THE LADDER

"Hence, brethren, if we wish to reach the very highest point of humility and to arrive speedily at that heavenly exaltation to which the ascent is made through the humility of this present life, we must by our ascending actions erect the ladder Jacob saw in his dream, on which the Angels appeared to him descending and ascending. By that descent and ascent we must surely understand nothing else than this, that we descend by self-exaltation and ascend by humility. And the ladder thus set up is our life in the world, which the Lord raises up to heaven if our heart is humbled. For we call our body and soul the sides of the ladder, and into these sides our divine vocation has inserted the different steps of humility and discipline we must climb."
RSB Ch. 7 on Humility - St. Benedict

Of late I have been contemplating what distinguishes one's life - or I should say one's Christian vocation - the call of all who seek and experience the presence of God in the world but not of the world - from a life of the world. The world - made up of society and culture - teaches us to build our own ladder of success. Individual achievement is constantly being fed to us as the way to live life to its fullest; filling life up with gains of all kinds; those type of gains which are driven by self-exaltation as St. Benedict warns us to avoid.

We are fed spiritual food each and every time we participate in the Eucharist, communing with our Christ, in the world but not of the world. It is here, when we fully give over to something other; other than our own desires and wills that we can ascend on the steps our Christ has placed before us with faith, hope and love; the eternal Truth. It is here, when we fully ascend into the mystery of Christ, stepping out towards the altar, hand outstretched towards our Christ, that we experience the life giving joy of ascending at each Eucharist, each Daily Prayer, each Sacred Study and work; with the hope that we are helping others build their spiritual ladders with our steps of love; worshiping with our lives.

The world feeds us - or our Christ feeds us. You might say we are what we eat; may we be intentional about what we seek to be fed; so we may have the strength to ascend upon the ladder of life.


pax michael

Interior Vision

Thomas Merton quotes a story regarding a Benedictine monk in the mid-century “who with his mind ascended above all mortal things, at all times in the company of the most blessed angels he stood, by the interior vision, in the presence of the Creator.” Interior vision is understood and reflected when the “disciple whom Jesus loved (might be you and I today) looked into the tomb (our inner soul of sorts)… he saw and he believed!” Here it seems that we do not need evidence as much as we need to be evidence of our belief in The Christ. May we all look inward, act outward, and seek understanding in the act of Divinae Theoriae Intentus – Divine Contemplation.

The monks at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit often remind us that it is in the seeking of understanding and unity with God – we actually begin the peering into our soul and seeing our true selves. Interior vision is the intentional spiritual practice of looking inward, seeking understanding and unity with the God of Jesus Christ. The scriptures are the windows and doors which we can see and walk through the experiences of the sinners who become saints before us – in us – and through us today. Practice may not be in of itself the “only way” to understanding, but it seems to this author the only way to start; Contemplating the Divine.

As this is written and posted on December 10th, may we remember the anniversary of Thomas Merton’s death and celebrate his interior vision which he shared with the world.

pax

Garden of Eden

“I consider that the spiritual life is the life of man’s real self, the life of that interior self whose flame is so often allowed to be smothered under the ashes of anxiety and futile concern. The life of the spirit, by integrating us in the real order established by God, puts us in the fullest possible contact with reality-not as we imagine it, but as it really is. It does so by putting us in contact with our own real selves and placing them in the presence of God.” - Thomas Merton

It strikes me in the above quote from Thomas Merton, in that it is in seeking unity with God by way of contemplative practices and ways of life which are ordered in and around the spiritual life, one actually can experience life itself; as it is meant to be. All too often we are caught up in the structures and norms of society and the culture which we have created; not in tune with the life which was created for us. We hurry, we worry, we are in constant motion; motion without meaning. A life centered in Christ, is one centered on prayer, allowing for us to participate in a natural rhythm of life, thus creating space to participate in a sacramental way of life. No more, no less.

We might reflect on our lives, individually, as well as parishes and the broader Church community; seeking the natural rhythms of life which were ordered for us, not by us, and restored in Christ. Looking inward, contemplating with our mind falling into our heart, may allow us to experience the presence of Christ. St. Augustine put forth - “You will not change me into you, but you will be changed into me.” At the very center of our soul the essence of Spirit dwells in us; resting in God - in the Garden of Eden.

The Sacramental Way

In the early Church the "saints," (which Christians were commonly referred to as) followed Christ in what was known as The Way. This Way is seen throughout the Gospels and lived out by way of our Jesus - The Christ. Our time spent once a month as Oblates at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit exposes us to the natural rhythms of life, The Way which is lived into and practiced by the monks in a cloistered community. Be sure, this is what it looks like - The Way is a sacramental life.

Sacramental lives are what we as Oblates, and in fact all Christians are called into, each of us in our daily lives, living fully alive in our humanity; sharing with others The Way. Our lives, in The Way - by way of our lives. This is what it looks like to see into the tomb, and believe! Not depending on the tangible and temporal evidence of seeing a physical body of Jesus - but experiencing life in The Christ; truly seeing The Way.

The Sacraments of the Church are the very essence of a spiritual life; life which the Holy Spirit breathes into us. Let us continue to pray, practice, and live into the Sacraments as Oblates. May our prayer be that we become "outward and visible signs" of The Way. Let us share with others in what this Way looks like; a sacramental life.