Some Time For Peace

Cardinal Sarah’s book, The Power of Silence, spoke of the importance of peace in our life.  It’s taken my heart years to attune to that wisdom.  The late-night hours I spent alone in the chapel with Jesus educated me more than all the books I’ve ever read, and filled my soul in an almost tangible way --- I felt God acting in me.

This afternoon I arrived at the Capuchin Retreat Center for a few days of silence.  I wondered about this retreat, because my last two were spent in worry and anxious prayers --- all of which were answered --- but this time I arrived feeling blessed.  God has taken over control of my worries, and I have let Him.  And I don’t worry about stoking His ego when I tell Him I think He is doing a great job.  So, if I have no great worries, should there be a focus to my prayers here?  I’ll certainly pray for those God puts in my life, but I think my prayers will primarily be ones of growing in trust, a most hard thing for me to do.

This morning I read a meditation and hymn in my Liturgy of the Hours which seemed to tell me these days would be useful, perhaps in ways I didn’t expect.

From a treatise on Christian Perfection
by St. Gregory of Nyssa, bishop

Christ should be manifest in our whole life

The life of the Christian has three distinguishing aspect:  deeds, words and thought.  Thought comes first, then words, since our words express openly the interior conclusions of the mind.  Finally, after thoughts and words, comes action, for our deeds carry out what the mind has conceived.  So when one of these results in our acting or speaking or thinking, we must make sure that all our thoughts, words and deeds are controlled by the divine ideal, the revelation of Christ.  For then our thoughts, words and deeds will not fall short of the nobility of their implications.

What then must we do, we who have been found worthy of the name of Christ?  Each of us must examine his thoughts, words and deeds, to see whether they are directed toward Christ or are turned away from him.  This examination is carried out in various ways.  Our deeds or our thoughts or our words are not in harmony with Christ if they issue from passion.  They then bear the mark of the enemy who smears the pearl of the heart with the slime of passion, dimming and even destroying the luster of the precious stone.

On the other hand, if they are free from and untainted by every passionate inclination, they are directed toward Christ, the author and source of peace.  He is like a pure, untainted stream.  If you draw from Him the thoughts in your mind and the inclinations of your heart, you will show a likeness to Christ, your source and origin, as the gleaming water in a jar resembles the flowing water from which it was obtained.

For the purity of Christ and the purity that is manifest in our hearts are identical.  Christ’s purity, however, is the fountainhead, ours has its source in him and flows out of him.  Our life is stamped with the beauty of his thought.  The inner and outer man are harmonized in a kind of music.  The mind of Christ is the controlling influence that inspires us to moderation and goodness in our behavior.  As I see it, Christian perfection consists in this:  sharing the titles which express the meaning of Christ’s name, we bring out this meaning in our minds, our prayers and our way of life.

This day God gives me
Strength of high heaven,
Sun and moon shining,
Flame in my hearth,
Flashing of lightning,
Wind in its swiftness,
Deeps of the ocean,
Firmness of earth.

This day God sends me
Strength as my steersman,
Might to uphold me, Wisdom as guide.
Your eyes are watchful,
Your ears are listening,
Your lips are speaking,
Friend at my side.

God’s way is my way,
God’s shield is round me,
God’s host defends me,
Saving from ill.
Angels of heaven,
Drive from me always
All that would harm me,
Stand by me still.

Rising I thank you,
Mighty and strong one,
King of creation,
Giver of rest,
Firmly confessing
Threeness of persons,
Oneness of Godhead,
Trinity blest.

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Finally, while here at the retreat I have been reading a book about one man’s conversion/growth in faith story:  An Immovable Feast, by Tyler Blanski.  His digging into the depths of church history, the bible, and slow spiritual growth remind me of my own walk, a long walk.  And at one point (p89) he wrote this story, which struck a key point which I meditate on much these days.

“I remembered a story about a man who worked for three months at ‘the house of the dying’ in Calcutta.  He was seeking a clear answer about what God wanted him to do with his life.  He asked Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) to pray for him.

‘What do you want me to pray for?’ she asked.

‘Pray that I would have clarity,’ he said.

‘No, I will not do that,’ she said.

When he asked her why, she explained: ‘Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.’

When he mentioned that she always seemed to have clarity, Mother Teresa just laughed: ‘I’ve never had clarity; all I’ve ever had is trust.  So I will pray that you will trust in God.’”