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A Meeting of the WAys
Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 16, December 2012
Via Vitaeway of life
Benedictine Oblates of The World Community for Christian Meditation
2
In November 2011, our Benedictine oblate cell group was
concluding its annual three day retreat at the Benedictine
monastery at Arcadia in Sydney. At the celebratory lunch
I found myself seated beside the Prior, Father Bernard
McGrath and we became engrossed in a conversation that
took an interesting turn.
I explained to Fr Bernard that I had been involved for
the last eleven years with a prayer group in the inner city
of Sydney. This group is called David’s Place and those who
are part of David’s Place are often people who live on the
margins of our society. Very few of the people who attend
David’s Place have regular employment. Many of them
are affected by mental illness or some kind of addiction.
Meetings are essentially prayer meetings. We do share in
conversation, we also share simple meals but the central
reason why we come together is to share in the Gospel and
the prayer that arises out of the Gospel readings. Once
a month we also have a barbecue and a mass which is
attended by between 30 to 40 people. We have an annual
Christmas celebration and usually more than 100 people
come along. We serve a very hearty Christmas lunch to all
who attend and each person receives a gift.
The original vision of David’s place was built upon the
work of Fr Brian Stoney SJ, who had been engaged for
several years with the marginalised of the inner cities of
Sydney and Melbourne. Sue Buckingham who had been
inspired by working with Fr Brian started David’s Place.
Sue had always felt that those who lived on the margins
had a unique contemplative gift to offer, that arose out of
the fact that they had been stripped of so much in their
journey through life. She felt that, for a city to have a real
heart, it needed to have a true spiritual connection with its
poorest. It was not a vision of simply helping the poor - it
was something far more dynamic. It was a vision of mutual
enrichment.
When I started talking to Fr Bernard I mentioned to
him that one of other things that we do as a community
is have an annual retreat, but it had become increasingly
difficult to find a suitable venue. Bernard immediately
suggested that perhaps the people would like to come
to the Benedictine Monastery at Arcadia. Bernard, Sue
and I continued to dialogue over the ensuing year and
arrangements were made for a retreat that would be held
over a three day period in October 2012. Bernard and the
monastic community were extremely generous in providing
not only accommodation, in the guest cottage but also their
mini bus so that we could transport the retreatants to and
from the inner city up to the monastery (about an hours
drive each way). The Sydney Oblate community, led by
Trish, also responded to this event in an extremely generous
manner. They volunteered to provide food, linen and
support services for the retreat and George volunteered to
drive the bus.
The day arrived and after bussing from Arcadia down
to Surry Hills we found our group of ten retreatants very
excited and enthused about the days ahead. At the end of
our bus trip, we were welcomed by the Monks and offered
lunch in the cloisters of the monastery. Some of us sat
inside the covered walkways while others sat out in the
beautiful gardens of the monastery. It was a wonderful way
to begin our retreat and this was only the beginning. The
retreatants were invited to join with the Monks in praying
the Office if they wished and many went to experience and
or pray the Hours.
Fr Bernard had agreed to give the talks throughout the
retreat and these were supported by activities that he had
sensitively and creatively designed to help all of us ponder
and deepen our relationship with Jesus. With his first talk
he set one of the themes of the retreat by asking us all
to do some scribbling. He then went on to show us some
scribble that had been done by an artist in London and
how this scribbling had been described by Sister Wendy
Beckett, Art Historian. Bernard suggested that perhaps our
prayer life was like scribble. Our prayer life is an inner-
seismograph of what is going on, without our being in full
control.
After this talk Fr Bernard advised us that he would be
bringing the cattle up from the lower paddock for feeding.
About twelve of us stood at the top of the rise, watching
Bernard’s efforts. The cattle by and large moved in the
right direction although repeatedly some of the cows
would peel off and wander back towards where they came
3
from. This forced Bernard to run back and usher them
further in towards the rest of the herd. After watching
Bernard run to and fro in this manner for over an hour, two
retreatants decided to jump the fence and help him. Soon
the cattle were all inside by the feeding gates. One of our
retreatants, who was so excited by all of this began to clap,
which unfortunately caused the cows to turn and run back
to the lower paddock. So once again Bernard and his two
helpers began their patient work.
We all pondered what the herding of the cows had to
do with the talk that Bernard had just given. In the late
afternoon we gathered and shared what the experience
had been like for us. Some focused on how much they had
enjoyed being in nature, smelling the grass and touching
the cows. Others thought that the cows and the herding
was perhaps a metaphor of how God works with us and how
we keep resisting his best efforts to usher us towards the
place where we will be most satisfied. The two volunteer
herdsmen from David’s Place, who jumped the fence to
help Bernard, perhaps were like those who appreciate the
efforts of God and offer their services in his quest.
Fr Bernard explained that Jesus often used nature as his
teaching aid in speaking of fish, mustard seeds, sheep etc.
Bernard sensed that if we were more fully in contact with
nature we will almost certainly be in contact with Jesus.
All of the talks by Bernard included the theme of nature.
We were fascinated to hear the story of someone who had
observed a butterfly emerging from its cocoon and decided
to help it by peeling the cocoon away. Unfortunately this
resulted in the stunted development of the butterfly.
Bernard’s message to us all was: although we are often
going through things that seem difficult, it is, in fact, the
difficulty that is the making of us. To supplement this talk,
Bernard sent us out in pairs to see if we could find cocoons.
My partner Robert, who has a limp and moves rather slowly,
was the only person who was able to find a cocoon, and I
sensed that it was partly due to his slow and careful gaze.
I came to realise that it was the Robert’s pace that allowed
him to find the cocoons first. He taught me, in a sense, how
to look at nature.
On the second evening of the retreat we were divided
into three groups and were asked to make posters which
explored the theme of scribble. Magazines were cut up,
scribble was done, and a great deal of enjoyment and
laughter was had by all.
Another theme emerged from the artwork of Terry
O’Donnell, one of our Oblates. Terry, a professional artist
had recently done a series of paintings, Kerygma, from the
life of Christ that are hanging in the Monastery Chapel.
Each of the retreatants had been given a copy of one of
these to reflect on during the course of the retreat. Near
the end of the retreat Terry explained to us the process of
how he had developed these beautiful images.
Bernard also gave us talks on the final day about prayer.
