Medjugorje
Message: February 25, 2012
Dear children! At this time, in a special way I call you: “pray with the heart.” Little children, you speak much and pray little. Read and meditate on Sacred Scripture, and may the words written in it be life for you. I encourage and love you, so that in God you may find your peace and the joy of living. Thank you for having responded to my call. |
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Published
by the Marian Center of San Antonio / A Catholic Evangelization Ministry
In this Lenten message, Our Lady
focuses on a theme she has voiced throughout the last thirty years in Medjugorje: prayer with the heart. She says, “At
this time, in a special way I call you: ‘pray with the heart.’ Little
children, you speak much and pray little.” If we are honest with
ourselves we know this is true. Even those of us who fancy ourselves “spiritual”
or “religious” speak much more than we pray---especially when we are doing “Church
or holiness projects” such as Lenten observance. Why is this so? And how can praying
with the heart help?
“Speaking much and praying little”
is a function of what Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault calls
the “egoic operating system” that
we are all born with, which runs the show of our life until we embark upon
the spiritual journey with a sincere desire for conversion. In simple terms, this spiritual journey is
often called “the journey from the head to the heart”
and it is the longest trek anyone can ever make. The binary, analytical, judging and differentiating
brain with which we are born is important and necessary for navigating life
in the world as we grow to adulthood. But if we choose to take the spiritual
path toward the higher levels of human consciousness to which Jesus
calls us in the Gospel—and which he modeled for us—then we will embark upon
the greatest adventure ever: traveling from “head knowledge” to “Heart Wisdom,”
which is an entirely new, radically different way of seeing reality.
“Speaking much” is a signal
that we are operating out of the egoic brain that
splits everything into good and bad, right and wrong, black and white, up and
down, inside and outside, etc. and then compulsively shows “how smart it is”
by giving voice to these judgments. The current political climate is a
good example of the egoic operating
system run riot, with incredibly polarized positions and discussions
filling the airwaves of the media and our own private lives in conversation
with others. While the egoic intellect sees and
yammers endlessly about the differences and conflicts “out there,” the heart
perceives Oneness and the single, unified Reality of God
everywhere and in all things. While the ego stirs up fear, paranoia and
danger all around, the heart sees and shares Love as the Divine
Indwelling Presence in all. In
contrast to the fear-mongering egoic brain, the
heart reveals the biblical truth that “Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 Jn 4:18)
To speak less (or little) and to “pray
with the heart” is a sign of conversion or metanoia, which means going out
of the egoic intellect “into the larger mind” of
Christ-consciousness or Heart-consciousness, journeying from the head to
the heart. When we “pray with the heart,” as Our Lady asks at Medjugorje, we do not “speak much”; rather, we fall into silence,
God’s first language. Most of us do
not do so comfortably; we need help with a practice of prayerful silence,
such as the supportive steps of Centering Prayer which uses a sacred word, or
the mantric repetition of a phrase, as in the
Rosary. Our Lady makes another suggestion: “Read and meditate on Sacred Scripture, and may the words written in
it be life for you.” This is what the
ancient Church practice of Lectio Divina is all about, in which we pass through four
movements in our reading of a short scripture passage (sometimes called
the “Four R’s”): Reading
(for content); Reflecting (on its meaning for me); Responding
(from our heart to God); and Resting (in God’s Silent
Presence). This is a method of praying the Sacred Scripture with the “heart,”
not merely reading it with the egoic mind or
“head.” When we do this, as Our Lady says, the words written are more than
just words---they may “be life for you.”
The Three “Sabbaths” of LENT
“Beware of practicing
your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no
reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1)
During Lent the Church addresses her instruction
to different levels of Christian consciousness. If we want to organize our
Lenten observance this year, we might do so under three headings which Saint Aelred calls the
three sabbaths. These are love of self, love of
neighbor, and love of God.
