Easter Time

SUNSHINE - EASTER MORNING

 

Bright - clear sunshine - early

Easter morning - lovely

blue sky - hardly a cloud.

Sun brightens spring garden -
smiling yellow daffodils - mysterious
blue - pink - white hyacinths.

Aroma touches you a mile away.

Pink - yellow primrose -
small but not the least.

Gentle breeze - daffodils shake
their heads in joy.

Sunshine covers all - colors
blend together like a concert.
I am happy in the sunlight -
light is celebrating

                                               the Risen Lord.

Jesus' life - death - resurrection
overwhelm me. Such a good man -
caught in the web of evil intentions.

Such a good man - Why such an end?
Jesus' passion repeated many times in
suffering of good people -

innocent but devastated -

endless wars – violence – hatred.

Sunlight is quiet – strong -   clear -

 

overcame darkness of the night.

Light – day – night – darkness -

big mystery.

Life has many turns -
clear sunshine gives me hope.

Lovely – beautiful –

giving a good ending to a sad story -
our story too!

The Father wanted a happy ending
despite it all!

 

Robert Trabold

 

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­                                         -----------------------------------------------------

 

CONTEMPLATIVE PEACE

 

Robert Trabold

 

 

            During the 1960’s, there has been a rebirth of mystical prayer in the West because at that time, Western people encountered the contemplative paths of the Far Eastern religions. This led to the spread of New Age spiritualities from the East and also enabled Western Christians to discover their mystical prayer tradition that had been lost since the Protestant Reformation. This rediscovery facilitated spiritual seekers to encounter God – the divine - at their center and still point and brought many fruits, not the least, a sense of peace with life.

 

            At the heart of the Western mystical tradition is the reality that in contemplative prayer, we have an experience of the presence of the absolute at our center and still point. This is a very dramatic experience and occurs in the silence. Contemplatives cultivate a discipline of silence so that they can enter into the depths of their person to have an encounter with the divine. This meeting with God has two defining characteristics. On the one hand, it is a very close and intimate encounter at our center touching us with its intimacy. In all human friendships, even in such a close one as marriage, the other is always opposite to us but in mystical prayer, the divine is totally within us and we feel this difference from other types of relationships. On the other hand, as we grow in our contemplative path, we note that this intimate presence has a sense of mystery; it is something we cannot completely grasp and is like sand slipping through our fingers. This is because we are in relationship with God who is transcendent and absolute and so beyond our comprehension. As a result, there is a sense of darkness and unknowingness despite such intimacy. For this reason, John of the Cross in his beautiful poem ‘The Dark Night’ speaks about the closeness and fire of this friendship as always taking place in the night.

 

“In a dark night

filled with fires of love”

                                  (my translation)

 

            Because the intimacy of this mystical experience of the presence of God, we realize that we are not alone on the pilgrimage of on earth; at our center and still point is the divine accompanying us through the years and ups and downs of our human life. This sense of accompaniment gives us a sense of peace which the world cannot give and is special because it comes from the absolute. John Main (9-10) mentions that as we grow in this peace and friendship, we encounter God as the ground of our being and in this relationship, we find our true selves. We are spiritual beings open to the transcendent who completes us. We are not taken up entirely with the things of the world and their fleetingness but center our life on the presence of the divine within us; we define ourselves as human in this new relationship with God. We have found ourselves and a sense of peace comes into our lives because we now have a true picture of ourselves. This helps us very much find security in facing the trials and difficulties of our human life and of the world we live in.

 

            In this inner contemplative journey to discover the presence of God at our center and still point and in which we discover our true selves, we realize that the divine is calling us to a relationship of love. In one sense, the absolute is running after us and inviting us to have an intimate friendship. God, the ground of our being, is compassionate, cares for us and deeply loves us. In the writings and poetry of the mystics, they express amazement at this initiative of the divine to reach out to us. The last few lines of the beautiful poem of John of the Cross, “Flame of Love” describe this well.

 

“How gently and lovingly

you rest on me,

where you alone dwell;

in your beautiful breath

full of goodness and beauty

you gently entice me to love you.”

                                                 (my translation)

             This realization on how much the divine loves us brings a needed peace in our lives. Because we are human and the world we live in is filled with injustices, violence and constant turmoil, we feel insecure in the universe.  The philosopher, Martin Heidegger, mentions that we are thrown into the universe at our birth and it is a place of contingencies. We have to face our humanity, sicknesses, the violence of the world and our death. The world and the universe in which we live are unfriendly places and make us feel uncomfortable. But as we grow in our contemplative path and this relationship of love with the divine, we have a sense of peace that despite it all, there is a hand that is holding us and will guide us through the difficulties of our life and world.  Confidence takes hold of us. We know that life and the universe that we live in are beyond us; we are not in control and never will be.  However, we are called to rest in the love of God; we know that the divine is in control and this gives to us a sense of confidence and peace. John of the Cross expresses this beautifully in the last lines of the beautiful poem, “Dark Night.”

 

“Everything is ceasing,

I forget myself.

I leave all my cares

forgotten among the lilies.”

                                                  (my translation)

  

            In conclusion, Western people are living in the renaissance of mystical prayer originating in the creative times of the 1960’s. It is a great richness and the many contemporary contemplative prayer movements, both eastern and western, make this available to us. We should take advantage of them and grow in the sense of peace which mystical prayer gives us. Our human life and the world we live in have more than enough of problems and crisis. The divine – Our Beloved, however, is present at our center and still point and we are called to cultivate a relationship with Him/Her, grow in and enjoy the contemplative peace that arises from it.

 

“I will seduce my love, lead her into the desert and speak to her heart.”

Hosea, 2, 16.

 

Main, John. The Heart of Creation. New York: Continuum, 1998.

 

                                             ------------------------------------------