In one he explained the kinds of situations that had arisen
in his life as priest, monk and man that created the need
for prayer and reminded us that this will arise in our own
life situations that will also evoke a particular need for
prayer.
We had our last lunch together and during the meal there
were many expressions of gratitude from the retreatants,
the Oblate helpers and from Fr Bernard himself. We all felt
incredibly blessed by this time together in retreat. There
were minor tiffs and tensions between the retreatants
but dominantly there was an atmosphere of harmony and
friendship. The David’s Place community moved even
deeper into a life of prayer and community. For me this was
a great retreat and one for which I would like to express
my gratitude to Fr Bernard, the monks, the retreatants who
participated so fully and to all the Oblates from our cell
group who served so graciously.PAUL TAyLOR, Australia
paultaylor@optus.ap.blackberry.net
A meeting of the ways ..................... 1
Editorial ...................................... 4
Confused ramblings of a postulant ....... 5
Contemplative minds for compassionate Christian action ............................. 6
NZ retreat .................................... 7
WCCM oblate blog .......................... 8
In loving memory ............................ 9
Lets begin ................................... 10
New oblations: Makassar & London ..... 11
Introduction to Christian Meditation .... 12
Annual oblate silent retreat, Canada ... 13
Monastery Without Walls .................. 14
Book corner ................................. 16
Contact info ................................ 16
Contents
4
editoriAl
While all the world, Lord God,
lay wrapped in deepest silence,
and night had reached its mid-point,
your all-powerful Word came down.
As year by year the beauty of this night returns,
growing old with the aged
and renewed in the wonder of children,
so may we, grown old in sin but reborn to grace,
proclaim with our lives
what we chant with our lips:
Glory to you, our God,
in the highest heaven,
peace on earth
and in the depth of every human heart.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Concluding Prayer of ‘The Nativity of Our Lord’
from Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary
May we convincingly proclaim PEACE in how we live
each day. This past year we have helplessly witnessed,
either personally, or through technology brought into our
living rooms, heart-breaking human tragedies of wars and
uprisings; storms, floods, fires; random killings; and then;
last week, the slaughter of twenty young children in school
along with six of their teachers. How can we be ‘at peace’?
How do we convincingly live peace in our hearts? Peace, at
these times, is united with ‘hope’.
The following quote, from The Selfless Self by Laurence
Freeman OSB, is a gift:
When we sense hope in another person
it gives us hope.
For some reason deeper than reason,
meeting hope in others gives us
the strength to be strong, to persevere.
In our own time perhaps the greatest
and most urgently needed gift
that the Christian can give to the world
is the gift of hope. …
Hope is a fundamental attitude
or direction of consciousness. …
To be hopeful is to make the discovery
that we are integral parts of something
greater than ourselves,
and that we are living
with the energy of that complete reality.
I encourage reading this chapter on ‘Hope’ in its entirety
and, of course, other chapters as well.
On 13th July, Sr Margaret Collier, much loved and
respected friend of the Irish meditation community and
oblate Co-ordinator, ‘went home to the Lord’. In my new
role as international oblate co-ordinator over eight years
ago I communicated with Sr Margaret on many occasions
and was guided by her wisdom. The tender tributes by
Fergal McLoughlin and Rowena O’Sullivan are included in
this issue.
Wishing you, your family, and friends a blessed Christmas
and a New year abundant with peace and hope.
LoveTRISH
As you know the Church and the worldare starved of wisdom and of love.
In most places in the worldthe Churches are becoming beleaguered.In most places there is a deepening sense
of ruin and of the absence of wisdom.But one wise man or woman
can always hold back the flood.So there is no greater act of social
or political or religious responsibilitythan any of us could undertake
than to become more fully conscious,more fully rooted in consciousness, in God.
Never let anyone discourage youon the path of meditation as in any way
being in opposition or conflictwith social, political or religious responsibility.The one thing that all societies need is wisdom.
There is only one path of wisdom.And the fountainhead of wisdom
is to be found in your heart,in the mystery of prayer.
THe WAy oF UnknoWInG, John Main OSB, pp. 129-130
5
How do we discern if the desire to become an oblate is a
real call or just a fanciful dream full of the ego?
I first heard of an Oblate at a silent retreat in Sydney
in 2009, maybe a seed was sown then and growing root
over these past three years. As I write this I am full of the
idea that I can’t; can’t write that is, my writing skills are
inadequate, I can’t maintain a train of thought for more
than a millisecond, let alone put a sentence together. But
then I think if I share my confusion, it may help someone
else with his or hers. I feel so hopeless in all of this,
whether I should continue on the Oblate path, do I have the
discipline to do the Office twice a day and read the Rule.
I’m OK with the meditation practice, as I love to meditate,
God knows why! As I write this I’m sitting in a cemetery and
feel a peace that is beyond understanding, I’m not seeking
death, but at this moment I’m not afraid of it either. Bit
like when we meditate, to thy own self be true.
There is something in me that wants to be Oblate, I was
going to say it is my hearts desire but that is not right,
its beyond my heart and mind, it is in a place that I can’t
describe. However, my mind comes into play and tells
me that I am letting myself down in my quest everyday,
that I don’t have the discipline to make the mark. My
meditation practice is solid, I very rarely miss the mornings,
the evenings are sporadic and when I’m tired, I’m half
asleep, or asleep. The Office is hard work at the moment.
I’m reading the psalms and the Bible but I’m struggling
to see God’s hand at work; the world is such a mess, my
family is struggling in all sorts of areas, I would love to be
doing something else for work, maybe aged care. I’m still
having a cigar before I go to bed, which I just don’t think
an Oblate should do and I could very easily acquire an
expensive scotch habit.
I enjoy leading a group of like-minded people that are
drawn to the practice of meditation. I meditate with a
Brahma Kumaris group on Sundays for an hour and it is
absolutely beautiful. Even though my practice is different,
the silence together makes a beautiful sound.
In all of this the only thing I can be sure of is my
meditation practice, the time when I can let the activity
of my mind go, and just rest with my mantra and know
that God loves me. I’ve just read Joan Chittister’s book
Following the Path and she talks about the 7 steps to
discern our calling:
1. fits our skills,
2. something that goes beyond either interest or ability,
3. drives me beyond both talent and passion to a sense
of purpose,
4. presents itself as a thorn in my heart at the sight of
another’s pain,
5. lose all sense of time,
6. knowing I am doing what is authentic for me,
7. it is good for my soul
The above has helped confirm for me that my desire to
become an Oblate is real.
