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Friday Favorites for Prayer and Writing

Posted on May 27, 2016May 25, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

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, then 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 (@edcyzewski) to nominate your favorite articles, blog posts, and books by Thursday at noon each week.

Why Mysticism Still Inspires by Carl McColman

Real or Not Real by Addie Zierman (an important post about what we build our faith on)

Noelle Cliffe: How God Messed Up My Happy Atheist Life (If you love the Toast, you’ll love this)

24 Things No One Tells You About Book Publishing (It’s on BuzzFeed but it’s still true)

Blessed Are the Agnostics

9 Ways to Foster a Contemplative Church

From Ed’s Blog: People Are Expendable: My Root Struggle with Church

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Contemplative Profiles: Teresa of Avila

Posted on May 26, 2016May 25, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

Teresa of Avila (1515 to 1582) is remembered as a practical mystic whose combination of contemplation and service make her a particularly friendly guide for Protestants seeking an introduction to contemplative practices. Her writings on spirituality, the soul, and spiritual direction are viewed as classics, and she used her considerable leadership abilities to found 14 Carmelite convents–a point that made her less than popular among the defensive men leading the church throughout Spain during her lifetime.

While we would do well to remember the writings of Teresa, another aspect of her legacy may provide particular encouragement. Her first 20 years in a convent were largely unproductive as she wavered with her commitment and struggled with sin. It took a dramatic spiritual encounter with Christ to finally propel her into deeper spiritual practices.

How many of us have worried about missing opportunities to draw near to God or struggling with sins for years? Teresa reminds us that there is always hope.

The Interior Castle is one of her best-known books on prayer, but this brief profile in Christian History offers a helpful introduction:

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“Whoever has not begun the practice of prayer, I beg for the love of the Lord not to go without so great a good. There is nothing here to fear but only something to desire.”

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The Interior Castle describes the soul as a “castle made entirely of diamond or of a very clear crystal, in which there are many rooms.” Some are above, some below, some to the sides, “and in the very center and middle is the main dwelling place where the very secret exchanges between God and the soul take place.” Teresa wanted to teach her readers how to enter this castle, that is, how to pray, so that they might commune more intimately with God.

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For Teresa true suffering comes from being in the world and serving others. Spiritual progress is measured neither by self-imposed penance nor by the sweetest pleasures of mystical experiences but by growth in constant love for others and an increasing desire within for the will of God.

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For Reflection

How have your attempts at prayer been stifled by fear?

Why We Need Solitude, Especially for Creativity

Posted on May 25, 2016May 24, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

Solitude and giving ourselves short breaks throughout the day for our minds to wander aren’t just healthy for our spiritual practices. They can also help us with our creative work. The following article from LifeHacker explores the research behind creativity, and the ways that we can nurture creative thinking.

The short version is that taking a walk can be extremely good for both your prayer practices and for your creative project!

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“What Barron found was that the most creative thinkers all exhibited certain common traits: an openness to one’s inner life; a preference for ambiguity and complexity; an unusually high tolerance for disorder and disarray (and vodka and orange juice if we’re talking about Capote); and the ability to extract order from chaos.”

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“From a social, cultural, and scientific standpoint, creativity seems to come more freely when we’re able to utilize the parts of our brain that are less connected to reality and more free flowing in nature.”

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“In almost every ‘system’ of creativity devised, the most important part of the process involves a letting go of your consciousness to let the deeper parts of your mind come in and make connections. Without incubation—that space away from direct thought—there is no Eureka!”

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“One of the traits that Barron found during his creativity study was that creative people are more introspective. But not only in the sense that they have an increased level of self-awareness, but that they also have a familiarity with the darker and more uncomfortable parts of their psyche.

You’ve probably read about the creative benefits of daydreaming, but one of the things that is rarely mentioned in these essays is the importance of uninhibited daydreaming—not letting your brain filter the thoughts coming into your head.”

