Category Archives: contemplative virtues

Daily Riches: Solitude and Superficiality (Dallas Willard, Louis Bouyer and Brian Mclaren) *

Posted on by under "Being" with Jesus, contemplative virtues, Silence, Solitude, Spiritual Disciplines

“It is solitude and solitude alone that opens the possibility of a radical relationship to God that can withstand all external events up to and beyond death. …In solitude, we confront our own soul with its obscure forces and conflicts that escape our attention when we are interacting with others. Thus, ‘Solitude is a terrible trial, for it serves to crack open and burst apart the shell of our superficial securities. It opens out to us the unknown abyss that we all carry within us . . . [and] discloses the fact that these abysses are haunted.’ We can only survive solitude if we cling to Christ there. And yet what we find of him in that solitude enables us to return to society as free persons.” Dallas Willard, quoting Louis Bouyer

“Solitude, Sabbath, and Silence: Resting in the presence of God, without work or speech, so one becomes more aware of the companionship, grace, and love of God than one has been of the companionship, demands, and duties associated with other people. … Contemplative practices … are exercised more or less in solitude, making the first cluster [solitude, Sabbath and silence] in many ways the key to the rest.” Brian Mclaren

“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.” Genesis 32:24

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Are you able to be alone with God for an extended period of time? Does it seem difficult to do that? If so, can you explain why?
  • Dallas Willard stresses the utmost importance of solitude. If you don’t make a habit of time spent alone with God, he would say, you have to practice something else that has the same benefits. Can you think of another practice that confronts your own soul “with it’s obscure forces and conflicts that escape your attention when you are interacting with others?” that bursts apart “the shell of your superficial securities?” that forces you to “cling to Christ?”
  • Do you have anyone with whom to share your spiritual journey? to encourage you in something like the practice of solitude?

Abba, I want you to be more real to me that anyone else in my life. I don’t want a superficial faith. Help me protect my solitude. Meet with me there.

__________

For More: The Spirituality of the New Testament and the Fathers by Louis Bouyer

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Is Monastic Life Pointless? (Judith Valente, Aldous Huxley and Mother Teresa) *

Posted on by under Being and Doing, Contemplation and Activism, contemplative virtues

“In all the historic formulations of the Perennial Philosophy it is axiomatic that the end of human life is contemplation … that a society is good to the extent that it renders contemplation possible for its members; and that the existence of at least a minority of contemplatives is necessary for the well-being of any society.”  Aldous Huxley

“I used to think of monasteries as hopeless throwbacks to the past, a case of let the last monk or sister standing turn out the lights. Now I look upon them as windows to the future — a future we desperately need in our society. One that stresses community over competition, consensus over conflict, simplicity over consumption, service over self-aggrandizement and quiet over the constant chatter in our lives.” Judith Valente

“The day consists primarily in prayer. …We are contemplatives who live in the midst of the world. …If we were not in constant union with God, it would be impossible for us to endure the sacrifices that are required to live among the destitute.” Mother Teresa

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Can you see how contemplatives are “necessary for the well-being of any society?” Do you have any in your life to learn from?
  • Can you imagine a community that “stresses community over competition, consensus over conflict, simplicity over consumption, service over self-aggrandizement and quiet over the constant chatter in our lives?” Shouldn’t that be the church? Does your church regularly call its members to these “monastic” values? Do you practice some of them yourself?
  • Mother Teresa insists that radical service must be undergirded by a contemplative lifestyle. In Isaiah God says strength is found by trusting him in quiet “rest.” Does your trust in God lead you to quiet rest? Are you attempting to live contemplatively?

Abba, may I be a “contemplative in this world”, practicing these ancient values, for my good, and the good of my world.

__________

For More: Atchison Blue by Judith Valente

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Search Your Heart … And Be Silent (Soren Kierkegaard, Isaac of Ninevah, and Brigid Herman) *

Posted on by under contemplative virtues, Loving Listening, Silence

“Every man who delights in uttering a multitude of words, even though he says admirable things, is empty within.
If you love truth, be a lover of silence.”
Isaac of Ninevah

“The present state of the world, the whole of life, is diseased.
If I were a doctor and were asked for my advice, I would reply:
‘Create silence! Bring men to silence.
The Word of God cannot be heard in the noisy world of today.
Create silence.'”
Soren Kierkegaard

“The most formidable enemy of the spiritual life is self-deception
and if there is a better cure for self-deception than silence,
it has yet to be discovered.”
Brigid E. Herman

“Tremble and do not sin;
  when you are on your beds,
   search your hearts and be silent.”  
  Psalm 4:4

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Have you ever delighted in “uttering a multitude of words … even admirable things” – and then regretted it later? If so, what was it exactly that you regretted?
  • Most people find silence uncomfortable. What about you? What does your answer say about you?
  • Can you imagine “loving” silence? Why would you want to love silence?
  • Do you think the Word of God can be heard in the noisy world of today? Think first before you answer.

Abba, the ever-present noise without and the plague of flies within make finding and experiencing silence challenging – and all the more necessary. Please help me to search my heart in a silent place where I can be cured from my self-deception and escape the disease of my world.

