, there is the nostalgic ache for what might have

been if I could have stayed longer. The trouble is that there is a mesmeric fascination in keeping

moving — there is nowhere so urgent as an airport. A fascination in moving, and growing fear of

having to stop. It takes courage to ‘stay with it’: not to move on when I do not like it anymore, but

instead, to stay with it and let what is no longer novel disclose its unsuspected depth…To live on

likes and dislikes—gusto, apetito, gratification, affective drive—keep one a tourist, doing more and

more, experiencing less and less. This is to live on the level of ‘sense.’…If, however, a person

chooses not to fill the hole with more sensation, not to flit to another relationship or to a different

project, but to see this one through, life can transfer on to a new level. John calls it ‘spirit.’”

– Iain Matthew, The Impact of God, Soundings from St. John of the Cross (London: Hodder &

Stoughton Ltd., 2010), 44.

“Well, let us consider that this castle has, as I said, many dwelling places: some above, others down

below, others to the sides; and in the center and middle is the main dwelling place where the very

secret exchanges between God and the soul take place (36). … Insofar as I can understand, the gate

of entry to this castle is prayer and reflection (38). … You mustn’t think of these dwelling places

in such a way that each one would follow in file after the other; but turn your eyes toward the

center… (42). While we are on this earth nothing is more important to us than humility (43). …

This perseverance is most necessary here. One always gains much through perseverance. But the

attacks made by devils in a thousand ways afflict the soul more in these rooms than in the previous

ones (49).

– Teresa of Ávila, The Interior Castle, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press,

1979).




Why are words like “darkness” and “emptiness” associated with the contemplative or mystical

life?

What are some of the different shades, or types, of darkness that one can expect to experience if

one commits oneself to Christian meditation and contemplative prayer?

Are “darkness” and “sadness” graces or obstacles? Can grace be free of pain?

Why are humility and perseverance important in one’s spiritual life?



Topic 11. Meditation in Common

Overview

his topic focuses on the ways that the contemplative life has been pursued in community with

others. When one thinks of contemplative prayer, it is likely in a meditative, solitary context.

This is well and good. Nonetheless, another important aspect of the contemplative life is the

communal aspect in which prayer and meditation in common can be practiced. Communal practice has

played an important role in the contemplative traditions historically, and today contemplative retreats are

taken in groups. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer pointed out in his brief work for underground Lutheran

seminarians during WWII, Life Together, one should be wary of those who cannot live with others, and

simultaneously of those who cannot live alone. Thus we see the both-and nature of this balance between

the solitary and the communal aspects of contemplative life.

I. Key Points

Common prayer

Eucharistic devotion

A Christian “Sangha”

Together in silence


“It is a question of doing some things communally as well as privately. My own experience of group

meditation – whether at a meditation center in India, or at the Dominican Ashram, or during a time

of retreat – is that it makes a difference. There is an energy that comes from being silent together.

When I have given retreats during which there is an optional time for common silent meditation,

my experience is that it makes a significant difference to the quality or depth of the retreat

experience itself for the participants. It has also been the experience of those involved in inter-

religious work that a most effective form of forging a common bond is through meditation in

common. There is a monitoring side effect as well since it is easier to get out of the discipline of

regular contemplative prayer when I do it by myself. There is a healthy pressure that comes from

knowing there is a set time and place within a community.”

– Donald Goergen, O.P.

“Why should we meditate together? The negative answer is clear enough whenever one meets with

a religious community in the Church that has stopped praying together. As a spiritual community

it has fallen apart, and the isolated, lonely lives of its individual members hold together with one

another merely through social or professional bonds… A common but deceptive feeling is that we

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can pray together only after we have come together at the other human levels of relationship. A

simpler and more truthful view is that a community of loving and mature people is created out of

the prayer it enters together. The challenge of this in regard to meditation is evident. It asks us to

be silent together, in faith, in the presence of the Spirit who is our unity. That is much to ask of

people like ourselves who are products of media-consciousness. But until we can learn to be silently

in communion with each other, we will have little to communicate…every Christian, every human

being, is called to what we must perhaps find another word for in this context, the contemplative

experience… Most people begin to meditate for largely personal reasons. It comes as a surprise to

most to feel themselves drawn into a community which is essentially characterized not by news and

views but by silence. What they thought to be most un-shareable becomes the very thing that is

most natural and necessary to share.”

– Laurence Freeman, O.S.B., Light Within: The Inner Path of Meditation (New York: Crossroad,

1987), 8–9.

“Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that reciting the Rosary together may reduce

anxiety. Matthew Anastasi and Andrew Newberg recruited thirty students at a Catholic college.

Twelve who had been reciting the Rosary weekly met at their usual time and spent thirty minutes

together praying the Rosary. Eighteen others were shown a video about Catholic values. Both

groups completed anxiety questionnaires before and after. The Rosary group experienced

significant reduction in anxiety compared to the video group. ‘The fact that the Rosary yielded

significant reductions in anxiety in this study (while the religious content video does not) suggests

that it may not be religious content alone (i.e. the messages and values) but also the ritual aspect of

the religious ceremony itself that results in a beneficial effect.’”

– Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine 14 (March 1, 2008).




Do you have opportunities both to pray alone and also to pray with others? Do you see each of

these as of benefit to you?

Are you familiar with contemplative outreach? How can you reach out and contribute to the

shaping of a network of meditators or contemplatives?

