1212-2012
800th Anniversary of the Beginning of the Poor Clare Life
More Thoughts on Contemplation from Breakthrough
Meister Eckhart's Creation
by Matthew Fox
Creation centered spirituality, the most Jewish, the most biblical ,the
most contemplative and Franciscan has been lost in the West, so says Fox.
Meister Eckhart quotes:
- Every creature is a word of God
- When I preach, I try to speak of letting go and that we should become unwed from ourselves.
- Everything which is past, everything which is present, and everything which is future God creates in the soul, in the innermost soul.
- Life is blessing and blessing is life
Creatures are an echo of the Divine.
- Announce the Word, pronounce the Word, produce it, give birth to the Word.
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Someone gave us a book by Dianne Aprile, Making A Heart For God: A Week Inside a Catholic Monastery
Aprile spent sometime with the Monks at the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani, Kentucky and some of the quotes below are from her book, which we found so true to our own Poor Clare Contemplative Life.
"In the night of our own technological barbarism, monks must be as trees which exist silently in the dark and by their vital presence purify the air." Bother Patrick Hart OCSO
"In the process of striving for union with God through solitude, silence, and Christian faith, the Catholic monk(or nun) reaches out to the world in all its diversity and extends an embrace of peace." Dianne Aprile
To us, living in the world of turmoil this is the essence of our life especially as Franciscans , "to extend an embrace of peace." As Francis said in a prayer attributed to him, "Lord, make me an instrument of your peace."
Even as we do that we will ruffle feathers but we will not be rebels in the sense of any aggressive attack. We will be like the mighty oaks holding our vigil in prayer.
Aprile quotes Thich Nhan Hanh who advocates a half smile as our greeting to the world upon awaking up the morning."
"A smile", he wrote confirms that you are in complete mindfulness."
If one is smiling one can not be hostile to others or to creation, especially to dogs, says me.
Like all Contemplative communities the monks and nuns of today respect and appreciate, the power of silence, solitude and simplicity and work and pray together for the world.
Further thoughts:
When you enter a contemplative (cloister) Community it is like entering into the wilderness of the desert.
One movie that speaks to this might be Hidalgo, the true story of Frank Hopkins. Hopkins lived around the time of Buffalo Bill and worked for him.
The story is, in a nutshell: Hopkins runs a race in the Arabian Desert with his wild mustang. What Hopkins learns in the desert is to accept himself for who he is, half white and half Indian.
In the end Hopkins uses the money that he won to buy all the wild mustangs from the government who's intention was to slaughter them. The most touching part of the movie was when Hopkins lets the wild mustangs out of the corral to run free and his own horse
makes a neighing sound and Hopkins turns, takes off the saddle of
his horse and lets the horse run with the other wild mustangs. It is a complete surrender for Hopkins in which he lets himself and the horse be who they truly are.
This is what the desert teaches us but first comes the surrender of everything nothing less their ourselves, and in the process we will find union with God.
And what is union with God: Love God with all your heart and all your soul and your neighbor as yourself. Easy? NO.
" Remove the bogus: reveal the authentic", as Brother Luke Armour of Gethsemene says.
Nothing is expected of the monk or nun except, "to be." That sounds easy until you try to do it. Amen.
Posted bySister Florence Vales OSC
Further thoughts:
When you enter a contemplative (cloister) Community it is like entering into the wilderness of the desert.
One movie that speaks to this might be Hidalgo, the true story of Frank Hopkins. Hopkins lived around the time of Buffalo Bill and worked for him.
The story is, in a nutshell: Hopkins runs a race in the Arabian Desert with his wild mustang. What Hopkins learns in the desert is to accept himself for who he is, half white and half Indian.
In the end Hopkins uses the money that he won to buy all the wild mustangs from the government who's intention was to slaughter them. The most touching part of the movie was when Hopkins lets the wild mustangs out of the corral to run free and his own horse
makes a neighing sound and Hopkins turns, takes off the saddle of
his horse and lets the horse run with the other wild mustangs. It is a complete surrender for Hopkins in which he lets himself and the horse be who they truly are.
And what is union with God: Love God with all your heart and all your soul and your neighbor as yourself. Easy? NO.
" Remove the bogus: reveal the authentic", as Brother Luke Armour of Gethsemene says.
Nothing is expected of the monk or nun except, "to be." That sounds easy until you try to do it. Amen.
Posted bySister Florence Vales OSC
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