Suscipe

Tags

grace, gratitude, life, liverty, love, memory, nature, St. Ignatius of Loyola, Suscipe, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, transformation, understanding, will

The transformation happening in nature in this most lovely of months (in my opinion at least, for those who reside in the Northeast of the USA) is so visible we cannot ignore its manifestation. Would that the inner transition of our hearts matched that of the natural world. I think we would do well to listen to the silent call of the flowering trees, the energetic growth of the grasses, the music of the running streams…new – or renewed – life everywhere!

As I wrote the above paragraph the morning sun came softly forward from the misty sky and begged attention at my window. My response to all that calls me this morning is a favorite prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola (in Latin, Suscipe) in gratitude for all that is given.

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, O Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace. That is enough for me.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Tags

blessing, Book of Hours, conscience, contradictions, Holy Week, light, Peace, sorrow, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, torment, will

Having nothing of merit to say on this Tuesday of Holy Week, I search Thomas Merton for a worthy word. Although he never disappoints, I find myself looking unsuccessfully for something soothing to counteract the sorrow of what is to come as this week progresses. I settle for an admission of God’s greatness (the only safeguard for us in distress) and the necessity of surrender if we are to take up our role and responsibility in concert with God.

Almighty and merciful God, Father of all, Creator and Ruler of the Universe, Lord of History, whose designs are inscrutable, whose glory is without blemish, whose compassion for the errors of men is inexhaustible, in your will is our peace.

Resolve our inner contradictions, which now grow beyond belief and beyond bearing. They are at once a torment and a blessing: for if you had not left us the light of conscience, we would not have to endure them.

Grant us to seek peace where it is truly found! In your will, O God, is our peace! (Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours, p. 107-108)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Perfect Love

Tags

abandon fears, blind faith, coming of God, depending on God, effortless concentration, Kathleen Degnan, perfect love, pure trust, resign self to His love, seek God, soul, suffer, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, tranquil, will

“This is what it means to seek God perfectly:

“To have a will that is always ready to fold back within itself and draw all the powers of the soul down from its deepest center to rest in silent expectancy for the coming of God.

“Poised in tranquil and effortless concentration upon the point of my dependence on Him, to gather all that I am and have, all that I can possibly suffer or do or be, and abandon them all to God in the resignation of a perfect love and blind faith and pure trust in God, to do His will.”

~ Thomas Merton
(from Thomas Merton’s Book of Hours by Kathleen Deignan)

We Walk By Faith

Tags

Catholicism, centennial, contemplation, convert, Dalai Lama, education, effortless conversation, faith, Hebrews, Salesians, seek, St. John Bosco, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, will

Thomas Merton

Brothers and sisters, faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. (HEB 11:1)

This overarching theme for the day has many strands, just as each of us has our own stories of faith stretching back over our lives. I smiled when I saw that the saint of the day in the Roman Catholic Church is St. John Bosco, the educator from the 1800’s who founded the Salesians, a religious community that follows the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales. John Bosco was dedicated not only to the classical education of children but to teaching trades like shoemaking, tailoring and publishing. His goal was to “unite the spiritual life with one’s work, study and play.” I knew nothing of John Bosco’s life when I was in school except that he was the patron saint of students. The nuns urged us to pray to him as end-of-year exams approached and I know I credited him with much of my success in those most challenging moments throughout my school career. Faith was simpler back then and it was helpful to believe in the power of such a patron to give a boost to our competence.

Faith was a growing thing as well to Thomas Merton, one of the most prolific spiritual writers of the 20th century who was born 100 years ago today. Merton was a convert to Catholicism in his 20s and his desire for God continued to accelerate and be expressed in his books, essays and poetry as he lived a monastic life from 1941 until his untimely death on December 10, 1968. Deep contemplation had led him to study and write on issues of social justice and ecumenism as integral to the spiritual life. His spiritual quest led him to the East, to a great friendship with the Dalai Lama and others, and was culminated in an interfaith conference in Thailand where he died at age 53. We celebrate Thomas Merton today and all during this centennial year for his contribution to the legacy of faith that informs our own spiritual journey. Here is what he said to me this morning:

This is what it means to seek God perfectly: to have a will that is always ready to fold back within itself and draw all the powers of the soul down from its deepest center to rest in silent expectancy for the coming of God. Poised in tranquil and effortless concentration upon the point of my dependence on Him, to gather all that I am and have, all that I possibly can suffer or do or be, and abandon them all to God in the resignation of a perfect love and blind faith and pure trust in God, to do His will. (New Seeds of Contemplation, 44-46, excerpted)