I am challenged by my Rule of Life. It has pretty good "bones" -- a short prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God for each new day after my first-thing, in-bed exercises, a few minutes with the scripture and reflection from "Forward Day By Day," and intercessory prayers to remember my spiritual direction group and others with special circumstances -- lifting them up to the Creator and holding them in my heart. It sounds very do-able, but I admit to skipping (or forgetting) some parts on some days. That's when I let LIFE rule: studying, catching up on the news in the Boston Globe, my long commute to Cambridge twice a week, housework "stuff" in general. I'm a morning person, and if I don't tend to my spiritual life early in the day, it generally doesn't happen.
Centering prayer is a central element of my Rule, although its centrality sometimes become peripheral. I've been practicing this form of prayer for several years, with more discipline during some stretches than others. My periods of sitting in silence and simply being present with God have been transformative for me. Frs. William Menninger and Basil Pennington developed this prayer form for contemporary Christians in the mid-1970s, based on the 14th-century classic The Cloud of Unknowing (authored by an anonymous Christian mystic) and drawing on a long tradition: the desert ammas and abbas in the fourth century and the monastic tradition that began in the sixth century. Fr. Thomas Keating contributed to the expansion of the method by creating a program to train people to teach it to a wider audience of seekers.
As Keating says, centering prayer is a time when the pray-er just shows up, consenting to the presence and transformative action of the Creator who knows us better than we know ourselves -- and God does the work. I can attest to God's presence and power in my life, as I have been drawn ever closer to my Source of love, joy, and freedom over the course of about six years that I've practiced the prayer. My intention is to sit in prayer one or two times a week at home (always in the morning, of course!) and with my centering prayer group in my home parish on two Saturdays a month. The reality is more like once a week on my own. Again, I allow other perceived -- and sometimes real -- demands to take priority. It's a little like physical exercise: I know I feel better after I've done it, but I resist making the effort. I rarely miss the prayer time with my group, though, because that is a rich blessing in my life and a source of sustenance.
Other parts of my Rule are weekly Eucharist with my parish community, twice-a-month gatherings with my EDS spiritual direction group, and meeting with my personal spiritual director every couple of months. I'm much more faithful with those commitments. Maybe that's because others are depending on my showing up, which is a powerful incentive for me.
Why do I forget that God is also waiting for me to show up?
It seems you are more mindful of the ways you have spent your time on different dimensions of your life.
ReplyDeleteMaking a date with ourselves is often harder than a date with others. I suppose the Eucharist and the spiritual direction occupy a place in your calendar.
When I mention the "Rule" I think of patterns and habits. You have a general habit of taking care of your spiritual life (individual and communal).