A Meeting of the WAys

Benedictine Oblate Newsletter No. 16, December 2012

Via Vitaeway of life

Benedictine Oblates of The World Community for Christian Meditation

2

In November 2011, our Benedictine oblate cell group was

concluding its annual three day retreat at the Benedictine

monastery at Arcadia in Sydney. At the celebratory lunch

I found myself seated beside the Prior, Father Bernard

McGrath and we became engrossed in a conversation that

took an interesting turn.

I explained to Fr Bernard that I had been involved for

the last eleven years with a prayer group in the inner city

of Sydney. This group is called David’s Place and those who

are part of David’s Place are often people who live on the

margins of our society. Very few of the people who attend

David’s Place have regular employment. Many of them

are affected by mental illness or some kind of addiction.

Meetings are essentially prayer meetings. We do share in

conversation, we also share simple meals but the central

reason why we come together is to share in the Gospel and

the prayer that arises out of the Gospel readings. Once

a month we also have a barbecue and a mass which is

attended by between 30 to 40 people. We have an annual

Christmas celebration and usually more than 100 people

come along. We serve a very hearty Christmas lunch to all

who attend and each person receives a gift.

The original vision of David’s place was built upon the

work of Fr Brian Stoney SJ, who had been engaged for

several years with the marginalised of the inner cities of

Sydney and Melbourne. Sue Buckingham who had been

inspired by working with Fr Brian started David’s Place.

Sue had always felt that those who lived on the margins

had a unique contemplative gift to offer, that arose out of

the fact that they had been stripped of so much in their

journey through life. She felt that, for a city to have a real

heart, it needed to have a true spiritual connection with its

poorest. It was not a vision of simply helping the poor - it

was something far more dynamic. It was a vision of mutual

enrichment.

When I started talking to Fr Bernard I mentioned to

him that one of other things that we do as a community

is have an annual retreat, but it had become increasingly

difficult to find a suitable venue. Bernard immediately

suggested that perhaps the people would like to come

to the Benedictine Monastery at Arcadia. Bernard, Sue

and I continued to dialogue over the ensuing year and

arrangements were made for a retreat that would be held

over a three day period in October 2012. Bernard and the

monastic community were extremely generous in providing

not only accommodation, in the guest cottage but also their

mini bus so that we could transport the retreatants to and

from the inner city up to the monastery (about an hours

drive each way). The Sydney Oblate community, led by

Trish, also responded to this event in an extremely generous

manner. They volunteered to provide food, linen and

support services for the retreat and George volunteered to

drive the bus.

The day arrived and after bussing from Arcadia down

to Surry Hills we found our group of ten retreatants very

excited and enthused about the days ahead. At the end of

our bus trip, we were welcomed by the Monks and offered

lunch in the cloisters of the monastery. Some of us sat

inside the covered walkways while others sat out in the

beautiful gardens of the monastery. It was a wonderful way

to begin our retreat and this was only the beginning. The

retreatants were invited to join with the Monks in praying

the Office if they wished and many went to experience and

or pray the Hours.

Fr Bernard had agreed to give the talks throughout the

retreat and these were supported by activities that he had

sensitively and creatively designed to help all of us ponder

and deepen our relationship with Jesus. With his first talk

he set one of the themes of the retreat by asking us all

to do some scribbling. He then went on to show us some

scribble that had been done by an artist in London and

how this scribbling had been described by Sister Wendy

Beckett, Art Historian. Bernard suggested that perhaps our

prayer life was like scribble. Our prayer life is an inner-

seismograph of what is going on, without our being in full

control.

After this talk Fr Bernard advised us that he would be

bringing the cattle up from the lower paddock for feeding.

About twelve of us stood at the top of the rise, watching

Bernard’s efforts. The cattle by and large moved in the

right direction although repeatedly some of the cows

would peel off and wander back towards where they came

3

from. This forced Bernard to run back and usher them

further in towards the rest of the herd. After watching

Bernard run to and fro in this manner for over an hour, two

retreatants decided to jump the fence and help him. Soon

the cattle were all inside by the feeding gates. One of our

retreatants, who was so excited by all of this began to clap,

which unfortunately caused the cows to turn and run back

to the lower paddock. So once again Bernard and his two

helpers began their patient work.

We all pondered what the herding of the cows had to

do with the talk that Bernard had just given. In the late

afternoon we gathered and shared what the experience

had been like for us. Some focused on how much they had

enjoyed being in nature, smelling the grass and touching

the cows. Others thought that the cows and the herding

was perhaps a metaphor of how God works with us and how

we keep resisting his best efforts to usher us towards the

place where we will be most satisfied. The two volunteer

herdsmen from David’s Place, who jumped the fence to

help Bernard, perhaps were like those who appreciate the

efforts of God and offer their services in his quest.

Fr Bernard explained that Jesus often used nature as his

teaching aid in speaking of fish, mustard seeds, sheep etc.

Bernard sensed that if we were more fully in contact with

nature we will almost certainly be in contact with Jesus.

All of the talks by Bernard included the theme of nature.

We were fascinated to hear the story of someone who had

observed a butterfly emerging from its cocoon and decided

to help it by peeling the cocoon away. Unfortunately this

resulted in the stunted development of the butterfly.

Bernard’s message to us all was: although we are often

going through things that seem difficult, it is, in fact, the

difficulty that is the making of us. To supplement this talk,

Bernard sent us out in pairs to see if we could find cocoons.

My partner Robert, who has a limp and moves rather slowly,

was the only person who was able to find a cocoon, and I

sensed that it was partly due to his slow and careful gaze.

