Palm Sunday Ponderings: Entering the Sanctuary of Silence this Holy Week

Palm Sunday Ponderings...
  
The Holy Week begins...
The Sanctuary waits in silence...
Clothed in purple and palm it stone-stands in stillness
for the first acts of the Divine drama
soon to be played out upon its steps,
as time touches the eternal Now
and sister Moon's cycle signals
the annual encounter with the deep remembrance of redemption's blooded blessing...
Here in sacred time, we are called to trace, to encounter once again,
the Sacred Mystery of Divine Love poured out for humanity.
In this holiest of weeks, 
clothed in the wedding garments 
of symbol and song, 
of liturgy and light, 
the Eternal Action of the Word made Flesh 
inter-penetrates history, 
heals the sin-sundered cosmos, 
and grace weds humanity to divinity once again...
Hurry...
Leave aside Lenten longing...
Be ready to live 
in the in-between of these blessed days 
that 
begin with Hosanna 
and end in 
Alleluia 
and whose 
still centre 
is the cosmic silence 
that follows the last 
healing breath 
of 
the Blessed One...

Blessings to you and yours this Holiest of Weeks...

The practice of Christian Mindfulness: Not Shrinking God but breathing God's Presence in each moment.

Link below to a 20 minute homily I gave recently on the Practice of Christian Mindfulness as part of an ongoing parish mission we Capuchin friars are giving in St. Cronan's Parish, Brackenstown, Co. Dublin.

Do you shrink God to fit your own ideas of Him or do you allow Him to breathe His infinite love through you in each succeeding moment? This is the path of Christian Mindfulness...
Enjoy :)

https://twitter.com/CronanParish/status/702875623396495360

"Breathing into Love": A new course on the practice of Mindfulness in the Christian Tradition

Breathing into Love: The practice of Christian Mindfulness:

“God has given to the earth the breath which feeds it. It is His breath which gives life to all things. And if he were to withhold His breath every thing would be annihilated. His breath vibrates in yours, in your voice. It is the breath of God that you breathe and you are unaware of it.” St. Theophilus of Antioch.

As mindfulness practitioners and teachers we are all familiar with those practices that attempt to teach us to be present, to show up for life, to take a moment by moment approach. We are also aware of the importance of the breath and how our awareness of it plays an important part in this process. Some of us have come to mindfulness to deal with stress, some to improve their relationships, some to deepen a pre-existing meditation practice, some as a way of re-connecting with the deepest part of ourselves or to touch the ancient wisdom of the Sacred Traditions of the world. But for the Christian who seeks the mindful way the present moment is always, above all else, the place of Divine encounter and this encounter is always with the One who is Love. It is love that’s sustains every breath, love that is breathing in us in every moment, love that is holding all things in being, moment to moment, the love that is God. In our tradition the ancient art of monastic attention, known from the desert days of the early church as “Prosekai” sought to bring the practitioner to a mindfulness practice that balanced both attention and intention so as to prepare the whole being body, mind and soul for the journey into meditation and thence into a contemplative way of being that centred the self in a stable spiritual equanimity drawn from the awareness in our very being of the infinite and unconditional divine love from which all that is arises.

(This was the way of the Christian Mystics whose teachings we explore in our other workshops on them in the Sanctuary more of which are scheduled in the coming months. I’ll tell you about them as they arise.)

This art of attentive mindfulness taught by the ancient monastic fathers and mothers was centred on meditative exercises of awareness that sought to bring about a change to a mindful way of life. The practitioner was called to find ways of slowing down so as to become mindful of their breath, of their bodies, of their thoughts, of their actions and their surroundings, and especially of the sacred scriptures and the liturgy. Through those steps in mindfulness they sought to become aware of the Divine in-breathing that is present behind all of these phenomena as they arise. For the Christian Mindfulness Practitioner “breathing into love” is the beginning of the way of pure prayer, a prayer that transforms both our inner self and how we experience reality. In the coming weeks in the Sanctuary Centre in Dublin’s inner city I will be offering a practical and experiential course in these ancient practices beginning with the awareness of the breath and the various ways of praying with it. We will also look at the understanding of the process and goal of meditation in the Christian tradition and the use of the “versiculum”, the prayer word or Christian mantra that allows us to come to stable equanimity and quieten the thoughts. We will then look at the practice of Lectio Divina and its place in the larger process of Meditative prayer and we will encounter the sacred and sacramental character of the present moment and the ways of accessing it as such that have been taught in the Christian tradition.

If you would like to deepen your mindfulness practice and re-connect to the Divine Presence from which the present moment arises in Love, where attention and intention meet and where all of creation reveals it has been breathed into by Love then come along. You may just be surprised…

You can find our more and book your place at www.sanctuary.ie 

The Course details are as follows :

• Starting Wednesday April 6^th 2016
• 7pm - 8.30pm
• 5 week evening course
• Cost: €85.00
• Suitable for beginners and those who wish to deepen their practice
• Introduction to Christian Mindfulness Tradition
• Mix of information, discussion and practice
• Breath practices for stillness and reflection

Further details:

With Brother Richard, this 5 week evening course provides an introduction the tradition of Christian Mindfulness Tradition. This tradition has often been overlooked or not well understood. In the past the practice was mostly confined to contemplative monasteries. This course provides an introduction to the key practices of the tradition and will cover:

• The place of Mindfulness in the Christian Tradition 

• Breath practices for stillness and reflection

• Lectio Divina as a Mindfulness Practice 

• The use of the Versiculum or Christian Mantra

• The Sacrament of the Present Moment 

• Centering Prayer and dealing with the thoughts

• The present as the Place of Divine Encounter 

• The practice of the "Prayer of Calm Abiding"

• The Jesus Prayer

The course is suitable for beginners and for those who wish to deepen their mindfulness practice through uniting it with the Spirituality of the Christian Tradition.
 

