Month: September 2020

The real self

I consider that the spiritual life is the life of [one’s] real self, the life of that interior self whose flame is so often allowed to be smothered under the ashes of anxiety and futile concern.
— Thomas Merton, No Man Is an Island

In these few words Merton has spelled out the scope of this blog:

the ‘real self’ God made us to be
how to find that self
how to fan it aflame amid the ashes of our lives

It boils down to what I have come to believe is the good news of the Gospel:

Following Jesus leads us from our fake selves to our real selves,
from living in our heads to living from our hearts,
from advancing our own agendas to receiving the gift of His,
from thirsting for the next transient thrill to drinking deeply of eternal life.
dw

What do you think of the notion that each of us has a ‘real self’ that God loves and nurtures?
To what extent do you feel in touch with your real self?
What are the ashes in your life that hinder your real self from emerging and thriving?

I encourage you to consider writing out your answers, either in a journal or in the comments section.

Grace and peace to you…

p.s. this, too, is a refresh of an earlier post

Tags anxiety, flame, good news, interior self, No Man is an Island, real vs fake, Thomas Merton

attention the real self

A million things

dark black and white photo of trees in winter

…to run anything in this world…is like being lost in a forest of a million trees…and each tree is a thing to be done… A million trees. A million things. Until finally we have eyes for nothing else, and whatever we see turns into a thing.
…
So how am I to say it, gentlemen? When he came, I missed him.
— The Inkeeper
Frederick Buechner, Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons, “The Birth”

I can’t begin to convey the magic of Frederick Buechner’s sermon “The Birth”. Sermon isn’t really the right word. It’s more like three interviews with people who witnessed the event: the Innkeeper, the Wise Men, and the Shepherds. The quote above is from the Innkeeper’s account, his witness, his confession – that’s what it is in the end – his confession. And it’s my confession, too; maybe it’s yours.

Are we lost in the forest of our concerns, so lost we can’t see the Light of the World around and among us?
He came to his own people and his own people…”missed” him. Do we, like the innkeeper, have no room, no mental or emotional space, for Jesus to be born? Are we missing him? Are we aware we are missing him?
What can we do to not miss him? (Attention is the beginning of devotion.)
List out some of the ‘million things’ in your life. Note down times in your life when those things caused you to miss something important. Write down what Jesus means to you and what you might do to give him more space in your life.

I highly recommend Buechner’s book and that you read this particular sermon. What I have shared here doesn’t begin to do it justice.

Grace and peace to you…

p.s. This is a refresh of a past post from early 2018

Tags Birth of Jesus, distraction, Frederick Buechner, innkeeper, million things, Secrets in the Dark, sermon

prayer

With prayer

With prayer, one can go on cheerfully and even happily, while without prayer, how grim is the journey. Prayer is as necessary to life as breathing. It is drink and food.
Day, Dorothy. The Reckless Way of Love: Notes on Following Jesus (Plough Spiritual Guides: Backpack Classics) (p. 40). Plough Publishing House. Kindle Edition.

Prayer isn’t like sit ups.

It’s not a thing.
It’s not a thing you do to get some other thing.

Prayer is knowing Someone is there

who loves you,
who would die to be with you,
who hears and understands,
who knows exactly who you are,
who you are meant to be,
who will take you there no matter what,
who will never leave you or forsake you.

Prayer is staying close to that Person as if your life and hope and happiness depended on it.

That Person, for me, is Jesus.
If you like, he will be that Person for you, too.

How does the quote from Dorothy Day strike you? How is your experience compared to hers?
Do you view prayer as a ‘spiritual exercise’, like sit ups? If so, what do you seek to gain by such exercise? Do you find it helpful?
How does my reflection on prayer strike you? What seems true or helpful? What seems far-fetched or missing?
I encourage you to take time to write out your thoughts, to share them in the comments below if you like, or to share them with someone close to you.

Grace and peace to you…