I came to realise that it was the Robert’s pace that allowed

him to find the cocoons first. He taught me, in a sense, how

to look at nature.

On the second evening of the retreat we were divided

into three groups and were asked to make posters which

explored the theme of scribble. Magazines were cut up,

scribble was done, and a great deal of enjoyment and

laughter was had by all.

Another theme emerged from the artwork of Terry

O’Donnell, one of our Oblates. Terry, a professional artist

had recently done a series of paintings, Kerygma, from the

life of Christ that are hanging in the Monastery Chapel.

Each of the retreatants had been given a copy of one of

these to reflect on during the course of the retreat. Near

the end of the retreat Terry explained to us the process of

how he had developed these beautiful images.

Bernard also gave us talks on the final day about prayer.

In one he explained the kinds of situations that had arisen

in his life as priest, monk and man that created the need

for prayer and reminded us that this will arise in our own

life situations that will also evoke a particular need for

prayer.

We had our last lunch together and during the meal there

were many expressions of gratitude from the retreatants,

the Oblate helpers and from Fr Bernard himself. We all felt

incredibly blessed by this time together in retreat. There

were minor tiffs and tensions between the retreatants

but dominantly there was an atmosphere of harmony and

friendship. The David’s Place community moved even

deeper into a life of prayer and community. For me this was

a great retreat and one for which I would like to express

my gratitude to Fr Bernard, the monks, the retreatants who

participated so fully and to all the Oblates from our cell

group who served so graciously.PAUL TAyLOR, Australia

paultaylor@optus.ap.blackberry.net

A meeting of the ways ..................... 1

Editorial ...................................... 4

Confused ramblings of a postulant ....... 5

Contemplative minds for compassionate Christian action ............................. 6

NZ retreat .................................... 7

WCCM oblate blog .......................... 8

In loving memory ............................ 9

Lets begin ................................... 10

New oblations: Makassar & London ..... 11

Introduction to Christian Meditation .... 12

Annual oblate silent retreat, Canada ... 13

Monastery Without Walls .................. 14

Book corner ................................. 16

Contact info ................................ 16

Contents

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editoriAl

While all the world, Lord God,

lay wrapped in deepest silence,

and night had reached its mid-point,

your all-powerful Word came down.

As year by year the beauty of this night returns,

growing old with the aged

and renewed in the wonder of children,

so may we, grown old in sin but reborn to grace,

proclaim with our lives

what we chant with our lips:

Glory to you, our God,

in the highest heaven,

peace on earth

and in the depth of every human heart.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Concluding Prayer of ‘The Nativity of Our Lord’

from Benedictine Daily Prayer: A Short Breviary

May we convincingly proclaim PEACE in how we live

each day. This past year we have helplessly witnessed,

either personally, or through technology brought into our

living rooms, heart-breaking human tragedies of wars and

uprisings; storms, floods, fires; random killings; and then;

last week, the slaughter of twenty young children in school

along with six of their teachers. How can we be ‘at peace’?

How do we convincingly live peace in our hearts? Peace, at

these times, is united with ‘hope’.

The following quote, from The Selfless Self by Laurence

Freeman OSB, is a gift:

When we sense hope in another person

it gives us hope.

For some reason deeper than reason,

meeting hope in others gives us

the strength to be strong, to persevere.

In our own time perhaps the greatest

and most urgently needed gift

that the Christian can give to the world

is the gift of hope. …

Hope is a fundamental attitude

or direction of consciousness. …

To be hopeful is to make the discovery

that we are integral parts of something

greater than ourselves,

and that we are living

with the energy of that complete reality.

I encourage reading this chapter on ‘Hope’ in its entirety

and, of course, other chapters as well.

On 13th July, Sr Margaret Collier, much loved and

respected friend of the Irish meditation community and

oblate Co-ordinator, ‘went home to the Lord’. In my new

role as international oblate co-ordinator over eight years

ago I communicated with Sr Margaret on many occasions

and was guided by her wisdom. The tender tributes by

Fergal McLoughlin and Rowena O’Sullivan are included in

this issue.

Wishing you, your family, and friends a blessed Christmas

and a New year abundant with peace and hope.

LoveTRISH

As you know the Church and the worldare starved of wisdom and of love.

In most places in the worldthe Churches are becoming beleaguered.In most places there is a deepening sense

of ruin and of the absence of wisdom.But one wise man or woman

can always hold back the flood.So there is no greater act of social

or political or religious responsibilitythan any of us could undertake

than to become more fully conscious,more fully rooted in consciousness, in God.

Never let anyone discourage youon the path of meditation as in any way

being in opposition or conflictwith social, political or religious responsibility.The one thing that all societies need is wisdom.

There is only one path of wisdom.And the fountainhead of wisdom

is to be found in your heart,in the mystery of prayer.

THe WAy oF UnknoWInG, John Main OSB, pp. 129-130

5

How do we discern if the desire to become an oblate is a

real call or just a fanciful dream full of the ego?

I first heard of an Oblate at a silent retreat in Sydney

in 2009, maybe a seed was sown then and growing root

over these past three years. As I write this I am full of the

idea that I can’t; can’t write that is, my writing skills are

inadequate, I can’t maintain a train of thought for more

than a millisecond, let alone put a sentence together. But

then I think if I share my confusion, it may help someone

else with his or hers. I feel so hopeless in all of this,

whether I should continue on the Oblate path, do I have the

discipline to do the Office twice a day and read the Rule.

I’m OK with the meditation practice, as I love to meditate,

God knows why! As I write this I’m sitting in a cemetery and

feel a peace that is beyond understanding, I’m not seeking

death, but at this moment I’m not afraid of it either. Bit

like when we meditate, to thy own self be true.

There is something in me that wants to be Oblate, I was

going to say it is my hearts desire but that is not right,

its beyond my heart and mind, it is in a place that I can’t

describe. However, my mind comes into play and tells

me that I am letting myself down in my quest everyday,

that I don’t have the discipline to make the mark. My

meditation practice is solid, I very rarely miss the mornings,

the evenings are sporadic and when I’m tired, I’m half

asleep, or asleep. The Office is hard work at the moment.

I’m reading the psalms and the Bible but I’m struggling

to see God’s hand at work; the world is such a mess, my

family is struggling in all sorts of areas, I would love to be

doing something else for work, maybe aged care. I’m still

having a cigar before I go to bed, which I just don’t think

an Oblate should do and I could very easily acquire an

expensive scotch habit.

I enjoy leading a group of like-minded people that are

drawn to the practice of meditation. I meditate with a

Brahma Kumaris group on Sundays for an hour and it is

absolutely beautiful. Even though my practice is different,

the silence together makes a beautiful sound.

In all of this the only thing I can be sure of is my

meditation practice, the time when I can let the activity

of my mind go, and just rest with my mantra and know

that God loves me. I’ve just read Joan Chittister’s book

Following the Path and she talks about the 7 steps to

discern our calling:

1. fits our skills,

2. something that goes beyond either interest or ability,

3. drives me beyond both talent and passion to a sense

of purpose,

4. presents itself as a thorn in my heart at the sight of

another’s pain,

5. lose all sense of time,

6. knowing I am doing what is authentic for me,

7. it is good for my soul

The above has helped confirm for me that my desire to

become an Oblate is real.

As I have reread this I don’t feel that desire to become

an oblate describes what I am feeling, and yet I hesitate to

say calling to become an oblate as there is no way known

that God would call me!

So where does this leave me. Seriously, I’m just ignoring

my insecurities, my fears and doubts, my idea of my

unworthiness. To test my call, I was asked to imagine that

I stopped my Oblate journey; that I got off the train. I did

this for 30 seconds and felt a pang of loss and immediately

got back on the train. I don’t want to base tomorrow on

what I did yesterday and the day before and the day before

that. I’ve done that and it doesn’t give me contentment.

I want to do things differently and knowing that God loves

me has made a huge difference in my life and has given me

the freedom to be different. Thank you Lord for the work

you have done in me and are continuing to do.

DAVID CHAUNCy, Australiachaunc42@gmail.com

the Confused rAMblings of A PostulAnt

The meaning of the Christian teaching of the Incarnation is that the mystery of Godin its eternal creativity is not only brought closer to us but really united to us. …

Awakening to this reality is a possibility for each of us because it is an incarnate encounter.We are no longer isolated or dependent on our own inadequate resources. …

The humility of the child Jesus is our guide and teacher. In his light we are conscious.In his love we have love. In his truth we are made truthful.

MonASTery WITHoUT WALLS: THe SPIrITUAL LeTTerS oF JoHn MAIn, edited by Laurence Freeman OSB, p. 106

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It would seem that becoming an Oblate has fired up my

sense of marrying my inner work through meditation with

the outer social justice issues as exemplified by the two

doves on The WCCM logo.

I recently listened to the American Jesuit John Dear speak

in york re Jesus’ total commitment to NON-VIOLENCE as

the Way to effective change in society, and how this model

influenced others like Gandhi and Oscar Romero. He was a

very inspiring speaker and has been arrested on numerous

occasions by challenging the US Government’s nuclear

weapons programmes. John Dear reinforced my own belief

that Jesus calls us to emerge from within our personal

comfort zones and allow ourselves to be used by the Christ

principle and to learn how to TRUST where this process will

take us.

For me, the inner connection that we make through

Christian Meditation, quite naturally emerges to outer

connection through social action and loving service and

because we are all different, this will manifest in various

ways. I do believe passionately that we ALL have a sphere

of influence wherein we can effect positive change for the

greater good. So, by embracing the inner discipline of CM,

we inevitably will live out the Gospel message out in the

World. But it all starts by the daily practice of entering the

Silence.

Teesside is one of the poorest parts of the UK. Still

blighted by the effects of the decline of traditional

industries, the current recession and welfare reforms

are hitting some families hard. A Community Organising

enterprise called THRIVE is aiming to tackle the sense

of powerlessness that people feel in a situation of

generational poverty, by enabling people to take some

responsibility for themselves and their communities and to

be agents of change both personally and collectively.

We aim to develop a programme that incorporates

both a Contemplative Inner Healing approach alongside

a programme of Action through Community Organising.

By teaching people living in poverty and stress Christian

Meditation, we can help build life skills to enable those who

participate by improving their mental health and emotional

resilience as well as helping them to connect with an inner

resource they may not have been aware of. This will help

many to escape a sense of ‘victimhood’ as a result of their

particular circumstances, and help them develop a stronger

sense of themselves and their potential.

Running alongside this is training people to become

aware of the structural and institutional aspects of poverty,

and taking personal and collective responsibility for doing

something about it. By running a two day Community

Organising training programme, THRIVE can help people do

research on issues they bring for action, local issues they

can do something to change by learning how to engage with

those in power in order to make positive changes in their

local communities.

By becoming ‘Awake’ to ourselves through meditation,

we are much more able to rise up and be more confident to

tackle the issues that are effecting us ‘out there’. Through

inner healing and a growth in self awareness, our hearts

naturally respond through more compassionate action

to fight the good fight through a greater willingness and

courage to get engaged with the social justice issues around

us.

I believe this echoes the encouragement we get from The

Rule of Benedict where we are reminded in Chapter 4: ‘you

must relieve the lot of the poor, clothe the naked, visit the

sick. … Go to help the troubled and console the sorrowing.

… and never lose hope in God’s mercy.’

Good honest-to-God practical advice from St Benedict for

a strong spiritual life that is lived out in our actions.

May God help us all grow in the awareness of God’s love

for us in Christ Jesus. May we come to live more and more

fully in the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may give

glory to God our Father. May we allow ourselves to be used

for the Greater Good.

TERRy DOyLE, UKterry-doyle@live.co.uk

ConteMPlAtiVe Mindsfor CoMPAssionAte ChristiAn ACtion

If our life is rooted in Christ,rooted in his love

and the conscious knowledge of his love,then we need have no anxietyabout regulating our action.

Our action will always spring fromand be informed and shaped by that love.

Indeed, the more active we are,the more important it is that our action

springs from and is grounded in contemplation.And contemplation means deep, silent, communion;

knowing who we are.Knowing who we are by being who we are.That we are rooted and founded in Christ,

the Resurrection of God,is Christian self-knowledge.

THe WAy oF UnknoWInG, John Main OSB, p. 128

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Living Springs, nestled in the Port Hills, Governors Bay,

Christchurch, was the venue for our New Zealand annual

National Oblate’s Retreat, September, 2012.

What better place, to ponder on the theme of

humility, could our Christchurch hosts have found for our

annual gathering. Awestruck and humble, we woke each

day to the magnificent view of green, bush-clad rolling hills

sweeping down to the blue waters of Governors Bay which

stretched past Port Lyttelton to the ocean in the distance.

As a visitor to Christchurch I had chosen to come a day

earlier to the retreat. I wanted to see first hand the effects

of the earthquakes on the city and its people. All I knew

was what I had seen on television, and I had no point of

reference. What I saw and understood is that these people

are living daily with a continual demolition of their city.

This means that the familiar buildings, shops, schools,

churches, are disappearing. I know about, and listen to, the

plans for rebuilding, but all that is left, in many instances,

is flat, bare land, memories, and heartache.

I am sure that all of us, out of Christchurch, admire

the spirit of the people, and are very grateful to the

Christchurch Oblate cell group for their diligence,

preparation, kindness and hospitality in the finding of such

a venue in the midst of all their difficulties.

There were fifteen Oblates on the retreat, and we

welcomed our new Postulant, June Aslett from Wellington,

as she took her first step on this journey.

Our retreat was a blessing to each one of us in many

different ways. Once more I came to realise that coming

together in this way, even though it may be brief, even

neW ZeAlAnd oblAtes retreAt12—14 sePteMber, 2012

though it may be surprising or unexpected at times,

reinforces our bonding on the path we share. In those

three short days, I found myself thankful for the routine

of prayer, silence and meditation. I came to that place of

grace in just being.

We had three learning inputs on ‘Humility’. My first

thought was, how much more can we learn about humility?

But I found that there was, and is, and always will be,

much, much more to learn, because the opposite of

humility is arrogance. Aha! So did that thought alone reveal

the lack of humility in me?

Hugh McLaughlin presented our first talk in which he

compared St Benedict’s Rule Chapter 7 on humility with

what it means in the 21st century. Humility is not a popular

word today he said, self-promotion is. Humility is about

being real, really Real, said Hugh, which reminds me of

the children’s story, the Velveteen Rabbit, a toy, who in the

end, became Real, was loved deeply and became happy

and wise. Hugh spoke about the first four Chapters of the

Rule of humility. It was good to revisit these, hear them

expressed in different words I found, to remind me again

that our spiritual growth is not linear, but a continual spiral

of ‘falling down and getting up, and falling down…’ and so

on. We learn to live with injustices in our lives, to let go

of self-satisfaction, to seek reconciliation. In doing this we

become stronger, our ‘self’ becomes more free. For me, I

realise, that as I change, hopefully, I become more aware

of who God is.

For our second learning input, John Anstice spoke about

‘Humility and the God within’. John gave us a smorgasbord

8

the WCCM oblAte blog

Benedictine oblates are guided daily by the Rule of St

Benedict. In ‘Community of Love’ Fr John writes: ‘the

essence of the rule [of St Benedict is] to strive for God and

to make your spiritual journey the underpinning reality

of your life, finding its influence in everything you do, in

everything you are.’

Fr Laurence encourages us to reflect on how the Rule

of St Benedict is relevant to our own life situations and

to write one or two sentences each day about how our

openness to this ancient Rule, that has influenced people

for over 1500 years, forms and informs our approach to the

way we live.

Many oblates in our ‘monastery without walls’ have little

or no contact with other oblates on a regular basis. For

them a spiritual friend in the form of the recent initiative,

the ‘WCCM Oblate blog: Reflections from the daily reading

of the Rule of St Benedict’ could be that spiritual friend.

Using the blog is easy. you can access it on the www.

wccm.org website, under the ‘Oblates’ tab, that links to

the ‘WCCM Oblate Blog’. By browsing the entries you will

get a feel for how the blog works.

Contact Mary Robison, the author and moderator of the

blog with any questions or suggestions at:

wccm.us.oblates@gmail.com

of authors to delve into. I have since bought ‘Oblation’ A

Meditation on St Benedict’s Rule by Rachal M. Srubas, that

he read from, and which I find profound, different, deeply

personal. John began with the Psalmists, citing those which

contain negatives, such as anger and commenting that

there are certain things in life that we can be angry about.

However, in the awareness of others when we forget self,

humility dissipates anger. Question though, does repressing

anger contribute to a sense of humility? How do we know

God is within us? Is it by keeping the mind tranquil? Or

becoming childlike? If God is within me, God is therefore

not outside of me, says John, so therefore is this Oneness

with God? And do we become part of God as we continue on

our journey? The context of John’s talk took me deeper and

deeper in thought bringing me to a place in which there

were more questions than answers. Perhaps then that is

part of what humility is, learning to live with the questions

and accepting just what is.

Anna Clare gave our third input, titled ‘Humility and

the Ego’. She said the ego is a necessary component of

our make-up. It is part of the mind that is responsible

for the development of our sense of self. Humility is the

act of being modest, reverent, politely submissive. It is

not subservient, but calls to serve. It offers the complete

freedom from the desire to impress, to be right or to get

ahead of others. Humility cannot be the aim, as that is

contrary to what humility is. It is not abject grovelling.

‘Humility’ comes from the Latin ‘humilis’ low or lowly, the

same root as ‘humus’, the soil or ground. It is sureness of

being grounded in Christ. Humility has nothing to prove,

it listens more, it shows patience, compassion, withholds

judgements, respects and promotes others. It requires

courage, and requires commitment to Obedience and

Stability.

Each talk prompted much lively discussion from our

Oblate group. As I ponder on these three offerings on

humility, what emerge are my questions to myself on how

I live today, and how I incorporate Benedict’s Rule into my

everyday life. The challenges are towards what do I engage

in, yet fully aware that meditation is my guiding leveller,

undergirded with lectio divina, the daily prayers, the

Psalms, service to and with others in my community and

with those others whom my life touches. I am glad that St

Benedict mentions space for those who ‘fall down and get

up again, and again’. That gives me encouragement. yet

the challenge of the ego is not so easily dealt with. It is not

like all the necessary data being fed into the computer and

coming out as the person I would like to be. Rather, it is a

long, slow, lifetime of working at it, with Christ at my side,

who sees the potential in each one of us, and walks with us

on the way.

Just before the retreat concluded the ‘Annual Renewal of

Oblation’ was made by those who over the years made their

Final Oblation.

Our retreat, which we decided would be called ‘a

gathering’, finished with a question and answer time, a

time for saying goodbye, and a sense of looking forward to

where and when we would meet again.

JANET PRICE, New Zealandjrprice@maxnet.co.nz

The birth of Christ set beneath an arch, Italian School,an engraving after Pompeo dell' Aquila, 1560-1600

9

in loVing MeMory

VAle sister MArgAret Collier

Our dear Sr Margaret, who was the oblate co-ordinator

for many years, went home to the Lord on Friday 13th

July at 5 pm. The church was full at her funeral. She was

greatly loved by all who met her. May she rest in peace. Her

motto was ‘Let there be peace but let it start with me.’

ROWENA O’SULLIVAN, IrelandOblate Co-ordinator

sister MArgAret In your room you sat in silence.

Twice a day you sat,eyes closed, body still,hands upon your lap.

no thoughts, no emotions.Just the simple, silent stillness

of your quiet timeeach day, every day.

People wondered what you did.Why spend that time

doing nothing, eyes closed,Sitting still?

A gifted lady you brought such joy.you loved so wellyou spoke so well

you nourished all you loved.

Why waste your timein simple silence

when you could be out there –‘Doing Things?’

But when you finished,eyes opened, mind alert,

we knew you did not spend your timein wasted space.

We knew that you had been intothat private room

to pray to Himthere, in that secret place.

And then we understoodthe love you gave , the joy

we felt to be with you,dear friend.

you’ve left us now.you’re in that sacred space

where time has no beginningand where there is no end.

FERGAL MCLOUGHLIN

Sr Margaret (far right) visiting Aras an Uachtarain in 2007

Margaret’s influence was immense, not just in Ireland

but also internationally where she was loved and

respected by all she met.

We had the good fortune in Ireland of meeting her

regularly, at meetings, conferences and retreats, many of

which she organised herself. Each of us carries our own

unique experience of her presence, in the way she helped,

advised, loved, cajoled and prayed for us. We will miss her

encouragement, her support, her care - not to mention

those wonderful little scribbled notes she sent on the back

of letters and envelopes!

We will miss her sadly but we are grateful for all she

brought to us.FERGAL MCLOUGHLIN, Irelandfergalmcloughlin@gmail.com

John MAin seMinArhong Kong, 2013

desert Wisdom & oriental spirituality:inner silence

led by Fr Joseph Wong OSB

20 – 22 September

silent retreatled by Fr Laurence Freeman OSB

16 – 19 September

Lina Lee and the Hong Kong meditation community

invite you to Hong Kong:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq5-CVgMTfg&feature=youtu.be

10

I began to practice Christian Meditation twice a day in the

fall of 2003 when my daughter Maura was seven and my

son Brian was four, one year prior to our daughter Sophia

being born. As a father of young children, I was learning

to integrate this new practice into the routine of family

life. Fitting in morning meditation was easy; I just woke up

earlier than the rest of the family. However, finding time

to meditate in the evening was a little more challenging.

Brian was in daycare at the time, and the naps during the

day were keeping him up later at night. I decided to try

to meditate with him and Maura, with whom he shared a

room, in order to quiet them down and help them to go to

sleep.

I gave them simple instructions on how to meditate and

suggested they use either Abba, Jesus, or Maranatha as a

mantra. I sat on the end of one of their beds and started

by saying a brief prayer or Examen. Most of the time, they

quickly fell asleep while saying their prayer word and I then

continued until 30 minutes was up. Sometimes, however,

Brian would remain awake throughout the meditation. I

then had to change my strategy for getting him to sleep.

Once our youngest daughter, Sophia, was old enough to

sleep in a bed, I included her in the evening meditation.

Over the years, the bedroom arrangements and bed times

have changed for each child. In fact, Maura, the oldest,

often stays up later than I do to complete her homework.

So, I now take turns meditating with the two youngest.

When it is time for bed, one of them will inevitably ask me

to meditate on their bed. We recite a brief night prayer.

I say, ‘Oh God, come to my assistance’, and they reply,

‘Oh Lord, make haste to help me.’ I continue, ‘Glory be to

the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit’. They

respond, ‘as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall

be world without end, amen.’ We’ve added a couple more

brief prayers, reciting them in the same way, ‘Into your

hands Lord’, ‘I commend my spirit’ and ‘Jesus’, ‘I trust

in you’. Brian learned this last prayer from his religion

teacher.

I usually make the sign of the Cross on their foreheads as

I recite a verse from Isaiah, ‘you are precious in my eyes

and I love you’. They reply, ‘I love you too’. Finally, when it

is time to meditate, I simply say ‘Let’s begin’.

Each of them has come to see meditation as an inner

prayer resource they can practice at other times during

their day. For example, Maura and Brian will meditate

briefly when preparing for an exam or during quiet times

at school. Sophia uses her mantra to calm herself down

when she gets frustrated with classmates. She recently told

me that meditating reminds her of a slide. She said that

breathing in is like walking up the ladder, then there is a

brief pause (in the breath) at the top of the ladder, and

breathing out is like sliding down the ladder.

We sometimes meditate together as a family before

meals and tonight we agreed to meditate together for 10

minutes after our Sunday evening meals. I suggested that

we just get up from the table and slide into the other

room to meditate. Sophia smiled when she heard the word

‘slide’. TIMOTHy KELLy, USAtjk.tim@gmail.com

let’s beginMeditAting With My Children

Three kings, wood engraving by eric Gill, 1916

We are all one in God.And that is why

we must love one anotherand be open

to one another’s love.Door To SILenCe, John Main OSB, p. 78

11

On Friday evening, September 28th the Makassar

meditation community met to meditate at Church

Cathedral, Makassar, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. Following

meditation, Bernadette Veronika Gunawan (Vero) made

her novice oblation with the community witnessing her

intention to live her life according to the Rule. It was a

blessed event and many pictures were taken of the smiling

friends, including Fr Paulus who welcomed all.

Saralee Turner, mentor to Handoyo and Vero travelled

from her home in Singapore to Indonesia to meet with them

over the weekend and received Vero’s novice oblation on

behalf of the community.

noViCe oblAtionMAKAssAr, south sulAWesi, indonesiA

noViCe oblAtion MeditAtio house, london

Just before mass today at Meditatio House, London, the

first Sunday of Advent, Lucy Beck was received as a

novice oblate. Lucy is from Vermont, USA and is spending

three months in the London Community where she has been

especially involved in the move of The WCCM International

Centre to Meditatio House, as well as in the daily life and

work of the resident community.

L to r Saralee Turner, Vero Gunawan, Handoyo Gazali

Back row (L-r): Mathias Beisswenger, Fr Laurence Freeman, Michael rathbone, Stefan reynolds;

Front row (L-r): Lucy Beck, Henriette Hollaar

The Virgin and Child, a study for the Madonna di Foligno,raphael, 1498-1520

Out of the pure attention of [meditation]comes the continuous mindfulness

of a Christian consciousnessthroughout every activity of the day.

However trivial or ephemeral,every minute and action

has meaning and sacrednessbecause in that moment and through that act

the Divine communion reveals itself.

LIGHT WITHIn, Laurence Freeman OSB, pp. 105-106

12

On my wall is a self portrait of Raphael staring out from

a crowd. At first, his delicate intelligent face seems to

be looking at me, then I became aware that he’s not really

looking at me but behind me at something larger than me.

For me this painting symbolises not only the artist but

meditation.

This to me, is the deliberate cultivation of attention,

leading to the awareness of the infinite behind the

everyday. John Main OSB has described God as being

complete unwavering attention. This is in contrast to our

flickering efforts.

Christian Meditation, which entails repeating a mantra

with the fullest possible attention for twenty to thirty

minutes twice daily, is a discipline which aims to open the

individual to God. It is a way, as other religions have also

found, of getting past the ego, the busyness of everyday

life and being still and listening to God. Christ himself, in

the parable of Mary and Martha pointed out that Mary’s

listening was more important than Martha’s bustle, and it

would not be taken away from her.

It is only when we begin that we realise we are not used

to giving our full attention to anything for more than a

couple of minutes, and we realise how difficult it is. Twenty

minutes seems completely impossible. Indeed it usually is

impossible, our brain is so often like a box of monkeys, but

with perseverance, by gently and persistently returning to

the mantra, it is possible to breast the twenty minutes.

The mantra that is recommended, Ma-ra-na-tha which

means ‘Come Lord Jesus’ is Aramaic and was chosen by

John Main as being a holy phrase in the language Jesus

spoke. Being unfamiliar to modern ears people are not

diverted by its content.

The point is to concentrate on the four equal syllables

themselves.

John Main says that initially we are saying the mantra,

then over time the mantra seems to be coming from our

heart, and finally after much practice we find that we

are listening to it, For this we have to be very still and

attentive. Posture is important, and it is recommended that

we sit comfortably, either on a mat, chair, or prayer stool

with our back and head straight, hands on our lap. This

isn’t an easy practice, in fact John Main called it work, but

with perseverance its fruits and gifts become manifest in

many areas of life.

I have been saying the mantra for over a year now and

one of my best friends has noted that I am more patient,

I have better relationships with a wider variety of people,

and that I am not so future orientated.