As I have reread this I don’t feel that desire to become
an oblate describes what I am feeling, and yet I hesitate to
say calling to become an oblate as there is no way known
that God would call me!
So where does this leave me. Seriously, I’m just ignoring
my insecurities, my fears and doubts, my idea of my
unworthiness. To test my call, I was asked to imagine that
I stopped my Oblate journey; that I got off the train. I did
this for 30 seconds and felt a pang of loss and immediately
got back on the train. I don’t want to base tomorrow on
what I did yesterday and the day before and the day before
that. I’ve done that and it doesn’t give me contentment.
I want to do things differently and knowing that God loves
me has made a huge difference in my life and has given me
the freedom to be different. Thank you Lord for the work
you have done in me and are continuing to do.
DAVID CHAUNCy, Australiachaunc42@gmail.com
the Confused rAMblings of A PostulAnt
The meaning of the Christian teaching of the Incarnation is that the mystery of Godin its eternal creativity is not only brought closer to us but really united to us. …
Awakening to this reality is a possibility for each of us because it is an incarnate encounter.We are no longer isolated or dependent on our own inadequate resources. …
The humility of the child Jesus is our guide and teacher. In his light we are conscious.In his love we have love. In his truth we are made truthful.
MonASTery WITHoUT WALLS: THe SPIrITUAL LeTTerS oF JoHn MAIn, edited by Laurence Freeman OSB, p. 106
6
It would seem that becoming an Oblate has fired up my
sense of marrying my inner work through meditation with
the outer social justice issues as exemplified by the two
doves on The WCCM logo.
I recently listened to the American Jesuit John Dear speak
in york re Jesus’ total commitment to NON-VIOLENCE as
the Way to effective change in society, and how this model
influenced others like Gandhi and Oscar Romero. He was a
very inspiring speaker and has been arrested on numerous
occasions by challenging the US Government’s nuclear
weapons programmes. John Dear reinforced my own belief
that Jesus calls us to emerge from within our personal
comfort zones and allow ourselves to be used by the Christ
principle and to learn how to TRUST where this process will
take us.
For me, the inner connection that we make through
Christian Meditation, quite naturally emerges to outer
connection through social action and loving service and
because we are all different, this will manifest in various
ways. I do believe passionately that we ALL have a sphere
of influence wherein we can effect positive change for the
greater good. So, by embracing the inner discipline of CM,
we inevitably will live out the Gospel message out in the
World. But it all starts by the daily practice of entering the
Silence.
Teesside is one of the poorest parts of the UK. Still
blighted by the effects of the decline of traditional
industries, the current recession and welfare reforms
are hitting some families hard. A Community Organising
enterprise called THRIVE is aiming to tackle the sense
of powerlessness that people feel in a situation of
generational poverty, by enabling people to take some
responsibility for themselves and their communities and to
be agents of change both personally and collectively.
We aim to develop a programme that incorporates
both a Contemplative Inner Healing approach alongside
a programme of Action through Community Organising.
By teaching people living in poverty and stress Christian
Meditation, we can help build life skills to enable those who
participate by improving their mental health and emotional
resilience as well as helping them to connect with an inner
resource they may not have been aware of. This will help
many to escape a sense of ‘victimhood’ as a result of their
particular circumstances, and help them develop a stronger
sense of themselves and their potential.
Running alongside this is training people to become
aware of the structural and institutional aspects of poverty,
and taking personal and collective responsibility for doing
something about it. By running a two day Community
Organising training programme, THRIVE can help people do
research on issues they bring for action, local issues they
can do something to change by learning how to engage with
those in power in order to make positive changes in their
local communities.
By becoming ‘Awake’ to ourselves through meditation,
we are much more able to rise up and be more confident to
tackle the issues that are effecting us ‘out there’. Through
inner healing and a growth in self awareness, our hearts
naturally respond through more compassionate action
to fight the good fight through a greater willingness and
courage to get engaged with the social justice issues around
us.
I believe this echoes the encouragement we get from The
Rule of Benedict where we are reminded in Chapter 4: ‘you
must relieve the lot of the poor, clothe the naked, visit the
sick. … Go to help the troubled and console the sorrowing.
… and never lose hope in God’s mercy.’
Good honest-to-God practical advice from St Benedict for
a strong spiritual life that is lived out in our actions.
May God help us all grow in the awareness of God’s love
for us in Christ Jesus. May we come to live more and more
fully in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may give
glory to God our Father. May we allow ourselves to be used
for the Greater Good.
TERRy DOyLE, UKterry-doyle@live.co.uk
ConteMPlAtiVe Mindsfor CoMPAssionAte ChristiAn ACtion
If our life is rooted in Christ,rooted in his love
and the conscious knowledge of his love,then we need have no anxietyabout regulating our action.
Our action will always spring fromand be informed and shaped by that love.
Indeed, the more active we are,the more important it is that our action
springs from and is grounded in contemplation.And contemplation means deep, silent, communion;
knowing who we are.Knowing who we are by being who we are.That we are rooted and founded in Christ,
the Resurrection of God,is Christian self-knowledge.
THe WAy oF UnknoWInG, John Main OSB, p. 128
7
Living Springs, nestled in the Port Hills, Governors Bay,
Christchurch, was the venue for our New Zealand annual
National Oblate’s Retreat, September, 2012.
What better place, to ponder on the theme of
humility, could our Christchurch hosts have found for our
annual gathering. Awestruck and humble, we woke each
day to the magnificent view of green, bush-clad rolling hills
sweeping down to the blue waters of Governors Bay which
stretched past Port Lyttelton to the ocean in the distance.
As a visitor to Christchurch I had chosen to come a day
earlier to the retreat. I wanted to see first hand the effects
of the earthquakes on the city and its people. All I knew
was what I had seen on television, and I had no point of
reference. What I saw and understood is that these people
are living daily with a continual demolition of their city.
This means that the familiar buildings, shops, schools,
churches, are disappearing. I know about, and listen to, the
plans for rebuilding, but all that is left, in many instances,
is flat, bare land, memories, and heartache.