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Saturday Prayer: Thomas Merton’s Prayer in Thoughts in Solitude

Posted on May 21, 2016May 19, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

Thomas Merton shares the following prayer in his book Thoughts in Solitude. And just for clarity’s sake, the subject of his prayer is Jesus:

“Why should I want to be rich, when You were poor? Why should I desire to be famous and powerful in the eyes of men, when the sons of those who exalted the false prophets and stoned the true rejected You and nailed You to the Cross? Why should I cherish in my heart a hope that devours me—the hope for perfect happiness in this life—when such hope, doomed to frustration, is nothing but despair? ….

Let my trust be in Your mercy, not in myself. Let my hope be in Your love, not in health, or strength, or ability or human resources.”

Friday Favorites for Prayer and Writing

Posted on May 20, 2016May 19, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

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, then I’ll include it below.

Researchers Find More Changes Are More Effective (Out with the Old)

Is Solitude the Secret to Unlocking Our Creativity

The Age of Loneliness Is Killing Us

The Busy Person’s Lies

Ed’s blog: The Hidden Danger of Business for Creative Workers

Looking for more recommendations? Check out our Prayer Resources page.

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Contemplative Profiles: The Cloud of Unknowing

Posted on May 19, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

One of the most influential books on contemplative prayer was penned anonymously in Middle English in Midland England during the latter half of the 14th century. The monk, presumed to be a Carthusian dedicated to constant silence and contemplation, shared a series of instructions presumably with a student.

A series of 17 manuscripts preserved the book, and a handful of scholars and contemplatives studied it over the years. However, it finally took on a wider notice in the 1900’s as the contemplative prayer movement sought to make the prayer practices of the historic church accessible for all. While contemplative prayer was quite common among all Christians until the 1600’s, it has enjoyed a revival thanks to the faithful work of this solitary monk and those who have continued to practice the loving search for God.

We read the following about this anonymous monk in Christian History:

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“His intentional anonymity illustrates his main message: Christ must become more visible as his followers grow kinder and humbler. Anonymous wants readers “sincere in their intentions to follow Christ” in love. A series of letters written by this master teacher to his student, the Cloud represents the ancient tradition of Christian contemplative wisdom.”

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We can’t think our way to God. That’s why I’m willing to abandon everything I know, to love the one thing I cannot think. He can be loved, but not thought. By love, God can be embraced and held, but not by thinking.

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You only need a naked intent for God. When you long for him, that’s enough. If you want to gather this focus into one word, making it easier to grasp, select a little word of one syllable, not two. The shorter the word, the more it helps the work of the spirit. God or love works well. Fasten it to your heart. Fix your mind on it permanently, so nothing can dislodge it.

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Read more about the Cloud of Unknowing in the updated work by William Meninger, The Loving Search for God: Contemplative Prayer and the Cloud of Unknowing.

Reflection

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you a word or phrase you can focus on for five minutes today.

How Do We Examine Ourselves Hopefully?

Posted on May 18, 2016May 17, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

It’s easy to be hard on ourselves when we try to evaluate how we’re doing. In fact, our harsh personal standards may even keep us from practicing personal examination and asking open-ended questions.

Author Emily Freeman recently wrote about both the pursuit of being at rest and how she examines herself. She hits on a really import point about the tone we use. While she began by thinking of rest as a matter of “If…”, she found that it was far more hopeful to think of “when” her soul is at rest.

Tone matters when we deal with ourselves. Hard questions are good, but we need to offer ourselves hope. Here’s what Emily writes:

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“If my soul were truly at rest, I would laugh more, I would stop making so many lists, I would be able to sit still for longer periods of time, I wouldn’t make decisions out of fear…

I would rather take out the “if” altogether and replace it with “when” –

When my soul is truly at rest, I laugh more, I stop making so many lists, I am able to sit still for longer periods of time, I don’t make decisions out of fear.”

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“Asking myself questions that matter are important for my own spiritual growth. But equally important is the tone I use when I ask the questions. I want to cast a hopeful vision, not weigh myself down with despair.”

