‘FOR
YOU ALONE, MY SOUL WAITS IN SILENCE!’
Robert
Trabold
Slowly distinctly, I whisper:
“For you alone, my soul waits in
silence!”
My voice arises from the depths
words vibrate in my whole body
coming from deepest parts of my
center
whose depth is infinite
endless tunnels, stairs, deep
darkness
so still noise never penetrates
there.
I enter, descend slowly but am
hopelessly lost in mystery
mystery of an encounter in my
depths.
I meet my Beloved utter
stillness.
My Beloved speaks in silence
clue to the divine’s presence.
I repeat: “For you alone, my soul
waits in silence!”
feel resonance of the words
words of love, longing, words of waiting.
I sit in utter silence, I feel
nothingness
but emptiness is full
out of darkness out of mystery comes
light.
What meeting could be more
beautiful!
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DEPTHS IN PRAYER
ROBERT TRABOLD
Reflecting on our Christian life, it
is evident that there are many forms of prayer and each has a place in our
life. We have verbal and vocal prayer
where for example we say the ‘Our Father.’ There is singing done by individuals
or groups like a choir which we do in liturgical events. We have discursive
prayer where we reflect on a biblical passage and some truth of our Christian
faith in order to understand it more deeply and apply it to our life. We participate
in liturgical prayer where we assist at different events in our local church in
order to praise God and have contact with the divine. We meditate and participate
in contemplative prayer where we pray in silence and which opens for us another
dimension to our Christian life. From our Christian faith, we know that we are
created in God’s image and we are to reflect this in the way we live.
It is a challenge however for us to
grow in this realization that we are temples of God’s presence and the divine
is present at our center and still point. The Holy Spirit lives in our inner
most being. To grow in this awareness of the sacred presence within us, it is
important for us to grow in contemplative prayer. In this prayer or meditation,
we go beyond words, images and discourse. We then meet a presence deep within
us who helps us understand our true value in life as sons and daughters of our
Father in heaven and gives us the motivation and strength to transform
ourselves into this new dignity. This realization of the divine presence within
us will also change and transform the way we see ourselves, other people and
all creation. We will begin in a deep way to see things as Jesus did and wanted
to teach us. We become more deeply and truly images of the divine and manifest
this to others.
To grow in this vocation which Jesus
wants us to do in our life and the world, it is important for us to realize
that all forms of prayer are valuable but also to understand the very crucial
role that contemplative prayer and meditation add to our Christian life. Each
way of prayer fills out the picture of where we are in the world and to what
God calls us. However, we have to go beyond them and enter into silence where
we forget ourselves and touch the silent presence of Jesus at our center and
still point. This silent encounter of the Lord is an essential part to our
growth. We are not thinking about ourselves but just being with the divine
presence within us and so drawn closer to Him. If we are faithful in our
contemplative prayer and this journey into silence, the Lord will slowly remake
us into His image. We will become the sons and daughters of God which Jesus
wants us to be. John Main suggests that we try to meditate twice a day for 20 minutes
each and quietly recite our mantra. This requires fidelity to commit ourselves
to grow in contemplative prayer and an effort to regulate our daily schedule to
allow this.
It is important for us to realize
the different kinds of prayer and their function in our life. Each makes a
contribution to our life and Christian growth.
In contemplative prayer, we will grow to realize that there is no one closer
to us on earth, even beyond our closest friends, as the Lord is. This will be
the source of joy and direction of our life. We touch the divine hand which leads
us in a good path and gives us confidence not to give up despite all the
disappointments and troubles of living a human life in this troubled world.
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I
would be appreciative if you would take a moment to answer the following
question. I am interested in knowing the
reaction of readers to this poem and article.
Question: In your experience through the years, have
you experienced the different kinds of prayers and the various roles they play
in your growth in the Christian life? Have you experienced the particular
benefit and richness of meditation and contemplation in silence?
Also, if you leave your name and
e-mail address, I could send you special announcements and information that
might be helpful to you.
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