FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Welcome to Friday Favorites! I have to tell you that this week’s favorites really fed my soul. In the midst of everything going on in our world, our fellow writers and Christians have responded with rich offerings to help us pray, write, grow, and navigate the stormy waters. I’m grateful for their generous outpouring of words this week.

The list below begins with a prayer for cities affected by the devastation of Hurricane Harvey and ends with two fantastic podcast interviews. I hope you’ll dig in and enjoy.

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A Prayer for the Cities Under Water via Kaitlin Curtice (“Calm the storms
That rage outside And inside us, We pray.”)

Finding God in the Routine & the Slow via Traci Rhoades (learn to be intentional about your everyday routine)

What I Wish St. Augustine Had Said via Lisa’s blog (I re-posted my essay on St. Augustine in honor of his feast day on Aug. 28)

Rachel Carson on Writing and the Loneliness of Creative Work via Brain Pickings (a haunting yet also encouraging exploration of the link between loneliness and creativity)

Tips for more productive writing sessions at home via Pat Olsen (if you write at home, like me, this is a must-read!)

Flee, Be Silent, Pray with author/contemplative Ed Cyzewski (Ryan Cagle interviews our founder, Ed Cyzewski, on the Lessons from Dead Guys podcast)

Theo-poetics (in the wild) with guest Michael Wright (Lisa DeLay interviews Michael on the Spark My Muse podcast)

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Tweet of the week:

CONTEMPLATIVE PROFILE: GERTRUDE THE GREAT

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Gertrude the Great (1256 – c. 1302) was a German Benedictine nun at the monastery of St. Mary at Helfta. She was a mystic who was known for her devotion to the sacred heart of Jesus. Among her written works is a collection of Spiritual Exercises.

A few weeks ago we saw a comparison of the soul to a housewife by the Flemish nun Beatrijs of Antwerp. Gertrude the Great brings us another striking image. Although Gertrude was especially devoted to the sacred heart of Jesus, the Lord instructed her not to forget the other parts of his body. In the Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude, there follows an unusual account of Jesus’ body as a spiritual monastery.

A nun in Gertrude’s monastery writes:

One day, while she was singing Vespers, the Lord said to Gertrude:

 

Behold My Heart,—let it be your temple; then go through the other parts of My Body, and arrange for the other parts of a monastery wherever it seems best to you; for I desire that My sacred Humanity should henceforth be your cloister. . . .

 

Then Gertrude, obeying the commands of God, chose the Feet of her Spouse for her lavatory; His Hands for her work-room; His Mouth for her reception-room, or chapter-room; His Eyes for her school, in which she could read; and His Ears for her confessional.

I confess that I would never have thought of a lavatory in relation to Christ’s body. Call me crazy, but it just wouldn’t occur to me.

However, I love this passage in the Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude because it is such a beautiful image of intimacy. We draw from it the lesson that wherever we go, we can always be spiritually enclosed — housed, sheltered, protected. I think it helps us inhabit the biblical idea that our life is in Christ. Think about it — if Christ is our cloister, our shelter, then we are always in him. We are always just where we should be. We are always home.

Can you imagine making Christ’s humanity your cloister or shelter today?

WEEKLY PRAYER

Posted on by Lisa Deam

A prayer from Saint Augustine (354-430), whose feast day was yesterday (Aug. 28):

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy.

Source

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

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What I Learned from the Solar Eclipse via Carl McColman (what can the eclipse tell us about contemplation?)

8 Ways to Start a Project (Even If You Feel Clueless) via Emily P. Freeman (this hits home because I so often feel clueless)

Reform our Deformed Lives via Renovaré (a prayer by Walter Brueggemann)

I Am Because We Are via Elisabeth Barahona (honoring the I in we with contemplative practices)

Here’s What Happened Along the Way via Michelle Andrea Williams (a writer wrestles with God’s direction)

I Had to Say No to a Good Thing – This Writer’s Life via Andi Cumbo-Floyd (when “no” is your best option)

WEEKLY PRAYER

Posted on by Lisa Deam

A prayer for generosity from St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556):

Eternal Word, only begotten Son of God,
Teach me true generosity.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve.
To give without counting the cost,
To fight heedless of wounds,
To labor without seeking rest,
To sacrifice myself without thought of any reward
Save the knowledge that I have done your will.
Amen.

