More and more interest in springing up about mystical practices and becoming mystical oneself. George Maloney has has a new book out, called Discovering the Hidden Reality: A Journey Into Christian Mystical Prayer that deals with this very issue. Let me quote:
In the Christian East of the Greek, Slavic and Syrian traditions, mysticism is synonymous with being in touch with the "really Real." Reality abides, not in the changing, in the temporal, but in the unfathomable abyss where God speaks within our hearts in silence. Mysticism is a living experience of God, not as an object outside of ourselves, but as an encompassing power of permeating love that, as St. Augustine said, is "more intimate to me than I to myself."
Toward that end, we see groups springing up that seek to bring the monastic flavor to their lives, particularly the custom of Lectio Divina. Such groups go far into bringing what was once the privileged (or so thought) of the monastic community to the lay person in the right here and now.
If you know of such a group, I encourage you to join. If you don't, I encourage you to form one. For praying in community, and sharing our lectio, makes one more aware of God within ourselves. And mysticism is all about becoming aware of that Divine Presence, which is already deep within our soul, than it is anything else.
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Yet can ‘groups’ really understand or comprehend what the monastic life is about? A good deal of what passes for ‘spirituality’ outside and (ironically) in the cloister is little more than emotional masturbation. The real ‘gift’ of such a life cannot be grasped for one’s own gratification and contemplation. Too often there is a bias towards making the self feel better about the self in spirituality – but particular in our present day and age where individualism is endemic even in the Body of Christ.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine – now a rather high flying Anglican priest, though at the time an ordinand – once told me he had begun to pick up small change he saw lying in the street and thought it was humble to do this. I asked him, only half facetiously, if he was proud of his humility. But there lies the problem. If you become overly interested in your piety then ‘you have your reward...’ (cf. Matt 6:2). My own, considerable, experience with many who claim to be ‘contemplative’ suggests they are deluded into mistaking self-obsession for piety. Though this extends to many who call themselves devout – in whatever religion you choose to name – often it is little more than worshipping at the altar of the self.
I discuss my reasoning for this rather damning comment here: http://problemwithrelgion.blogspot.com/2010/08/yesterday-i-made-my-annual-visit-to.html - it is like many of my posts, overly long, but the main arguments are found from the paragraph that begins with ‘Obviously...’ if you want to skip the bumph!
Interesting blog, no doubt I will return.
Regards:
S.
Thank you for your insight. I agree, following the spiritual has its hazards, and we all tend to do anything, spiritual or otherwise, for ourselves and how it makes us feel. But even in an imperfect devotion, God can raise souls up to higher heights, and use them for his work. Think of his own disciples. Now there's a group of self-indulged devotees.
ReplyDeleteHaving lived in monastic life myself for over 29 years before health issues made me leave, I can say that I've met very "holy" souls within the monastery. Where they all seeking God purely for himself? I think they thought so.
What I'm saying here is we cannot forego a good practice because it is fraught with imperfections. I hold that God really doesn't ask us to be "perfect". He ask us for good will, effort, open heart, and self-reflection. And if on our journey, we become saturated with self, he will give us opportunities for self-knowledge. What we do about that opportunity, now that's the rub.