Although I still feel a complete novice, and indeed we

are every time we sit down to meditate it does seem to be

developing my capacity for attention.

Attention is useful in so many areas of life. It gives us

the ability to listen to the person talking to us, to listen for

their emotion as well as their content, without at the same

time holding our own internal conversation. When we do

speak, the words we say are likely to have more weight for

they come from attention and silence.

Timothy Radcliffe OP, (Dominican Friar and Author) tells

the story of an able and well regarded Scottish man who

had a severe stroke and was subsequently only able to say a

word at a time. But the words he did say were so pertinent

that people would travel for hundreds of kilometres for an

audience with him. Following Fr Timothy’s election as World

Wide Master of the Dominicans in 1992 he went to visit him.

The word he had for him was ‘courage’.

Because we are attentive to the present moment we

can savour our food, rejoice in the natural environment,

become aware of the smells, the sounds around us.

Increasingly I have moments where I feel I am really alive.

I suddenly realise how green the trees around me are, how

lovely the sun on their leaves, the shapes of the clouds,

their drift above. There is more poetry in my life.

We are also better able to concentrate on the task

before us. Sometimes I’ve been involved in a situation or

creative task where I have had no idea what to do, or what

to expect next and miraculously it’s seemed to me, the

solution, the avenue has appeared.

Through all this I’m hoping that as my ego becomes less

important, the spirit will grow within me. This is liberating

because we don’t care so much how we are seen, or what

happens to us. The spirit is much larger, so much more

important than we are. But as with everything, we waiver,

we make mistakes, and some days are better than others.

Father Laurence Freeman OSB, the Director of The World

Community of Christian Meditation, is very encouraging

about this. He says God doesn’t expect us to succeed, but

he does expect us to try.

Becoming a Christian Meditator does not mean that we

will not experience painful and difficult events. But it does

provide a way of living through them, a way of acceptance

and learning from them. It’s the old adage of a glass which

can be seen as a glass half empty, or a glass half full.

Through all this, as Christians our example is Christ, who

knowing he was going to die on the morrow held a feast for

his friends. This has become for us ‘The Eucharist’.

MARGARET ATKIN, Australiaatkin.margaret@yahoo.com

introduCtion to ChristiAn MeditAtionA tAlK giVen At An essentiAl teAChing WeeKend (etW)

13

The birth of ChristContemporary icon in the Byzantine tradition

On May 18th, 18 oblates and meditators from Quebec,

Ontario and Nova Scotia met for their silent retreat

at the Cistercian Abbey in Rougemont Quebec. The annual

event was organized by Magda Jass and led by Polly

Schofield, National WCCM Oblate Coordinator for Canada.

The rural beauty of the Abbaye Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth

nestled in the apple country of Southern Quebec provided

a sense of profound peace so necessary for a silent retreat.

The Gregorian chant of the monks during the Divine Office

became a high point in our daily routine. And we were

blessed with excellent accommodations, fine weather and

good food which included apple cider made by the monks

from apples from their own orchard.

Our weekend provided the opportunity to meditate

in community, always a meaningful experience, and to

receive John Main’s teachings from our retreat leader,

Polly Schofield, Archivist for the John Main Collection and

a close personal friend. Her love, warmth and respect for

Fr John could be felt throughout the retreat bringing to life

the teachings presented. Polly encouraged us by saying,

‘Fr John was anchored in reality, in supreme goodness.

The passion of his inner experience, with all its urgency,

was communicated in his writings.’ She reminded us that

his great gift to us is the universal teaching of Christian

meditation which he passed on to us with the authority of

his personal experience convinced that meditation is the

way into universal communion—Love.

Sent by POLLy SCHOFIELD, Canadawccm.oblates@bell.net

AnnuAl oblAte silent retreAt, CAnAdA

Hearing and seeing with the mind is inadequate.We have to hear and see also with the heart.

Meditation is the workof opening the eye and the ear of the heart.

Work takes time.It requires stability.

It asks for faith.It demands courage.

LIGHT WITHIn, Laurence Freeman OSB, p. 103

Monte oliVetosilent MeditAtion retreAt

sienna, italy

the CAVe of the heArtled by

fr lAurenCe freeMAn osbsaturday 22 —saturday 29 June

further inforMAtionwelcome@wccm.orgor +44 208 579 4466

14

I have always wondered whether the term ‘monastery

without walls’ referred to The WCCM as a whole or

specifically to the Oblate Community. As a community of

contemplatives—some priests but mostly lay people—The

WCCM has similarities to the type of community envisioned

by St Benedict in his Rule. As such, as a whole, it has been

called ‘a monastery without walls’. This idea goes back

to John Main who wrote a spiritual letter quarterly to the

community that was forming through meditation groups.

These letters—now published as ‘Monastery without Walls:

The Spiritual Letters of John Main’—spoke of the wisdom

and relevance of the Christian monastic tradition and its

openness to adaptability in the modern world. Many people

who practise meditation follow John Main’s teaching but do

not feel particularly identified with a monastic vocation. A

few of my meditator friends, faithful to the practice, don’t

particularly see themselves as part of a monastery with or

without walls.

There is of course within the wider community a

community of Oblates who are more explicitly inspired

and called by a monastic identity as lay people. An Oblate

community soon formed around John Main’s teaching,

originally closely linked to the monastery in Montreal,

finding its identity as lay people reflecting on the Rule of

St Benedict and the wisdom of the desert in the light of

their meditation practice. John Main always believed that

the potential of monastic Oblates would be realised in the

understanding that they were not a monastery support

group but were monastics themselves, living in the world,

often married, many with children and other demanding

jobs.