I am sure that all of us, out of Christchurch, admire
the spirit of the people, and are very grateful to the
Christchurch Oblate cell group for their diligence,
preparation, kindness and hospitality in the finding of such
a venue in the midst of all their difficulties.
There were fifteen Oblates on the retreat, and we
welcomed our new Postulant, June Aslett from Wellington,
as she took her first step on this journey.
Our retreat was a blessing to each one of us in many
different ways. Once more I came to realise that coming
together in this way, even though it may be brief, even
neW ZeAlAnd oblAtes retreAt12—14 sePteMber, 2012
though it may be surprising or unexpected at times,
reinforces our bonding on the path we share. In those
three short days, I found myself thankful for the routine
of prayer, silence and meditation. I came to that place of
grace in just being.
We had three learning inputs on ‘Humility’. My first
thought was, how much more can we learn about humility?
But I found that there was, and is, and always will be,
much, much more to learn, because the opposite of
humility is arrogance. Aha! So did that thought alone reveal
the lack of humility in me?
Hugh McLaughlin presented our first talk in which he
compared St Benedict’s Rule Chapter 7 on humility with
what it means in the 21st century. Humility is not a popular
word today he said, self-promotion is. Humility is about
being real, really Real, said Hugh, which reminds me of
the children’s story, the Velveteen Rabbit, a toy, who in the
end, became Real, was loved deeply and became happy
and wise. Hugh spoke about the first four Chapters of the
Rule of humility. It was good to revisit these, hear them
expressed in different words I found, to remind me again
that our spiritual growth is not linear, but a continual spiral
of ‘falling down and getting up, and falling down…’ and so
on. We learn to live with injustices in our lives, to let go
of self-satisfaction, to seek reconciliation. In doing this we
become stronger, our ‘self’ becomes more free. For me, I
realise, that as I change, hopefully, I become more aware
of who God is.
For our second learning input, John Anstice spoke about
‘Humility and the God within’. John gave us a smorgasbord
8
the WCCM oblAte blog
Benedictine oblates are guided daily by the Rule of St
Benedict. In ‘Community of Love’ Fr John writes: ‘the
essence of the rule [of St Benedict is] to strive for God and
to make your spiritual journey the underpinning reality
of your life, finding its influence in everything you do, in
everything you are.’
Fr Laurence encourages us to reflect on how the Rule
of St Benedict is relevant to our own life situations and
to write one or two sentences each day about how our
openness to this ancient Rule, that has influenced people
for over 1500 years, forms and informs our approach to the
way we live.
Many oblates in our ‘monastery without walls’ have little
or no contact with other oblates on a regular basis. For
them a spiritual friend in the form of the recent initiative,
the ‘WCCM Oblate blog: Reflections from the daily reading
of the Rule of St Benedict’ could be that spiritual friend.
Using the blog is easy. you can access it on the www.
wccm.org website, under the ‘Oblates’ tab, that links to
the ‘WCCM Oblate Blog’. By browsing the entries you will
get a feel for how the blog works.
Contact Mary Robison, the author and moderator of the
blog with any questions or suggestions at:
wccm.us.oblates@gmail.com
of authors to delve into. I have since bought ‘Oblation’ A
Meditation on St Benedict’s Rule by Rachal M. Srubas, that
he read from, and which I find profound, different, deeply
personal. John began with the Psalmists, citing those which
contain negatives, such as anger and commenting that
there are certain things in life that we can be angry about.
However, in the awareness of others when we forget self,
humility dissipates anger. Question though, does repressing
anger contribute to a sense of humility? How do we know
God is within us? Is it by keeping the mind tranquil? Or
becoming childlike? If God is within me, God is therefore
not outside of me, says John, so therefore is this Oneness
with God? And do we become part of God as we continue on
our journey? The context of John’s talk took me deeper and
deeper in thought bringing me to a place in which there
were more questions than answers. Perhaps then that is
part of what humility is, learning to live with the questions
and accepting just what is.
Anna Clare gave our third input, titled ‘Humility and
the Ego’. She said the ego is a necessary component of
our make-up. It is part of the mind that is responsible
for the development of our sense of self. Humility is the
act of being modest, reverent, politely submissive. It is
not subservient, but calls to serve. It offers the complete
freedom from the desire to impress, to be right or to get
ahead of others. Humility cannot be the aim, as that is
contrary to what humility is. It is not abject grovelling.
‘Humility’ comes from the Latin ‘humilis’ low or lowly, the
same root as ‘humus’, the soil or ground. It is sureness of
being grounded in Christ. Humility has nothing to prove,
it listens more, it shows patience, compassion, withholds
judgements, respects and promotes others. It requires
courage, and requires commitment to Obedience and
Stability.
Each talk prompted much lively discussion from our
Oblate group. As I ponder on these three offerings on
humility, what emerge are my questions to myself on how
I live today, and how I incorporate Benedict’s Rule into my
everyday life. The challenges are towards what do I engage
in, yet fully aware that meditation is my guiding leveller,
undergirded with lectio divina, the daily prayers, the
Psalms, service to and with others in my community and
with those others whom my life touches. I am glad that St
Benedict mentions space for those who ‘fall down and get
up again, and again’. That gives me encouragement. yet
the challenge of the ego is not so easily dealt with. It is not
like all the necessary data being fed into the computer and
coming out as the person I would like to be. Rather, it is a
long, slow, lifetime of working at it, with Christ at my side,
who sees the potential in each one of us, and walks with us
on the way.
Just before the retreat concluded the ‘Annual Renewal of
Oblation’ was made by those who over the years made their
Final Oblation.
Our retreat, which we decided would be called ‘a
gathering’, finished with a question and answer time, a
time for saying goodbye, and a sense of looking forward to
where and when we would meet again.
JANET PRICE, New Zealandjrprice@maxnet.co.nz
The birth of Christ set beneath an arch, Italian School,an engraving after Pompeo dell' Aquila, 1560-1600
9
in loVing MeMory
VAle sister MArgAret Collier
Our dear Sr Margaret, who was the oblate co-ordinator
for many years, went home to the Lord on Friday 13th
July at 5 pm. The church was full at her funeral. She was
greatly loved by all who met her. May she rest in peace. Her
motto was ‘Let there be peace but let it start with me.’
ROWENA O’SULLIVAN, IrelandOblate Co-ordinator
sister MArgAret In your room you sat in silence.
Twice a day you sat,eyes closed, body still,hands upon your lap.
no thoughts, no emotions.Just the simple, silent stillness
of your quiet timeeach day, every day.
People wondered what you did.Why spend that time
doing nothing, eyes closed,Sitting still?
A gifted lady you brought such joy.you loved so wellyou spoke so well
you nourished all you loved.
Why waste your timein simple silence
when you could be out there –‘Doing Things?’
But when you finished,eyes opened, mind alert,
we knew you did not spend your timein wasted space.
We knew that you had been intothat private room
to pray to Himthere, in that secret place.
And then we understoodthe love you gave , the joy
we felt to be with you,dear friend.
you’ve left us now.you’re in that sacred space
where time has no beginningand where there is no end.
FERGAL MCLOUGHLIN
Sr Margaret (far right) visiting Aras an Uachtarain in 2007
Margaret’s influence was immense, not just in Ireland
but also internationally where she was loved and
respected by all she met.
We had the good fortune in Ireland of meeting her
regularly, at meetings, conferences and retreats, many of
which she organised herself. Each of us carries our own
unique experience of her presence, in the way she helped,
advised, loved, cajoled and prayed for us. We will miss her
encouragement, her support, her care - not to mention
those wonderful little scribbled notes she sent on the back
of letters and envelopes!
We will miss her sadly but we are grateful for all she
brought to us.FERGAL MCLOUGHLIN, Irelandfergalmcloughlin@gmail.com
John MAin seMinArhong Kong, 2013
desert Wisdom & oriental spirituality:inner silence
led by Fr Joseph Wong OSB
20 – 22 September
silent retreatled by Fr Laurence Freeman OSB
16 – 19 September
Lina Lee and the Hong Kong meditation community
invite you to Hong Kong:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq5-CVgMTfg&feature=youtu.be
10
I began to practice Christian Meditation twice a day in the
fall of 2003 when my daughter Maura was seven and my
son Brian was four, one year prior to our daughter Sophia
being born. As a father of young children, I was learning
to integrate this new practice into the routine of family
life. Fitting in morning meditation was easy; I just woke up
earlier than the rest of the family. However, finding time
to meditate in the evening was a little more challenging.
Brian was in daycare at the time, and the naps during the
day were keeping him up later at night. I decided to try
to meditate with him and Maura, with whom he shared a
room, in order to quiet them down and help them to go to
sleep.
I gave them simple instructions on how to meditate and
suggested they use either Abba, Jesus, or Maranatha as a
mantra. I sat on the end of one of their beds and started
by saying a brief prayer or Examen. Most of the time, they
quickly fell asleep while saying their prayer word and I then
continued until 30 minutes was up. Sometimes, however,
Brian would remain awake throughout the meditation. I
then had to change my strategy for getting him to sleep.
Once our youngest daughter, Sophia, was old enough to
sleep in a bed, I included her in the evening meditation.
Over the years, the bedroom arrangements and bed times
have changed for each child. In fact, Maura, the oldest,
often stays up later than I do to complete her homework.
So, I now take turns meditating with the two youngest.
When it is time for bed, one of them will inevitably ask me
to meditate on their bed. We recite a brief night prayer.
I say, ‘Oh God, come to my assistance’, and they reply,
‘Oh Lord, make haste to help me.’ I continue, ‘Glory be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit’. They
respond, ‘as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall
be world without end, amen.’ We’ve added a couple more
brief prayers, reciting them in the same way, ‘Into your
hands Lord’, ‘I commend my spirit’ and ‘Jesus’, ‘I trust
in you’. Brian learned this last prayer from his religion
teacher.
I usually make the sign of the Cross on their foreheads as
I recite a verse from Isaiah, ‘you are precious in my eyes
and I love you’. They reply, ‘I love you too’. Finally, when it
is time to meditate, I simply say ‘Let’s begin’.
Each of them has come to see meditation as an inner
prayer resource they can practice at other times during
their day. For example, Maura and Brian will meditate
briefly when preparing for an exam or during quiet times
at school. Sophia uses her mantra to calm herself down
when she gets frustrated with classmates. She recently told
me that meditating reminds her of a slide. She said that
breathing in is like walking up the ladder, then there is a
brief pause (in the breath) at the top of the ladder, and
breathing out is like sliding down the ladder.
We sometimes meditate together as a family before
meals and tonight we agreed to meditate together for 10
minutes after our Sunday evening meals. I suggested that
we just get up from the table and slide into the other
room to meditate. Sophia smiled when she heard the word
‘slide’. TIMOTHy KELLy, USAtjk.tim@gmail.com
let’s beginMeditAting With My Children
Three kings, wood engraving by eric Gill, 1916
We are all one in God.And that is why
we must love one anotherand be open
to one another’s love.Door To SILenCe, John Main OSB, p. 78
11
On Friday evening, September 28th the Makassar
meditation community met to meditate at Church
Cathedral, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Following
meditation, Bernadette Veronika Gunawan (Vero) made
her novice oblation with the community witnessing her
intention to live her life according to the Rule. It was a
blessed event and many pictures were taken of the smiling
friends, including Fr Paulus who welcomed all.
Saralee Turner, mentor to Handoyo and Vero travelled
from her home in Singapore to Indonesia to meet with them
over the weekend and received Vero’s novice oblation on
behalf of the community.
noViCe oblAtionMAKAssAr, south sulAWesi, indonesiA
noViCe oblAtion MeditAtio house, london
Just before mass today at Meditatio House, London, the
first Sunday of Advent, Lucy Beck was received as a
novice oblate. Lucy is from Vermont, USA and is spending
three months in the London Community where she has been
especially involved in the move of The WCCM International
Centre to Meditatio House, as well as in the daily life and
work of the resident community.
L to r Saralee Turner, Vero Gunawan, Handoyo Gazali
Back row (L-r): Mathias Beisswenger, Fr Laurence Freeman, Michael rathbone, Stefan reynolds;
Front row (L-r): Lucy Beck, Henriette Hollaar
The Virgin and Child, a study for the Madonna di Foligno,raphael, 1498-1520
Out of the pure attention of [meditation]comes the continuous mindfulness
of a Christian consciousnessthroughout every activity of the day.