“All that God asks of us is that we be faithful to the present moment” Ven. Solanus Casey

Thoughts for a Friday

Thoughts for a Friday:

If you're running to do,
while forgetting to be,
let your doing be being
by being your breathing;
with fullness of mind
not leaving behind
the person you are
in a moment so far
from the real and the now;
lest forgetting quite how
you'd ever get back
to a mind that's on track
and be able to deal
with all that could steal
your peace and your grace
and the light from your face!
So why not breathe deep?
Into now you will leap
and there be quite free
to do and to be,
in one unified whole
that we call the soul,
and from there take flight
to a place of clear light
with no strain and no stress,
no fear and no mess,
but a present that's wide
as the sea at full tide,
from where you'll begin
to let peace back in
and then you will find
your true and clear mind,
always stable and right
in the One who is Light.

A litany of St. Brigid of Ireland

Today is Lá Fheile Bhríde, St. Brigid's Day! It is a solemn feastday here in Ireland as we commemorate the great Brigid of Kildare, Abbess, eldress, healer, wonderworker and patron of Ireland. Traditionally today was seen as the first day of Spring here in Ireland and the work of the year ahead both on the land and in the home was placed under the patronage of St. Brigid... 

Litanies both old and new are wonderful ways of meditating on the life and witness of the saints may this litany bless you and yours this St. Brigid's day.

Brigid of the hearth and the hare

Brigid of the spark and the flame

Brigid of the cloak and the veil

Brigid of the herb and the stars

Brigid of the byre and the kine

Brigid of the ill and the old

Brigid of the young and the wild

Brigid of the poor and the voiceless

Brigid of the oak and the staff

Brigid of the long nights watching

Brigid of the sun’s slow dawning

Brigid of the moon’s spring rising

Brigid of the first bloom’s flowering

Brigid of the well’s gentle healing

Brigid of the Earth’s old wisdom

Brigid of the Nun’s deep chanting

Brigid of the High King of Heaven

Brigid of the rush woven cross

Brigid of the shaven head

Brigid of the lost sword

Brigid of the royal house

Brigid Abbess of the duel house of prayer

Brigid Eldress of the sanctuary’s light

Brigid Wise Woman of the healing touch

Brigid saint of Ireland

Pray for us

An Icon of the Franciscan Contemplative Journey

I love this image of the Christ of the Cross of San Damiano surrounded by our Capuchin saints and martyrs. It was created to celebrate the recent beatification of the many brothers who were martyred during the Spanish persecution of the Church and the Civil War. Sadly I don't have the name of the artist..but if anyone out there knows then please let me know and I will duly credit them.

It is a profoundly theological image which, though modern, uses medieval imagery to depict our sainted brothers in the act of contemplating the Christ of the Cross of San Damiano. This is the Cross before which St. Francis had the vision of the Crucified who told him to, "Go and Rebuild my Church, which as you see is falling into ruin!", thus beginning the Franciscan Movement. 

Depiction of the moment of the Vision of the Christ of San Damiano

The Cross of San Damiano is unusal as it represents not a a suffering or dying Christ but one who is the Eternal Logos (The Word of God) and the Crucified and Risen Christ in the One Eternal Now as depicted by the Divine Mandorla. (The Full Divine Halo that surrounds Christ and indicates the fullness of His Divinity and the point of contact between the Divine annd Creation.) His place within the Trinity is seen in the trifold knot of His Robe and His vivifying of all creation is seen in the concave abdomen which shows Him breathing life into all creation.

Modern version of the Full San Damiano Crucifix

As for the friars who surround Him they rest within the light of the Mandorla (the Divine Uncreated Light) to show they have completed the Spiritual journey of their vocation to Franciscan brotherhood in the living of the Gospel. The four stars illustrate the four Gospels by which the fullness of the Revelation of the Christ is received and meditated upon by the brothers. A perfect meditation on the Franciscan Contemplative journey in iconographic symbolism!

Relics of some of the Capuchin Saints of the Spanish Persecution

A meditation and blessing for New Year's Eve

What of last year?

Be not afraid

to

let it go.

All of it;

the joys and the sorrows,

the burdens and the blessings.

Put them down gently 

and,

with reverence,

place them 

into the wounded hands

of Divine Mercy 

and then receive back

from

the source of all Love

the only real gift

that you may bring 

into 

the New Year;

wisdom

What of the New Year?

Be not afraid...

but, 

enter it with joy.

Welcome all of the gifts 

it waits to bestow, 

knowing that, 

when you rest secure in the infinite love that dwells in the wounded heart of Divine Mercy, 

then all 

becomes grace;

the joys and the sorrows, 

the burdens and the blessings,

and you will receive back 

from the source of all Love

the only real gift

that any year can bring;

wisdom.

Tonight, 

however you choose to spend it, alone or with others, 

in quiet introspection 

or in loud celebration, 

in the moment 

between 

last year 

and new year, 

breathe deep, 

pause,

and know that in places 

all over the world 

you are being held in prayer 

Blessings of wisdom on your New Year!