Source

FRIDAY FAVORITES: CONTEMPLATIVE RESPONSES TO CHARLOTTESVILLE

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Hello friends – for today’s Friday Favorites, I wanted to feature a variety of contemplative responses to Charlottesville. So many writers and bloggers wrote thoughtful posts and prayers about this difficult time in our country and our lives.

Knowing that the community here at The Contemplative Writer (myself included!) stands for love and denounces fear, racism, oppression, and white supremacy, I thought that you would want to see these responses. Some are prayerful, others a call for action. Both are needed.

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A Prayer for Resilience in the Face of White Supremacy via Ruthie Johnson

How to Pray Against Racial Hostility via April Yamasaki

Why I Fail to Understand and Weeping Prayer – A #Compline for Weary, Broken Souls Longing for #Peace via Marvia Davidson

Charlottesville via Carl McColman

Our Work Just Got Harder and austinchanning.com/library/ (book suggestions) via Austin Channing

Calling All Gardeners: A Beginning via Mallory Redmond

Facing Our Legacy of Lynching via D. L. Mayfield

For Our White Friends Desiring to Be Allies via Courtney Ariel

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What contemplative, prayerful, or call-to-action responses have touched you this week?

 

 

FRIDAY FAVORITES FOR PRAYER AND WRITING

Posted on by Lisa Deam

Each Friday I share some of my favorite finds related to praying or writing. If I think it could help you pray or write better, or just “be” better, I’ll include it below.

Do you have someone else’s article or post to share? Join the Contemplative Writers Facebook group, comment on today’s post on my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter (@LisaKDeam) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

*****

Resting Takes a Lot of Work? via Ed Cyzewski (Why is rest so much work?? Read Ed’s take.)

The Spiritual Practice of Honoring Milestones via Jean Wise (honoring the stones along the path of life)

For the Well-Seekers via Caris Adel (“there is a place for you, where your words are wanted, where your feelings are not too much, where the loneliness can be abated.”)

The Belly of the Whale via Richard Rohr (the way of descent in the spiritual life)

Are You Real? via Seth Haines (in a digital world, what does it mean to be real?)

The Adventurous World of Medieval Maps via Lisa Deam (on the Spark My Muse podcast, I am interviewed about medieval maps as guides for our spiritual journey)

State of the Blog Union via Tsh Oxenreider (what does the changing world of blogging mean for you, your writing, and your voice?)

Tweet of the week:

 

FEATURED ARTICLE: Every Christian is a Mystic

Posted on by Lisa Deam

This article in Seedbed is a couple years old, but it’s one of my favorite pieces of writing on Christian mysticism. Why? Because it takes some of the mystery out of mysticism. We often think that a mystical experience must be ecstatic, perhaps involving tears and visions. Or that it’s the preserve of a very saintly kind of person.

Donald Richmond, a clergyman and a Benedictine oblate, explains that this is not the case. Mysticism is not only practical but also essential to a vibrant, everyday faith —  it “is central to the revealed religion of the Bible.” Every Christian who longs to encounter God, who wants her faith to be real and lived, is a mystic. Richmond writes:

When we read our Bibles . . . mystical experiences were frequently referenced. Enoch walked with God. Moses had his burning bush. Abraham entertained “angels.” Gideon spoke with “God.” Samson experienced supernatural strength. Mary spoke with an angel. The disciples saw Jesus transfigured and personally worked wonders. Mysticism is Bible-based religion.

What is mysticism, why does it matter, and how are we practical mystics? The answer to these questions partially resides in formulating a proper definition. After many years of thought, I have arrived at the following: Mysticism is a direct encounter with God by Christ through the Holy Spirit as often (although not always) mediated through Holy Scripture, Sacraments, and Christians living as “saints.”

Christian mysticism is direct encounter. That is, mysticism is experiential religion. It is philosophy (the love of wisdom) practiced.

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Practical mysticism matters. We are hardwired for an experiential faith. We want to “know” penetratingly intense intimacy with God. When the Psalmist wrote, “my flesh yearns for [God],” his words highlighted both desert experience and ardent desire.

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Read more.

Reflection: Have you ever thought of yourself as a mystic?