Image: Ruins of historic Clonmacnoise monastery, Ireland
I was gifted with a grace-infused re-conversion experience in October, 2016. This included an extended period of life-changing contemplative prayer (the story of my re-conversion experience is told here).
During that period (and for awhile afterward), I was at a loss as to how to communicate my continuing prayer experience that was underway.
Along the way, I found my way to the writings of two Spanish mystics (saints) from the 1500’s – Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross (I recently blogged about them here). Their writings about prayer provided me with much faith nourishment, so I approached their religious order – the Carmelites – about getting involved in their order as a lay person (“third order”). They invited me to perhaps come back to them at a later time…. I was still at much of a loss to communicate to the Carmelites – or to anyone – what I was experiencing and how I was drawn to the charism of Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, so I can perhaps see the Carmelites wondering whether I was a good fit to get involved in their order….. Over the next while, I found my way into Contemplative Outreach Northwest (which is also a good place for contemplative types).
I found myself puzzled by the frequent lack of dialogue “in the pews” among parishioners about their inner experience of faith – including their experience with prayer.
…..In my thirst for dialogue about prayer, I slowly found more and more writers who write capably about prayer; most recently, I’ve found author Emilie Griffin’s book Clinging: The Experience of Prayer. Prayer can be – and is meant to be – an “encounter with God.” I’ve had a taste of this, it seems that such encounters among parishioners would feed jubilant conversations “in the pews.” I now look for ways to likewise cultivate this type of communication among parishioners – dialogue in the pews – about prayer (including this blog post!).
…..Understandably, everyone one of us different. Different temperaments, different life experiences, etc…. Thus, a friend (Dan Oberg) replied to my query to him about discussing prayer experiences, “You talk about the chasm between your experience in prayer and the ability to communicate it to others. I think that is a very universal, human issue. On one level, prayer is a very personal communion with God that is meant to be personal, and unique to you…. If we can find just a few folks who can hear about our experience and relate to it in some way, and be willing to share their own experience, humbly and vulnerably, than we’re doing pretty good…. But for each of us, at some point in that path, we will find ourselves just with God, as the only One who can walk the entire journey with us.”
I encourage each of you to stretch yourself in how you discuss your inner experience of prayer with people you know. There are fruitful rewards – I believe – in talking about how we inwardly experience our relationship with God. Increased community (an important factor in today’s “epidemic of loneliness”), an opportunity for us to learn from one another and encourage each other….. (hint: the U.S. Surgeon General’s”epidemic of loneliness” report cited above mentions – on page 23 – involvement in faith-based communities as part of the solution) … If you could use a launching point for discussing how you experience prayer, the following quote – from Emilie Griffin’s Clinging: The Experience of Prayer – may be of help:
“[Methods of prayer] are not yet prayer itself. They are paths toward prayer, the stepping stones from our furious activity and movement into His life, his being…..When we begin to pray, it is His power and grace that helps us pray…..[When we yield in prayer,] Something happens now for the first time between the Lord and us, something springs from His reality and our response, from His identity and ours in him. We do not speak….our prayer moves beyond words….He is calling us and we are following….His presence moves us….shows us gleams of an existence we hardly guessed at….stepping free of where we were and who we were into new selves, made in his image and likeness, selves of His likeness, selves of His making, made for heaven and for Him. (pages 27-28).”
With whom might you discuss your prayer life in the next week?
Kim Burkhardt blogs at A Parish Catechist and The Books of the Ages.
Image: Ruins of historic Clonmacnoise monastery, Ireland
