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Day 13

Writer's picture: centerdownretreatcenterdownretreat

Updated: May 22, 2020

“It moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered, Our spirits refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round With the peace of the Eternal in our step.”


Psalm 51:10-17

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and put a new and right spirit within me.

11 Do not cast me away from your presence,

and do not take your holy spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and sustain in me a willing spirit.

13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

15 O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16 For you have no delight in sacrifice;

if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

17 The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

Philippians 4:4-9

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.


8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”


Reflection:

Yes. To sit quietly and let one’s self pass by is a good way to spend time. Necessary even, for some like me, to get out of my own way. But does it answer my questions? Rarely. Does it make it alright not to have answers? Often. It allows me to envision, if not to receive, the peace of the eternal and reminds me that I get closer to it every day. That whether in the next breath or the next 100,000 breaths, I will soon join the vast numbers of us who know that peace. That thought in itself brings me peace.


Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me. I want it more than anything. I believe it is possible that we are created in God’s image. I believe that good and evil resides in us all. Look around. If God is all knowing, and all present, then she can’t be all good. I sit quietly to connect with the divine presence in me. In that way, perhaps God is us.


Why is a broken spirit the sacrifice that is acceptable to God? Why not the offering of a bold spirit? A rebellious spirit? A strong, whole one? Nelson Mandela said, “your playing small does not serve the world.” Yes – there are times when I crawl to God with a broken spirit. But I believe that all spirits serve the world, and therefore God.


- Reflection by Linda Crowe


Centering Down. I have spent my life moving from the stark certainty of Catholicism and the military into the eternal complexity that Thurman’s poem engages with simple grace. Why are we here and how do we find our footing? The many faces of meditation offer the possibility of glimpsing for a moment the divinity at the core of hope, loss, black despair and the gift of this next breath, as Brother David Steindl-Rast reminded me and my wife as we listened to “On Being,” with coffee mugs in hand and a practiced stillness.

Thomas Merton explored the difficulty of sitting in meditation and the impossibility of knowing – actually knowing – God; that the purpose of sitting with stillness is to let God’s voice come through you and only then can we know who we are and why we are here. We Center Down. I found such relief in Merton’s description of meditation. Pressure was off. On a good day, I can’t remember algebra or how electricity works. So I sit knowing I can’t know. I show up and embrace stillness, grateful for this moment to get it right enough; realizing that centering down is not a goal but a starting. The impossible questions concerning the evil in the world, the wild varieties of raw injustice circle and increase the difficulty in centering but the centering down always reminds me to breathe, to be kind and that the path will be a bit more clear and that it matters. Perhaps this is faith for me now. This breath, these mugs of coffee, my wife.


- Reflection by Kevin Crowe:

Kevin Crowe and Linda Lundquist Crowe individually or together consider themselves a potter, writer, songwriter, poet, quilter and conservationist. A lapsed Catholic and lapsed Methodist, respectively, they no longer identify with a denomination and consider themselves kindness and world peace aspirants.



 


The Way of Beauty:

Images of newness from white sneakers to bubbles to purity. Let the images of fresh newness wash over your mind and heart. Spend a few minutes listening and meditating on the song, “White as Snow”, by Jon Foreman:

Once the song is over, formulate what current image of newness springs to your spirit.



The Contemplative Mystical Way:

Take a virtual tour of a museum or aquarium. Notice which paintings, objects, creatures speak to you in this waiting moment. Have a conversation with the painting, object, or creature. Ask what does God want to tell you through what you behold?


A few places where you can do a virtual tour



The Way of Practical Action:

Choose an everyday task, such as folding laundry or washing dishes, to infuse with love. Resolve to take your time folding or scrubbing or organizing. Consider your action a prayer. As Mother Teresa said, though we cannot always do great things, “we can do small things with great love.” If you are sharing your space with loved ones, you may offer this action with intention for them. Allow the “daily traffic” of your chores to be permeated with gentleness.


Prayer:

O God Almighty, eternal source of peace, in Your ineffable goodness, look upon Your people gathered here and everywhere at a distance. Be our helper and defender in this period of affliction. As our fourteen day practise will soon conclude, you hear our cry in repentance and contrition of heart. Continue to grant health and recovery to those suffering from this virus. Guide the hands of physicians, and preserve those who are healthy whether on this retreat or not, that we may continue to serve You in peace and glorify Your most honorable and majestic Name, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, now and forever and to the ages of ages.

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