“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
God commands that we rest in silence and pray so as to allow His love to rest within us. In todays culture many people struggle to be in silence in their life and thoughts. You may find it difficult to be still in the presence of something you can’t seem to explain or fear to let go and let God in. The unknown can be a scary place for some. We may focus more on what we need to say or do rather than be open to fine tuning our soul to listen to the creator. To suppress our need for silence we may hide behind the veil that holds us back from living fully. Living in perfect peace. If the human soul rests solely on their own and others the brightness of the soul’s potential fades. Noise becomes the outlet that prevents healing of the mind and soul. Prayer allows us to refocus our entire life. For it is in prayer that the Spirit speaks to us and guides our life. How can one attain a prayerful life and know a true stillness of spirit?
Accepting God in your life and believing in His great love for you can begin a journey. This journey of love and listening to some may be natural others arduous. Humility helps make the way natural. All we are or ever will be is only through God’s grace, nothing is of our own doing. God wants to relieve our soul from sin that imprisons us so as to empty ourselves and be filled with God’s love. In prayer God works in us. In humility and adoration we begin to open our mind and heart. It allows us to see one another in humanness and weakness. We can see errors in life as our own and set others free from them. Sins trap us and make it difficult for silence to rest within our soul. Prayer and belief heals the soul. It can make the deep within glow with enlightenment and peace.
Centering prayer loosens or ‘dismantles’ the tightly woven, unsettled roots of the past that keep us from loving God and others, without reservation. Centering Prayer is a contemplative prayer that emphasizes interior silence. Thomas Merton described it as a prayer “centered entirely on the presence of God”. Thomas Keating, a Roman Catholic monk, is a founder of the Centering prayer movement and has written many books on contemplative way of life. A few years back I attended a Centering Prayer introduction that unfolded as an amazing journey of love that opened my heart and soul in wonderous ways. It consists of choosing a sacred word, sitting in prayer in two 20 minute sessions, morning and early evening, in contemplative silence with God. It may begin and end with reflection and prayer. Daily I spend time in this contemplative prayer using, The Daily Reader for Contemplative Living by Fr. Keating. Fr. Keating books have had a profound effect on my prayer life and personal life over the years and has deepened the roots of my faith. When I began this contemplative prayer years ago, one of first books I read was, Open Mind, Open Heart by Fr. Keating. In this book Fr. Keating provides an introduction to Centering Prayer and describes the process, the history, what it is and isn’t and other understandings on this meditation and contemplative prayer. This form of prayer is not a time of specifically praying for others but one of resting in the presence of God.
This Lent has been a journey of prayer and along with deepening my faith in Catholic prayers I feel drawn to deeper study and practice of Centering Prayer. I look forward to sharing the journey on the book I am enjoying, Invitation to Love, The Way of Christian Contemplation, by Fr. Keating.
Amazing things happen when you pray, like a soul box releasing and filling. May your journey of Lent be one of prayer, fasting and alms that challenge you to become better. We were never meant to live in unrest but in peace and joy. The more we strive for peace within our own life the more we are able to offer to those in need with no reservations. Freely. How beautiful this life would be to share love for one another, especially those that have hurt us and simply love as sisters and brothers.
Peace and Prayers,
Claudia
Our Nourished Soul