However trivial or ephemeral,every minute and action
has meaning and sacrednessbecause in that moment and through that act
the Divine communion reveals itself.
LIGHT WITHIn, Laurence Freeman OSB, pp. 105-106
12
On my wall is a self portrait of Raphael staring out from
a crowd. At first, his delicate intelligent face seems to
be looking at me, then I became aware that he’s not really
looking at me but behind me at something larger than me.
For me this painting symbolises not only the artist but
meditation.
This to me, is the deliberate cultivation of attention,
leading to the awareness of the infinite behind the
everyday. John Main OSB has described God as being
complete unwavering attention. This is in contrast to our
flickering efforts.
Christian Meditation, which entails repeating a mantra
with the fullest possible attention for twenty to thirty
minutes twice daily, is a discipline which aims to open the
individual to God. It is a way, as other religions have also
found, of getting past the ego, the busyness of everyday
life and being still and listening to God. Christ himself, in
the parable of Mary and Martha pointed out that Mary’s
listening was more important than Martha’s bustle, and it
would not be taken away from her.
It is only when we begin that we realise we are not used
to giving our full attention to anything for more than a
couple of minutes, and we realise how difficult it is. Twenty
minutes seems completely impossible. Indeed it usually is
impossible, our brain is so often like a box of monkeys, but
with perseverance, by gently and persistently returning to
the mantra, it is possible to breast the twenty minutes.
The mantra that is recommended, Ma-ra-na-tha which
means ‘Come Lord Jesus’ is Aramaic and was chosen by
John Main as being a holy phrase in the language Jesus
spoke. Being unfamiliar to modern ears people are not
diverted by its content.
The point is to concentrate on the four equal syllables
themselves.
John Main says that initially we are saying the mantra,
then over time the mantra seems to be coming from our
heart, and finally after much practice we find that we
are listening to it, For this we have to be very still and
attentive. Posture is important, and it is recommended that
we sit comfortably, either on a mat, chair, or prayer stool
with our back and head straight, hands on our lap. This
isn’t an easy practice, in fact John Main called it work, but
with perseverance its fruits and gifts become manifest in
many areas of life.
I have been saying the mantra for over a year now and
one of my best friends has noted that I am more patient,
I have better relationships with a wider variety of people,
and that I am not so future orientated.
Although I still feel a complete novice, and indeed we
are every time we sit down to meditate it does seem to be
developing my capacity for attention.
Attention is useful in so many areas of life. It gives us
the ability to listen to the person talking to us, to listen for
their emotion as well as their content, without at the same
time holding our own internal conversation. When we do
speak, the words we say are likely to have more weight for
they come from attention and silence.
Timothy Radcliffe OP, (Dominican Friar and Author) tells
the story of an able and well regarded Scottish man who
had a severe stroke and was subsequently only able to say a
word at a time. But the words he did say were so pertinent
that people would travel for hundreds of kilometres for an
audience with him. Following Fr Timothy’s election as World
Wide Master of the Dominicans in 1992 he went to visit him.
The word he had for him was ‘courage’.
Because we are attentive to the present moment we
can savour our food, rejoice in the natural environment,
become aware of the smells, the sounds around us.
Increasingly I have moments where I feel I am really alive.
I suddenly realise how green the trees around me are, how
lovely the sun on their leaves, the shapes of the clouds,
their drift above. There is more poetry in my life.
We are also better able to concentrate on the task
before us. Sometimes I’ve been involved in a situation or
creative task where I have had no idea what to do, or what
to expect next and miraculously it’s seemed to me, the
solution, the avenue has appeared.
Through all this I’m hoping that as my ego becomes less
important, the spirit will grow within me. This is liberating
because we don’t care so much how we are seen, or what
happens to us. The spirit is much larger, so much more
important than we are. But as with everything, we waiver,
we make mistakes, and some days are better than others.
Father Laurence Freeman OSB, the Director of The World
Community of Christian Meditation, is very encouraging
about this. He says God doesn’t expect us to succeed, but
he does expect us to try.
Becoming a Christian Meditator does not mean that we
will not experience painful and difficult events. But it does
provide a way of living through them, a way of acceptance
and learning from them. It’s the old adage of a glass which
can be seen as a glass half empty, or a glass half full.
Through all this, as Christians our example is Christ, who
knowing he was going to die on the morrow held a feast for
his friends. This has become for us ‘The Eucharist’.
MARGARET ATKIN, Australiaatkin.margaret@yahoo.com
introduCtion to ChristiAn MeditAtionA tAlK giVen At An essentiAl teAChing WeeKend (etW)
13
The birth of ChristContemporary icon in the Byzantine tradition
On May 18th, 18 oblates and meditators from Quebec,
Ontario and Nova Scotia met for their silent retreat
at the Cistercian Abbey in Rougemont Quebec. The annual
event was organized by Magda Jass and led by Polly
Schofield, National WCCM Oblate Coordinator for Canada.
The rural beauty of the Abbaye Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth
nestled in the apple country of Southern Quebec provided
a sense of profound peace so necessary for a silent retreat.
The Gregorian chant of the monks during the Divine Office
became a high point in our daily routine. And we were
blessed with excellent accommodations, fine weather and
good food which included apple cider made by the monks
from apples from their own orchard.
Our weekend provided the opportunity to meditate
in community, always a meaningful experience, and to
receive John Main’s teachings from our retreat leader,
Polly Schofield, Archivist for the John Main Collection and
a close personal friend. Her love, warmth and respect for
Fr John could be felt throughout the retreat bringing to life
the teachings presented. Polly encouraged us by saying,
‘Fr John was anchored in reality, in supreme goodness.
The passion of his inner experience, with all its urgency,
was communicated in his writings.’ She reminded us that
his great gift to us is the universal teaching of Christian
meditation which he passed on to us with the authority of
his personal experience convinced that meditation is the
way into universal communion—Love.
Sent by POLLy SCHOFIELD, Canadawccm.oblates@bell.net
AnnuAl oblAte silent retreAt, CAnAdA
Hearing and seeing with the mind is inadequate.We have to hear and see also with the heart.
Meditation is the workof opening the eye and the ear of the heart.
Work takes time.It requires stability.
It asks for faith.It demands courage.
