Tuesday Evening
The clouds were beautiful this afternoon. Tonight it has cooled off. I sit on my patio reading Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr. Cuddles is near. Janet is sick. The temperature in Monterey, Ca. was 64 today. We will need to carry a coat or long sleeved shirts. I am looking forward to seeing the Pacific Ocean again. The first time I saw it was in 1981. I have been back 3 times since.
Quotes from Rohr: "In terms of soul work, we dare not get rid of the pain before we have learned what it has to teach us."
As I sit on the patio I dream of a retreat here when the weather is nice. I have had several here at my house in the past. Most have been on Thomas Merton. I was not thinking of charging anything. Many hotels are near. Maybe just a Saturday. We shall see...................
"We try to change events in order to avoid changing ourselves. We must learn to stay with the pain of life, without answers, without conclusions, and some days without meaning. That is the path, the perilous dark path of true prayer." (Rohr)
The secret: relinquishing control.The sky begins to darken. It is Compline somewhere. In a few moments the Great Silence will begin.......................be silent.
posted by Dan Phillips @ 7:42 PM
13 comments
13 Comments:
JANET......God's healing blessings. Remembering you in prayer.
PAIN AND ITS LESSONS.......Pain always reminds me of my deep need for God...for prayer...for grace...for patience. Rohr is right when he speaks of not getting rid of the pain til it teaches us something.
DARK PATH OF PRAYER...Good quote, Dan...Prayer always comes with some lesson for me...simple things sometimes but they are what God wants me to understand at that time. One time,in prayer, it was very clear to me that I was to console someone. The meditation was Christ in the garden and when He came to His disciples, they were asleep instead of being there for Him in His agony. I thought who and when and about what? Two days later, a man spoke to me in the lobby of the building where I worked. He needed to talk to someone. He told me that his best friend had shot himself to death (I knew that THIS was the person that God was sending). I asked if he could talk to his minister. He told me the minister was the one who had killed himself. I prayed and listened and offered whatever thoughts I could to try to help. I still pray for that man. But in the prayer there was a direction for me that day.
CONTROL..........Good point, Dan. We don't want to give up control...what might happen? Like the blind man who takes our arm while crossing the busy roadway, it is so much better for him to give up control for his own good. I still have not learned that lesson as well as I need to learn it. God will not lead me in the wrong direction...where is my trust?
RETREAT.......Great idea. The hard part of the retreat for me, at least, was to leave that place of prayer and quiet and return to the 'world' with its many distractions. I found that the answer, for me, was to find the time, close the door, get on my knees, and return to that quiet, each day. That way I could hang on to the union with God that was fostered during the retreat time. I also would look over my retreat notes from time to time...a renewal of sorts. It is possible for the heart to remain in reverent silence before the Lord within the heart even while the self is surrounded with much noise and the 'stuff' of life.
NICE PHOTO......Reminds me of a very old chapel (1841) near us...very prayerful place. Great spot to visit. The wall behind the altar is painted all blue sky with clouds here and there. In the clouds there are adoring Angels, reminding us that where we are praying is a sacred place and that our thoughts should be on the Lord...like the angels who never forget the Presence of their God.
JANET.......Praying for you to get better so that you can enjoy the trip to the coast. God bless....
COMPLINE.......Now the day is done...Time to pray before our rest...Another day for God...In Him we are so blest...Minds and hearts to Him we raise...with love and thanks and simple praise.
In the evening, as the sun goes down, it is time for Compline...but, in another place, the day is beginning and it is time for MATINS,LAUDS....A prayer to God before the light of day...before we are out and on our way...First to pray and with Him to stay...A blessing sought...an intention thought. Drawing near at break of day...As we hope to walk all this day.
RETREAT HOUSE.....A favorite charity of many people is a retreat house for homeless people in Virginia. This wonderful work is done by a man and wife team, John and Polly Mahoney 9631 Peppertree Road. Spotsylvania VA 22553. Any little donation that you might send is most gratefully received. How good that the poor can go on 'retreat' and spend some time in quiet reflection. God bless this good work!
Thanks Dan. Great statements. I'm in a three-day workshop for Spiritual Directors with Rohr in October. Very much looking forward to it.
Notes from time spent with Fr. Michael Casey OCSO on my blog. Might be something amongst them of interest.
Have a good weekend.
Take care
Paul
http://prodigal.typepad.com
WHEN THE PRAYER IS NOT OURS.......We come to our God and sometimes we are full of our hopes...our plans...our lists of things for Him to get busy on. BUT...how beautiful the prayer that has no words...just silence before the Lord...and greatest awe...and wonder...and full of most humble plans...and great gratitude...and willingness to be changed as He might wish...and a great joy in His Presence. How pleased He must be with the prayer that is full of HIM and not of ME.
I have just been in touch again with an old schoolfriend who I have not seen for sometime. She had griefs earlier in life and so did I. Times were not always easy. Now it turns out her husband has died, leaving her an unusually young widow. Those earlier griefs mean I will be able to listen to her in a way I would not otherwise have had the wisdom to do.
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