The first sabbath—the love of self. If we
have not yet achieved this sabbath, we might
prepare for Easter by seeking to obtain the joy of this kind of rest. The
Lord Jesus warns us not to give in to one of the great temptations of
Lent, which is to get all wound up with the observance of almsgiving,
fasting, vigils, and extra prayers. Jesus’ advice is: “Whatever you do, let nobody notice it.” That is a hard saying for beginners in the
spiritual life. The moment any success in some penitential exercise begins to
appear, we find ourselves attacked by the compulsion of competition,
or by wanting our observance
to be observed. Jesus warns,
“Let nobody see you. Otherwise, the Father, who sees in secret, cannot reward
you.”
This first sabbath is the
recognition of the truth about ourselves. We tend to want to become a saintly, enlightened,
or realized person. Such desires can hide the truth about ourselves.When our energy is directed toward becoming the special person that we
want to be, it becomes harder to accept the person we actually are. Prayer in secret leads to self-knowledge. And little by little, self-knowledge leads to the acceptance of ourselves; that is, of our gifts, of our limitations,
and of our sinful human condition.
Acceptance of the truth about ourselves
is the beginning of the first sabbath. But that is
not enough. What matters is how comfortable
we feel in admitting the truth about ourselves. The more comfortable we feel in our
predicament—like a little child who has fallen into a mud puddle, but who
knows that he is still loved by his mother—the more we can trustfully raise
our hands toward God as we wallow contentedly in the mud. This is what Aelred meant by the first sabbath.The true love of self
and of our lowly condition enables us to acknowledge the whole truth about
ourselves with all its consequences.
As this comfortable acceptance of ourselves
continues to increase, something else begins to happen. We are able to
accept others as they are, with the whole of the truth about them. If we are
at peace with ourselves and who we are, the chances are good that we will be
at peace with others and who they are. That is St. Aelred’s
second sabbath—the sabbath
of love of neighbor.
As these two sabbaths
and the profound rest they bring become firmly established, we move on to
the final sabbath—the most difficult of all.
This is to accept God as God
is. Faith presents
him as the Incomprehensible,
the Infinite, the Ineffable. Since he is a consuming fire, to be
comfortable in his presence requires a very humble heart indeed, because
if there is anything in our hearts besides him, it will be burnt to ashes. Those
who have reached the third sabbath of St. Aelred are fully prepared to celebrate the Paschal
mystery. – Fr. Thomas Keating,
OCSO
Lenten Reading: “Formational”
vs. “Informational”
During Lent, we try to take a formational approach to the Sacred Scripture, rather than merely “informational” Bible
reading. The ancient practice of Lectio Divina, or sacred reading of scripture, is different from informational
scripture study. While it is true that “we must have a certain level of information
about the Biblical passage, some sense of the meaning of the text in its
original context, some sense of what God was saying to the intended readers
before it can become formational” (M.R.
Mulholland, Jr.), a deeper, more
“formational” type of scripture reading is a discipline we need to develop as
our spiritual journey advances. It requires time to “center,” to become
still, to relinquish, let go, and release one’s life into the loving Divine
Presence. We seek a balance between:
INFORMATIONAL READING and FORMATIONAL READING
Cover as much text as possible Seek quality, not quantity of reading
Move quickly over the surface of text Reading in depth, open to multiple layers
of meaning
Seeks to master, control the text Allow the text to
master you
Regards text as an object to manipulate Text as subject; we are the object shaped
Analytical, critical, judgmental approach Humble, detached, receptive
approach
Problem-solving is mental starting point Attitude of openness to the mystery of God
Jesus’ death on the cross is the most authentic statement of
created life—it speaks to us of the wild love of God, the drama of evolution,
and the trust that is needed if a new future is to be realized. The
illogical cross is the logic of God. It is the logic of self-involvement that requires a
self-emptying. By domesticating the cross, we strip the Godliness of God,
the wildness of divine love that refuses to be controlled or manipulated. God’s
love is the untameable terror of the Holy New.