__________

For More: The Ministry of Silence by Brigid E. Herman

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“A faith without doubts is like a human body with no antibodies in it. People who blithely go through life too busy or indifferent to ask the hard questions about why they believe as they do will find themselves defenseless against either the experience of tragedy or the probing questions of a smart skeptic. A person’s faith can collapse almost overnight if she failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflection.” – Tim Keller   In these Daily Riches I hope to encourage “long reflection” rather than simplistic faith. Thanks for reading and sharing this daily blog! – Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Solitude – Seek It or Fly From It? (Richard Baxter and Jurgen Moltmann) *

Posted on by under contemplative virtues, Silence, Solitude

“We seldom read of God’s appearing

by Himself or His angels
or to any of His prophets or saints in a throng
but frequently when they are alone.”
Richard Baxter

“… what are virtues for the mystic are torment and sickness for the modern man or woman: estrangement, loneliness, silence, solitude, inner emptiness, deprivation, poverty, not-knowing, and so forth …. What the monks sought for in order to find God, modern men and women fly from as if it were the devil.” Jurgen Moltmann

“…Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida,
while he dismissed the crowd. After leaving them,
he went up on a mountainside to pray.” Mark 6:45,46
“One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them,
whom he also designated apostles:”  Luke 6:12
“About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him
and went up onto a mountain to pray.”  Luke 9:28

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • Why do you think God most often makes himself known to someone who is alone?
  • Are you regularly alone before God, or would that represent “torment and sickness” for you?
  • What plan can you make to regularly escape the “throng” as Jesus did, and give God more of your undivided attention?

Abba, help me to learn to leave the crowd behind and make myself available to you – not focusing on my problems or needs, but simply giving you my affection and undivided attention.

__________

For More: Experiences of God by Jurgen Moltmann

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to provide you with something of uncommon value each day in 400 words or less. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)

Daily Riches: Is Monastic Life Pointless? (Judith Valente, Aldous Huxley and Mother Teresa)

Posted on by under Being and Doing, Contemplation and Activism, contemplative virtues

“In all the historic formulations of the Perennial Philosophy it is axiomatic that the end of human life is contemplation … that a society is good to the extent that it renders contemplation possible for its members; and that the existence of at least a minority of contemplatives is necessary for the well-being of any society.”  Aldous Huxley

“I used to think of monasteries as hopeless throwbacks to the past, a case of let the last monk or sister standing turn out the lights. Now I look upon them as windows to the future — a future we desperately need in our society. One that stresses community over competition, consensus over conflict, simplicity over consumption, service over self-aggrandizement and quiet over the constant chatter in our lives.” Judith Valente

“The day consists primarily in prayer. …We are contemplatives who live in the midst of the world. …If we were not in constant union with God, it would be impossible for us to endure the sacrifices that are required to live among the destitute.” Mother Teresa

“In repentance and rest is your salvation,
in quietness and trust is your strength,
but you would have none of it.” Isaiah 30:15

Moving From Head to Heart

  • Can you see how contemplatives are “necessary for the well-being of any society?” Do you have any in your life to learn from?
  • Can you imagine a community that “stresses community over competition, consensus over conflict, simplicity over consumption, service over self-aggrandizement and quiet over the constant chatter in our lives?” Shouldn’t that be the church? Does your church regularly call its members to these “monastic” values? Do you practice some of them yourself?
  • Mother Teresa insists that radical service must be undergirded by a contemplative lifestyle. In Isaiah God says strength is found by trusting him in quiet “rest.” Does your trust in God lead you to quiet rest? Are you attempting to live contemplatively?

Abba, may I be a “contemplative in this world”, practicing these ancient values, for my good, and the good of my world.

__________


For More: Atchison Blue by Judith Valente

_________________________________________________

The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to give you something of uncommon value each day in less than 400 words. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)


Daily Riches: “Change Yourself First” (David K. Flowers)

Posted on by under Change Yourself First, contemplative virtues, Hurry Sickness, Silence, Solitude, Stillness

“You don’t need to fix your friends or family. You don’t need to solve all the problems that confront you. If you can simply learn to not be controlled by fear — your own or that of others — you will be a non-anxious presence in the lives of others, and there is nothing they need more. So how do you do this? By confronting your own anxieties and fears head-on. An anxious person cannot be a non-anxious presence, obviously. The world is full of people wanting to solve all the problems of the world. But the world would profit much more if people would first confront their own anxieties and the things that cause them 1) to have to fill every silence with meaningless chatter, 2) to stay constantly busy, and 3) to do anything to avoid being still.”  David K. Flowers

“First get rid of the log in your own eye;
then you will see well enough
to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”
Jesus in Matthew 7:5

Moving From the Head to the Heart

  • It’s much easier to focus on “fixing” another person (a spouse, a child, a friend) than it is to look within. In many instances, Jesus wants us to leave the other person to him. Is there someone in your life right now that you’re trying to “fix?”
  • Flowers suggests we can nevertheless powerfully help others by bringing a “non-anxious presence” into our relationships with them. Do you regularly have a non-anxious presence?
  • Can you spend time before God in silence and stillness? Are you too busy to be without anxiety? What can you do differently to have more of a “non-anxious presence?”

Abba, I know I need to learn more about slowing down, sitting still, being quiet and being alone with you. I want to learn to rest in your love – and offer it to others. Please teach me.

__________

For More: Living Truthfully: Discovering the Freedom that Comes From Finding, Facing, and Following the Truth … by David K. Flowers

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The “Daily Riches” from RicherByFar are for your encouragement as you seek after God, and as he seeks after you. My goal is to provide you with something of uncommon value each day in about 300 words. I hope you’ll follow my blog, and share it with others. I appreciate your interest!  –  Bill (Psalm 90:14)