|
Wisdom Story
There's a monk there who will never give you advice, but only a question. I was told his questions could be very helpful. I sought him out. "I am a parish priest," I said. "I'm here on retreat. Could you give me a question?"
"Ah, yes," he answered. "My question is, 'What do they need?'"
I came away disappointed. I spent a few hours with the question, writing out answers, but finally I went back to him.
"Excuse me. Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. Your question has been helpful, but I wasn't so much interested in thinking about my apostolate during this retreat. Rather, I wanted to think seriously about my own spiritual life. Could you give me a question for my own spiritual life?"
"Ah, I see. Then my question is, 'What do they REALLY need?'"
*Father Theophane. In Jack Kornfield and Christina Feldman. Soul Food: Stories to Nourish the Spirit & Heart.
Spiritual Exercise
Reflect upon the story above. What does it say to you about your spiritual life?
Brian will respond to requests pertaining to seeking a Spiritual Mentor. He offers retreats, workshops, and classes in such subjects as Contemplative Prayer (he trains in Visualized Praying, Centering Prayer, Christian Meditation, The Jesus Prayer, ...); Contemplative Living; A Spiritual Understanding of the Lord's Prayer; Philippians and Spiritual Community; Spiritual Growth From Matter to Spirit; Spiritual Use of the Scripture.
See any major on-line bookseller for his book An Ache for Union.
For replies and biographical information, and submission to "The Light Shines" daily devotionals ~ a ministry of Christ Community United Methodist Church, Punta Gorda, FL, see next page:
Continued... |
