8/19/15

One of the things I really like about Fr. Michael is his approach to spirituality, which is open, inclusive, and contains a healthy mix of both contemplation and action. I especially like how he tries to encourage everyone to incorporate what Paul Knitter calls the sacrament of silence into their prayer life. Much of today's B- meeting was about that.

I sense that some of the older people find it an interesting topic to discuss, but a difficult one to relate to. Their experience of Catholicism, and spirituality in general, has largely been in the form of memorization (e.g., catechism, prayers, etc.) and having the right beliefs/ideas, with the hierarchy of the church shaping and defining each. The downside of this approach, of course, is that it tends to become exclusive of other people, ideas, and traditions that fall outside of this; and it often neglects the importance of contemplation and inner experiences. But prayer is more than simply repeating "Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name..." or "Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee..." Prayer must be transformative; and to do that, we have to deepen our prayer life, make it a contemplative act rather than a repetitive one.

One problem that was mentioned is our growing desire for instant gratification. Our culture is increasingly conditioning us to want immediate responses. When we send out a text or email, we expect an immediate reply, or else we get annoyed. When we order something from Amazon (which treats their workers rather harshly to make it happen), we expect it the next day. When we pray, we often pray quickly and expect a quick answer/resolution. And that makes it increasingly difficult for us to have the patience to step back and cultivate true inner silence, which is helpful for both cleansing our minds and developing the inner stillness in which we can connect with God. We also need to learn to do what we pray, to become agents of healing, agents of reconciliation, agents of charity, etc.

Prayer should change us; and oftentimes, the answer to our prayers come through the things we do/get into. As Fr. Michael likes to say, quoting the late Fr. Nouwen, "You don't think your way into a new kind of living. You live your way into a new kind of thinking." And one way of doing that is to get into the habit of doing what we pray, living it until it naturally becomes a part of who we are. And on a deeper level, we should get into the habit of setting aside some quiet time for meditation and contemplation. At the beginning, it may not be enjoyable or seem all that useful; but over time, the internal silence that we cultivate will become holy and sacred, a sacrament unto itself.

This is something that both Richard Rohr and Paul Knitter, two inspirations of mine, talk about a lot. And I'm glad that Fr. Michael does, too. It's not only one of the things that drew me towards the B- group and St. Philip, but towards Catholicism itself. Speaking of which, today happens to mark my one-year anniversary of going to B-, which Dorothy initially invited me to. I'm really grateful for this community, and I'm so happy that I found it.