LIGHT WITHIn, Laurence Freeman OSB, p. 103
Monte oliVetosilent MeditAtion retreAt
sienna, italy
the CAVe of the heArtled by
fr lAurenCe freeMAn osbsaturday 22 —saturday 29 June
further inforMAtionwelcome@wccm.orgor +44 208 579 4466
14
I have always wondered whether the term ‘monastery
without walls’ referred to The WCCM as a whole or
specifically to the Oblate Community. As a community of
contemplatives—some priests but mostly lay people—The
WCCM has similarities to the type of community envisioned
by St Benedict in his Rule. As such, as a whole, it has been
called ‘a monastery without walls’. This idea goes back
to John Main who wrote a spiritual letter quarterly to the
community that was forming through meditation groups.
These letters—now published as ‘Monastery without Walls:
The Spiritual Letters of John Main’—spoke of the wisdom
and relevance of the Christian monastic tradition and its
openness to adaptability in the modern world. Many people
who practise meditation follow John Main’s teaching but do
not feel particularly identified with a monastic vocation. A
few of my meditator friends, faithful to the practice, don’t
particularly see themselves as part of a monastery with or
without walls.
There is of course within the wider community a
community of Oblates who are more explicitly inspired
and called by a monastic identity as lay people. An Oblate
community soon formed around John Main’s teaching,
originally closely linked to the monastery in Montreal,
finding its identity as lay people reflecting on the Rule of
St Benedict and the wisdom of the desert in the light of
their meditation practice. John Main always believed that
the potential of monastic Oblates would be realised in the
understanding that they were not a monastery support
group but were monastics themselves, living in the world,
often married, many with children and other demanding
jobs.
In what sense however is all of The WCCM in some sense
monastic? The WCCM is a global community of mostly
lay people from different Christian traditions who feel
called to practise meditation supported by a Christian
community and the teaching on silent contemplative prayer
that is part of the Christian heritage. The calling of this
community is to follow Christ’s prayer that ‘all may be
one’. In serving the unity of all, the community is open to
learn from many teachers and wisdom traditions as shown
in the annual ‘John Main Seminar’ where a guest speaker
is invited to give a ‘word’. The charism of the community
is to practise twice daily meditation and to help people to
build up and deepen that practice through local meditation
groups, reading, visual and audio resources, national and
international retreats and, more recently, the ‘Meditatio’
outreach which looks at the value of meditation practice in
a variety of contemporary contexts.
Of course the extent to which one identifies with
the monastic tradition is optional and unique to each
practitioner. The practice of Christian meditation that John
Main rediscovered in his own life and presented in a way
that has resonated with so many people around the world
goes back to a pre-monastic tradition. Jesus’ own witness
of silence, stillness and simplicity in prayer may have had
parallels with the Essenes but its openness to all and lack
of concern for purity rules makes it hard to think of Jesus
as a monk in that tradition. Outside that there was, nor is,
any ‘monastic’ tradition in Judaism. The practice that Jesus
taught was to become aware of the loving source of our
life, of the God in whom ‘we live and move and have our
being’ (Acts 17:28). This Apostolic teaching on prayer goes
back of course to the earlier Jewish practice expressed
in Psalm 46:10 ‘Be Still and Know that I am God.’ In the
persecuted early Christian community prayer would always
have that element of hiddenness and personal sincerity.
When the same Church became the official religion of the
Roman Empire external forms of religiosity came more to
the fore. It was here in the 4th and 5th centuries that the
monastic movement as such began within Christianity, as a
concerted effort to keep alive the practice of prayer in a
wholly sincere relation to God as the source of one’s being.
Certainly The WCCM is monastic in that at least a large
part of the inspiration of its foundation and its continuing
teaching charism comes from the monastic tradition. It has
its root in the teaching of a Benedictine monk, John Main,
who drew much from the ancient monastic teaching on
prayer. The WCCM was founded in 1991 in dialogue with the
Benedictine monk Bede Griffiths, and the director of the
community, and its main teacher continues to be another
Benedictine monk, Laurence Freeman. There is also the
presence of the Oblate Community started by John Main
the World CoMMunity for ChristiAn MeditAtionA MonAstery Without WAlls
15
which could be seen as a focused expression of The WCCM
as a ‘Monastery without Walls’. At the same time however
John Main always said the essence of monastic spirituality
is distilled in the meditation practice; the loving, stable,
committed, life–transforming path of the single word. So all
practitioners of Christian meditation can be seen as part of
this ‘monastery without walls’.
The stability is in the practice, not so much in a place
(though meditation groups all around the world root
the practice in local communities). ‘Without walls’ also
means that this new form of community inspired by
monastic spirituality is not on the defensive from the
outside world. Admittedly most members feel the need
to go on ‘retreat’ from time to time, to get away from
the pressures and distractions of daily life to focus on the
silence, on God. However in an equal way the commitment
of the community is to teach meditation and to dialogue
its relevance and benefits in many of the professions,
services and economic structures of contemporary society.
‘Meditatio’ is the outreach program of The WCCM, showing
that monastic spirituality is not just about ‘retreat’ but
also about ‘advance’. One has only to remember how
Benedictine monasticism played the major part in lifting
western civilisation out of the ‘Dark Ages’ created from
the fall of the Roman Empire. Monasticism has not only
transformed individuals but also society.
‘Without walls’ also means without the divisions that
religious identities often even today form themselves
around. The community is an ecumenical community
with a strong openness to interfaith participation. As St
Benedict says in his Rule the one criteria for membership
of the community is whether ‘they truly seek God’. It is
difficult to meditate for the sake of appearances, as most
of the time it is a solitary practice. In that sense it is a
sincere form of prayer, and the motivation of anyone who
practises it for any length of time is purified. Though we
may start for many and varied reasons, the experience of
those who stick to the path is that they no longer meditate
for the sake of themselves but for the sake of something
greater than themselves. Sincere prayer is something that
crosses all religious boundaries. A monastery without walls
recognises that faith is the capacity of the human person
for self-transcendence. It is also the capacity for religions
to know—as the Zen saying puts it—that they are fingers
pointing to the moon.