To be a wholemaker, to evolve, is to embrace this
Spirit of love, to trust that love is greater than death. Salvation
takes place in what is weak and fragile. Unless and until we grasp the inner core of evolution as a necessary death we will continue to
spiral in violence and fragmentation. Belief in God incarnate is belief in
the wildness of divine love to seize us from within, turn us upside down, and
move us in a new direction. We who say
“yes” to the dying and rising of Jesus Christ say “yes” to our lives as the
stuff out of which the New Creation can emerge. – Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF
Christ on the cross bows his head waiting for you, that he may kiss you; his arms are outstretched, that he may embrace you; his hands are open, that he may enrich you; his side is open for you that he may let you enter there. – St. Bonaventure
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Mark
Your Calendar
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March 2 |
World Day of Prayer |
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2-3
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Spiritual Renewal Conference: “The Power of the Holy Spirit”; 7-10 pm Fri, 8:30 am-10 pm Sat.; St. Mary Magdalen Church, 1710 Clower St.; 226.7545 |
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3
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Praying with Scripture: Lectio Divina Workshop; 9 am-1
pm, Omega Retreat Center, 216 W. Highland Dr,
Boerne, TX; $40 includes 2 follow-up sessions on March 17 & 31; call
830-816-8471
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4 |
Second Sunday of Lent Contemplative Retreat:
“People of Pilgrimage—The Holy Longing…Holy Fire Within Us as a Congenital Ache for Union
with God and Everything Else” w/ Fr. Ron Rolheiser,
OMI; 4 pm Sunday through Noon, Thur Mar 8; Oblate
Renewal Center, Oblate & Blanco Rd.; $360 incl. meals (lodging extra);
call 341-1366 x 226
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5-7
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Lenten Mission w/ Fr. John Xaviour, 7 pm, St. Matthew Catholic Church, 10703 Wurzbach
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8
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“Le Point Vierge:
Mary and the Catholic Imagination” Lecture w/ Wendy Wright, Ph.D., 7 pm,
Oblate School of Theology Whitley Theological Ctr,
285 Oblate Dr., $10; call 341-1366 x 226; Exhibition of Marian Photography
(free) at OST Library (through April 6)
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11 |
Third Sunday of Lent; Daylight Saving Time begins |
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17 |
St. Patrick |
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18 |
Fourth Sunday of Lent |
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19 |
St. Joseph |
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23-24
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Catholic Men’s Conference,
McDonald Center at St. Matthew Church, 10703 Wurzbach;
sponsored by Pilgrim Center of Hope; $35/$45; call 521-3377
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23
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Free Dinner & Lecture: “Where in the
World is Compassion? Creating Ongoing Relationships for the Common Good” w/
Dr. John Esposito; 6-8 pm, University of the Incarnate Word, Marian Hall
Ballroom, 4301 Broadway
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24
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Interfaith Compassion Conference w/ Dr.
Esposito (Georgetown U.), Dr. Asani (Harvard U.) and
representatives of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, & Judaism; 9
am-4 pm, University of the Incarnate Word; $20; call 367-2042 or visit www.uiw.edu/compassionconference
Lenten Retreat on
Forgiveness (based on Jn 8:1-11, the Woman Caught
in Adultery) w/ Fr. Eddie Bernal, Fr. Eric Ritter & Sr. Mary Fagan; 8:30
am-5 pm, St. Dominic Church, 5919 Ingram Rd; no charge; bring sack lunch
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25 |
Fifth
Sunday of Lent
Rosary Making: 2-5:30, St. Mary's Church, 202 N. St. Mary's; free parking & materials |
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26
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Annunciation of the Lord
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31
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PEACE MASS: 12:00 pm, St. Mary's Church, 202
N. St. Mary's; Rosary 11:30 am
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"When the vessel of his body was shattered in death, Christ was poured out over all the world. He became actually, in his humanity, what he had always been according to his dignity—the heart of the world, the innermost center of creation." -- Karl Rahner,SJ
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CHECK OUT THIS YOUTUBE VIDEO OF MEDJUGORJE IN THE SNOW: