[W]e are re-born, adopted into the divine life by the power of Christ’s death and resurrection in sanctifying grace. Our interior consciousness opens into the Presence of the Holy Trinity. Our memory, understanding and will share in the divine life through the virtues of faith, hope and love.
*William Fredrickson, "Introduction to Centering Prayer"
Fredrickson speaks of the process of Prayerful Contemplation. He grounds the practice of Union with Love in Scripture:
From the Old Testament into the New Covenant, God who revealed Himself has called people to seek His Presence and to dwell with God in light and love. “How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God” (Psalm 84.1-2, RSV).
“I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me; because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you….If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him (John 14. 18-21, 23, RSV).
Tonight, I sit in my sanctuary office, with door open to the sanctuary. I am here to work. I am here, also, throughout the night, for reading, praying, and sleeping in this sacred space.
I am struck by the words of the Psalmist, especially since I am here to spend the night:
How lovely is thy dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longs, yea, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.
The Psalmist yearns for sacred space. He uses strong emotional language: "longs," "faints."
This hymn was taken into the ancient hymnal of the Jews. Many worshippers, Christian and Jew, have in private and with others recited or sung this affirmation of heart longing for the holy Ground.
Fredrickson writes of Divine Contemplation: "Our interior consciousness opens into the Presence of the Holy Trinity." This indicates the role of sacred space, the logic of holy ground. Such places help open awareness to Divine Reality.
Gregory F. Augustine Pierce, in Hidden Presence, reminds us: "This presence is often hidden, but if we are open to it and looking for it, we will discover it." Possibly, often the sense of the Presence is absent for consciousness is not prepared to perceive and receive the grace of Interior Loving.
Yet, the Living Word says to us, "I will come to you." He says, "[Y]ou will see me." He says, "In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you…." He says, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." What more a blessing can we receive than the graces Christ here sets forth, promised to us?
Divine Contemplation is the actualization of these contemplative graces. In the Inner Eucharist, we partake of Christ, with all in Christ "dead" and "alive." He comes to us. We see Him. We know union with God: Father, Son, Holy Spirit. We experience the love the Father gives eternally, with the at-homeness in God.
Our bodies become the sanctuary, our brains the door to God's entrance into our being. The outer signs, symbols, teachings, and rites of faith become a living reality of the inner graces of Christ's Presence, while we are humbled before the Heart of the Triune Mystery.
This whole Mystery is intimated in our baptism into the living Church. As Fredrickson affirms: "Contemplative prayer is the fruit of the grace of baptism which calls us to cooperate with the [ibid] God’s work within us." The outward means of grace of baptism is a sign of the inward means of grace of union with the Trinitarian Presence.
"I will come to you" is God's eternal self-giving. Christ is always coming to us. The ache for Divine Life, the Ground of all sacredness, is Christ Himself. There is nothing of God outside us that is not also inside us. This sanctuary tonight cannot give me God, but it can inspire me with its surroundings and silence to open to receive God.
What sacred space do you regularly attend to help open your heart and mind to God's Presence of Love? Recall one time there that you especially sensed God near you.
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*Quotes from Fredrickson at www.contemplative.com/contemplativenotes.htm .
*Charitable contributions would be appreciated to assist Brian in the continuance of his work of ministry. For contributions, contact Brian at barukhattah@embarqmail.com .
*Brian's book of spiritual love poetry, An Ache for Union: Oneness with God through Love, can be ordered through major booksellers, or through the Cokesbury on-line store, at www.cokesbury.com .
*Brian K. Wilcox, a United Methodist Pastor, lives in Southwest Florida. Brian is vowed through Greenbough House of Prayer, a contemplative Christian community in South Georgia. He lives a vowed, contemplative life and inspires others to a more intimate relationship with Christ. Brian advocates for a spiritually-focused, experiential Christianity and renewal of the Church through addressing the deeper spiritual needs and longings of persons.
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