In England there are many ruined monasteries, tragically
‘dissolved’ at the beginning of the modern era. If one visits
a place like ‘Fountains’ or ‘Rievaulx’ Abbey in yorkshire,
‘Walsingham’ in Norfolk, ‘Glastonbury’ in Somerset or
‘Tintern’ in Wales, one is struck by the beauty of the places
which is sometimes even more striking—certainly more
romantic—in their half-ruined state. With the passing of the
monasteries the teaching of Christian contemplative prayer
was lost. Even the Church with whom the monasteries
were identified went on the defensive and the aggressive
and often ceased to listen to that ‘still small voice’ in
which God’s presence can be heard (1 Kings 19:12). Today however it is possible to give a more positive and
less dreamy evocation of a monastery without walls. A
community that is rooted in the purest practice of the
monastic culture, and yet is not ‘separated’ from the
world, nor admitting its adherents on any rigid ground of
doctrinal belief but open to all who genuinely seek God as
truth and love and who know that it is only by purifying the
heart that God can be seen.
‘A Monastery without Walls’ has the benefit of not getting
too bogged down with concern about structures. Religion
serves the human being and their flourishing, not visa versa.
All pilgrims have to let go when necessary of their securities
to discover that they are being held by God. There are no
construction costs, house insurance, utility bills or alarm
systems necessary to keep small local meditation groups
meeting in homes, parish halls and churches going. The
focus can be kept on the value of the practice and the
practitioners. A monastery is not a building but is a group
of people dedicated to God and to each other. Some might
say that God can be seen more clearly in a monastery
without walls, though in my experience actually physical
monasteries help keep God in focus (maybe that is why
going on retreat is so important). We need desperately in
this modern world to develop a contemplative awareness,
the vision of God has no boundaries between cloister and
world, between orthodox and unorthodox or between men
and women (separated as they are in traditional monastic
communities). There are practical reasons for boundaries
but as John Main said monastic life is always in a sense an
adventure into the unknown.
In this sense it must be part of the charism of The
WCCM that the monastic wisdom it draws from and shares
is not limited to those who see themselves as Oblates.
It is something shared by everyone. By the symbiosis of
community all meditators share in a monastic inspired
spiritual practice just as all Oblates are meditators. The
only criteria for entry to this ‘monastery’ is, as St Benedict
says, whether we do truly seek God. Meditating daily shows
that commitment. Though we may be very distracted by
the ‘everything else’ of life, morning and evening we align
ourselves with the compass of the mantra which points to
God’s Kingdom. That Kingdom, as Jesus showed, is itself
without walls, ‘everything else’ is contained in it as well.
Everything belongs for those who know to whom they
belong. The saying of the prayer word or mantra every
morning and evening for half an hour can help to remove
the obstacles of our vision, tear down the walls, so that,
as William Blake put it, ‘we may see everything as it really
is—infinite’. STEFAN REyNOLDS, UK
stefandreynolds@gmail.com
nAtionAl oblAte Co-ordinAtors
USA: Mary Robison, maryrobison@mac.com
UK: Eileen Dutt, eileendutt@yahoo.co.uk
NEW ZEALAND: Hugh McLaughlin, hungnz1916@yahoo.com
ITALY: Giovanni Foffano, foffano@libero.it
IRELAND: Rowena O’Sullivan, rowenaos@gmail.com
CANADA: Polly Schofield, wccm.oblates@bell.net
BRAZIL: Marcelo Melgares, marcelomelgares@yahoo.com.br
AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONAL: Trish Panton, pantonamdg@ozemail.com.au
ViA VitAe, no. 16, december 2012
EDITOR: Trish Panton PO Box 555 Pennant Hills, NSW Australia 1715 Tel: +61 2 9489 1780 Mobile: +61 409 941 605 Email: pantonamdg@ozemail.com.au
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alexandra Irini, Australia
booK Cornerthree books from the Meditatio series
Published by Convivium Press
exPerienCing god in A tiMe of Crisissarah bachelard
There are critical times in our lives,
moments of profound loss, grief
and fear in which our frameworks
of sense seem to collapse and
no longer enable us to convey
meaning to overwhelming events
or even to life itself. In this work
Sarah Bachelard suggests that
the practice of meditation and
contemplative living may help us
endure and integrate such turning-point experiences, and
bring our life and identity into a deeper wholeness. Crisis,
Bachelard indicates, may be seen as a call or opportunity
to genuinely encounter the reality of God. The journey
is painful and involves letting go of our old ways to enter
the unknown realm of poverty of spirit, but it also offers
us the possibility of going back into the world free and
courageous, with a new sense of being alive, and with a
radically deepened capacity to be with and to love other
human beings.
Why Are We here? laurence freeman, osb
In this work Fr Laurence Freeman
examines the radical question of
our being in the world. We are here,
he reflects, to come to continuous
prayer, to a constant openness to
the prayer of Christ in our hearts.
Continuous prayer, he says, must
not be understood as saying prayers
all the time but as the living in
a childlike state of simplicity, in
which our ego concerns are left behind, opening the way to
interior silence, communion with God, and greater power
of attention to others. Fr Laurence examines the teachings
of John Cassian to show that meditation, with the aid of
the ancient Christian tradition of the continuous saying of
a mantra, is a path and a discipline to reach this state of
simplicity and poverty of spirit of pure prayer called for by
the Lord. Along these lines, Fr Laurence also examines the
contemplative awakening that is taking place throughout
the church fostered in great part by the works of Merton
and, especially, Fr John Main, who gave a specific teaching
on how to enter the contemplative dimension of prayer
and planted the seed for today’s growing community of
Christian meditation in the world.
the goAl of lifelaurence freeman osb
Father Laurence Freeman shares
insights into understanding Jesus
in order to better understand
ourselves. He teaches that the
goal of life is to know fully who we
are, and that self-transcendence is
the way to self-knowledge. In this
state, the centre of consciousness
no longer resides in the ego.
Individual identity is not lost but it
is transcended. The practice of meditation harmonises and
integrates in the spirit all that we think and feel and say
and do. Meditation, the simplifying practice of silence and
stillness, inaugurates a whole new way of being. It is a way
of life.
Fr Laurence provides a guide into a Christian way of
meditation, simple and capable of being practised by all,
that is found in the teachings of the first Christian monks.
Readers of The Goal of Life will learn how this dramatic
rediscovery of Christian meditation has deepened the way
many can understand their Christian identity.
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