Progress in Prayer

TOMBSTONE :

MARIE DE L’INCARNATION, QUÉBEC

ROBERT TRABOLD

Stark  black tombstone

heavy – large

Marie de l’Incarnation

1599-1672.

Black sets tone for the room

silence – depth – mystery.

Tombstone – large – heavy

adds to the mystery.

I hear the words of John

of the Cross in his famous poem

“In a Dark Night”

darkness – blackness

mystery – depth.

Poem filled with passion.

Two lovers meet in the dark

night

filled with life – light.

Marie’s tombstone – black

dark – filled

with  love – life.

Her lover Jesus – she called

Him her bridegroom.

I sit in the presence of such

dark – black passion – love.

I ask Marie to help me

 enter – feel the love

unity between them.

Life is mysterious

So is love. Marie

fell in love with the Divine

despite the night – darkness.

We cannot expect much more on earth.

John’s poem – Marie’s tombstone

tell us this.

I am in a dark night

hope to feel the pulse of this love.

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PROGRESS IN PRAYER

ROBERT TRABOLD

            On occasion, it is worthwhile for us to sit back and reflect on what is happening in our daily practice of contemplative prayer. Each day twice a day for twenty minutes, we sit in silence and repeat our mantra. In this process, it is important to remember that during these periods, the Holy Spirit enters into our lives and this is an act of love on the divine’s part. This is vital because unless we are loved, we really cannot become full human beings. The faithful love of us by the Spirit is a great gift because in human life, we cannot find such unconditional love. In human life and despite the promises of the other, human love can come and go. So the love that the Spirit gives to us is a great gift that should impact our whole life. We do not have to worry about infidelity on the part of the Spirit because He/She is always there. This is a wonderful gift to us because we are humans and our life is subject to the effects of our failings and selfish. We are plagued with these things until our years on earth are over. Despite our many imperfections, the Spirit is present to us and loves us and ultimately transforms us into followers who can love the Lord and our neighbor.

            This gradual transformation of ourselves by the action of the Spirit reminds us of the story in the gospels where the apostles were very confused by the crucifixion and death of Jesus and locked themselves into the upper room afraid to go out. The gospel story tells us that Jesus appeared to them in their midst and breathed on them saying ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’ At that point, the disciples became new people, not afraid any more of the police and Roman soldiers but left the room and began to preach the good news that Jesus has risen from the dead and offers us a new life in God.

            Our daily fidelity to prayer over time should give us also this transformation. The presence of the Spirit in our mediation sessions is making us new men and women like what happened to the disciples in the upper room. The same Spirit is present and within us, loving us and inviting us to do the same. This is a great gift.  No longer do we have to wander on earth aimlessly but the Spirit is on our side leading us to greater Christian maturity. There are many ways to live our life, some good, others bad which can be detrimental to us and our world.

            The essence of contemplative prayer then is this action of the Spirit within us during our meditation. This is the important part. It is action directly by God. It also puts into perspective our fidelity to the discipline of meditation. We are called to be faithful to the two twenty minute periods of prayer daily. This is very important because it shows our reciprocity to the Divine action. But we have to remember that our fidelity to meditation is not the primary action but the secondary one.  The primary action is the presence of the Spirit who loves us and breathes new life into us making us new men and women as what happened to the disciples in the upper room. If we grow in the realization of this primary action of the Spirit in our prayer, over the years, we will wonder at this action and be grateful that the Divine has made us the recipients of this love.

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