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“I have experienced soul rest more completely now at 36 than I did at 28. I hope that continues to be true of me as I get older.”

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Read the rest and check out Emily’s bestselling books while you’re at it!

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Featured Contemplative Book: 100 Days in the Secret Place

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

Week Three: Turning to God First

Whether you are encouraged or discouraged, living in holiness or living in sin, the first step in spirituality is always the same: turn to God. In fact, Jeanne Guyon suggests that fighting temptations directly is the sure way to lose.

How is this so? Because temptations flee in the presence of God. As we abide in Christ, we are protected and renewed.

Gene Edwards, author of Divine Romance, has gathered together key writings from three notable Christian mystics from the seventeenth century: 100 Days in the Secret Place: Classic Writings from Madame Guyon, Francois Fenelon, and Michael Molinos on the Deeper Christian Life by Gene Edwards. Here are several quotes to consider today:

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“The more clearly you see your true self, the clearer you also see how miserable your self-nature really is; and the more you will abandon your whole being to God. Seeing that you have such a desperate need of Him, you will press toward a more intimate relationship with Him.”

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“If you attempt to struggle directly with these temptations, you will only strengthen them; and in the process of this struggle, your soul will be drawn away from its intimate relationship with the Lord. You see, a close, intimate relationship to Christ should always be your soul’s only purpose.”

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“What does a little child do when he sees something that frightens him or confuses him? He doesn’t stand there and try to fight the thing. He will, in fact, hardly look at the thing that frightens him. Rather, the child will quickly run into the arms of his mother. There, in those arms, he is safe. In exactly the same way, you should turn from the dangers of temptation and run to your God!”

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“Once the heart has been gained by God, everything else will eventually take care of itself. This is why He requires the heart above all else.”

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Learn more here.

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For Reflection

Saturday Prayer: Litany of Penance

Posted on May 14, 2016May 13, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

The Litany of Penance may be familiar if you attend services in an Episcopal or Anglican church. A shorter version of it is often included in the Night office of the Divine Hours.

When we run out of our own words or don’t know where to start in prayer, a simple prayer of confession can offer a good place to begin, claiming God’s mercy and trusting in the renewing power of God’s love for you.

The full litany follows:

Litany of Penitence
Most holy and merciful Father: I confess to you and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that I have sinned by my own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. I have not loved you with my whole heart, and mind, and strength. I have not loved my neighbors as myself. I have not forgiven others, as I have been forgiven. Have mercy on me, Lord.

I have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. I have not been true to the mind of Christ. I have grieved your Holy Spirit. Have mercy on me, Lord.

I confess to you, Lord, all my past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of my life. I confess to you, Lord.

My self-indulgent appetites and ways, and my exploitation of other people, I confess to you, Lord.

My anger at my own frustration, and my envy of those more fortunate than I, I confess to you, Lord.

My intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and my dishonesty in daily life and work, I confess to you, Lord.

My negligence in prayer and worship, and my failure to commend the faith that is in me, I confess to you, Lord.

Accept my repentance, Lord, for the wrongs I have done: for my blindness to human need and suffering, and my indifference to injustice and cruelty, Accept my repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward my neighbors, and for my prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from me, Accept my repentance, Lord.

For my waste and pollution of your creation, and my lack of concern for those who come after us, Accept my repentance, Lord.

Restore me, good Lord, and let your anger depart from me, Favorably hear me for your mercy is great. Accomplish in me and all of your church the work of your salvation, That I may show forth your glory in the world. By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, Bring me with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Follow this updated page of the Divine Hours

Friday Favorites for Prayer and Writing

Posted on May 13, 2016May 12, 2016 by Ed Cyzewski

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, then I’ll include it below.

Benedictine Stability: When the Going Gets Tough, Stay

Change Is Not for the Faint of Heart

John Wesley on Conversion and Spiritual Formation

Facebook Has 50 Minutes of Your Time… It Wants More

Doctors Explain How Hiking Changes Our Brains

Looking for more recommendations? Check out our Prayer Resources page.