Contemplation is not only for us, but also for others. How do contemplative practices affect your

relationship with others?

When we come together to pray, to meditate, we come together as spiritual persons sharing a

spiritual desire. How does a community affect your consciousness or awareness?



Topic 12. Living in the Presence

Overview

his final topic revolves around the concept of presence. Some people seem to have a presence

about them that impacts those with whom they interact. This stems from the fact that these people

are fully present wherever they are, which in turn stems from the eternal Presence of God. This

is the goal of contemplative action: to be present to the Presence of God, so that we can be fully present

in life to those around us. This is not a denigration of action, multitasking, or goal-oriented tasks. Rather,

the goal is to be fully present while we do these things during life. It does not matter how fast one runs if

one runs in the wrong direction.

I. Points to Ponder

The present moment

Presence

The “here and now”


“The mystery of the future and the mystery of the past are united in the mystery of the present. Our

time, the time we have, is the time in which we have ‘presence.’ But how can we have ‘presence’?

Is not the present moment gone when we think of it? Is not the present the ever-moving boundary

line between past and future? But a moving boundary is not a place to stand upon. If nothing were

given to us except the ‘no more’ of the past and the ‘not yet’ of the future, we would not have

anything. We could not speak of the time that is our time; we would not have ‘presence.’ The

mystery is that we have a present; and even more, that we have our future also because we anticipate

it in ‘the present;’ and that we have our past also, because we remember it in the present. In the

present our future and our past are ours. But there is no ‘present’ if we think of the never-ending

flux of time. The riddle of the present is the deepest of all the riddles of time. Again, there is no

answer except from that which comprises all time and lies beyond it—the eternal. Whenever we

say ‘now’ or ‘today,’ we stop the flux of time for us. We accept the present and do not care that it

is gone in the moment that we accept it. We live in it and it is renewed for us in every new ‘present.’

This is possible because every moment of time reaches into the eternal. It is the eternal that stops

the flux of time for us. It is the eternal ‘now’ which provides for us a temporal ‘now.’ We live so

long as ‘it is still today’—in the words of the letter to the Hebrews. Not everybody, and nobody all

the time, is aware of this ‘eternal now’ in the temporal ‘now.’ But sometimes it breaks powerfully

into our consciousness and gives us the certainty of the eternal, of a dimension of time which cuts

into time and gives us our time. People who are never aware of this dimension lose the possibility

of resting in the present. As the letter to the Hebrews describes it, they never enter into the divine

rest. They are held by the past and cannot separate themselves from it, or they escape towards the

T



future, unable to rest in the present. They have not entered the eternal rest which stops the flux of

time and gives us the blessing of the present.”

– Paul Tillich, The Eternal Now, Chap 11. (Scribner: 1963).

In the beginning was the Word,

And the Word was in the Silence,

And out of the Silence came the Music,

And the Music was from the beginning with God,

And the Music was God, was divine,

A Heavenly Liturgy,

And nothing came to be except by the Music.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,

the heavenly hosts and all earthly creatures,

And the heavens were filled with praise;

The angelic chorus sang

and the everlasting liturgy in heaven began;

And the Music came down to earth,

the planets bowed down before it,

and composers transcribed the heavenly music,

And all the earth was filled with praise,

All the earth resounded with joy,

WHEN THE MUSIC BECAME FLESH AND DWELLED AMONG US,

And the heavens and the earth were one

And returned to that great silence

Out of which the Word had come

and come down

and touched us all

For we recognized the Word

In the earth’s heavenly liturgy,

In Eucharist, at Mass,

In which God comes again,

Christ takes on flesh,

And we become the One,

become the Music,

become the Silence,

become the Word,

For the Music and the Silence Are One,

And the Silent Music of the Word, from the beginning,

Give Praise, give praise, give praise.

– Donald Goergen, O.P.



“The song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day. I have spent my days in stringing and

unstringing my instrument.”

– Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali (New York; Scribner, 1997), #13, 29.

Photo by Jeffrey Bruno-Aleteia



Review Questions

Does living in the present mean we ought not to let go of our memories? Does it mean not to plan

for the future? What does it mean?

What is the relationship between “living in the present” and “presence”? What does it mean to

have a sense of presence? How might we be present? Take some time in the next day be present

to someone you love. Someone you find difficult to love.

A Brother Lawrence is known for his “practice of the presence of God.” What does it mean to be

in God’s presence?

Have you ever had a profound experience of presence?

Do you find being in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament an experience of presence?



Bibliography

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York: Paulist Press, 1995.

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University Press, 2006.

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Meister Eckhart. The Essential Sermons, Commentaries, Treatises, and Defense. Classics of Western

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Louis Komjathy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press (SUNY), 2015.

Ridley, Joan, O.S.B. The Spirituality of Eucharistic Devotion. Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 2010.

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Novato, California: New World Library, 1999.

Teresa of Ávila. The Interior Castle, Classics of Western Spirituality. New York: Paulist Press, 1979.

Thérèse of Lisieux. The Story of a Soul. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1989.

Ware, Kalllistos. The Power of the Name, The Jesus Prayer in Orthodox Spirituality. Fairacres Oxford:

SLG Press, 1997.

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Writings from the Philokalia on Prayer of the Heart, vol. 1, trans. E. Kadloubovsky and G.E. H. Palmer.

London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1973.

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