In what sense however is all of The WCCM in some sense

monastic? The WCCM is a global community of mostly

lay people from different Christian traditions who feel

called to practise meditation supported by a Christian

community and the teaching on silent contemplative prayer

that is part of the Christian heritage. The calling of this

community is to follow Christ’s prayer that ‘all may be

one’. In serving the unity of all, the community is open to

learn from many teachers and wisdom traditions as shown

in the annual ‘John Main Seminar’ where a guest speaker

is invited to give a ‘word’. The charism of the community

is to practise twice daily meditation and to help people to

build up and deepen that practice through local meditation

groups, reading, visual and audio resources, national and

international retreats and, more recently, the ‘Meditatio’

outreach which looks at the value of meditation practice in

a variety of contemporary contexts.

Of course the extent to which one identifies with

the monastic tradition is optional and unique to each

practitioner. The practice of Christian meditation that John

Main rediscovered in his own life and presented in a way

that has resonated with so many people around the world

goes back to a pre-monastic tradition. Jesus’ own witness

of silence, stillness and simplicity in prayer may have had

parallels with the Essenes but its openness to all and lack

of concern for purity rules makes it hard to think of Jesus

as a monk in that tradition. Outside that there was, nor is,

any ‘monastic’ tradition in Judaism. The practice that Jesus

taught was to become aware of the loving source of our

life, of the God in whom ‘we live and move and have our

being’ (Acts 17:28). This Apostolic teaching on prayer goes

back of course to the earlier Jewish practice expressed

in Psalm 46:10 ‘Be Still and Know that I am God.’ In the

persecuted early Christian community prayer would always

have that element of hiddenness and personal sincerity.

When the same Church became the official religion of the

Roman Empire external forms of religiosity came more to

the fore. It was here in the 4th and 5th centuries that the

monastic movement as such began within Christianity, as a

concerted effort to keep alive the practice of prayer in a

wholly sincere relation to God as the source of one’s being.

Certainly The WCCM is monastic in that at least a large

part of the inspiration of its foundation and its continuing

teaching charism comes from the monastic tradition. It has

its root in the teaching of a Benedictine monk, John Main,

who drew much from the ancient monastic teaching on

prayer. The WCCM was founded in 1991 in dialogue with the

Benedictine monk Bede Griffiths, and the director of the

community, and its main teacher continues to be another

Benedictine monk, Laurence Freeman. There is also the

presence of the Oblate Community started by John Main

the World CoMMunity for ChristiAn MeditAtionA MonAstery Without WAlls

15

which could be seen as a focused expression of The WCCM

as a ‘Monastery without Walls’. At the same time however

John Main always said the essence of monastic spirituality

is distilled in the meditation practice; the loving, stable,

committed, life–transforming path of the single word. So all

practitioners of Christian meditation can be seen as part of

this ‘monastery without walls’.

The stability is in the practice, not so much in a place

(though meditation groups all around the world root

the practice in local communities). ‘Without walls’ also

means that this new form of community inspired by

monastic spirituality is not on the defensive from the

outside world. Admittedly most members feel the need

to go on ‘retreat’ from time to time, to get away from

the pressures and distractions of daily life to focus on the

silence, on God. However in an equal way the commitment

of the community is to teach meditation and to dialogue

its relevance and benefits in many of the professions,

services and economic structures of contemporary society.

‘Meditatio’ is the outreach program of The WCCM, showing

that monastic spirituality is not just about ‘retreat’ but

also about ‘advance’. One has only to remember how

Benedictine monasticism played the major part in lifting

western civilisation out of the ‘Dark Ages’ created from

the fall of the Roman Empire. Monasticism has not only

transformed individuals but also society.

‘Without walls’ also means without the divisions that

religious identities often even today form themselves

around. The community is an ecumenical community

with a strong openness to interfaith participation. As St

Benedict says in his Rule the one criteria for membership

of the community is whether ‘they truly seek God’. It is

difficult to meditate for the sake of appearances, as most

of the time it is a solitary practice. In that sense it is a

sincere form of prayer, and the motivation of anyone who

practises it for any length of time is purified. Though we

may start for many and varied reasons, the experience of

those who stick to the path is that they no longer meditate

for the sake of themselves but for the sake of something

greater than themselves. Sincere prayer is something that

crosses all religious boundaries. A monastery without walls

recognises that faith is the capacity of the human person

for self-transcendence. It is also the capacity for religions

to know—as the Zen saying puts it—that they are fingers

pointing to the moon.

In England there are many ruined monasteries, tragically

‘dissolved’ at the beginning of the modern era. If one visits

a place like ‘Fountains’ or ‘Rievaulx’ Abbey in yorkshire,

‘Walsingham’ in Norfolk, ‘Glastonbury’ in Somerset or

‘Tintern’ in Wales, one is struck by the beauty of the places

which is sometimes even more striking—certainly more

romantic—in their half-ruined state. With the passing of the

monasteries the teaching of Christian contemplative prayer

was lost. Even the Church with whom the monasteries

were identified went on the defensive and the aggressive

and often ceased to listen to that ‘still small voice’ in

which God’s presence can be heard (1 Kings 19:12). Today however it is possible to give a more positive and

less dreamy evocation of a monastery without walls. A

community that is rooted in the purest practice of the

monastic culture, and yet is not ‘separated’ from the

world, nor admitting its adherents on any rigid ground of

doctrinal belief but open to all who genuinely seek God as

truth and love and who know that it is only by purifying the

heart that God can be seen.

‘A Monastery without Walls’ has the benefit of not getting

too bogged down with concern about structures. Religion

serves the human being and their flourishing, not visa versa.

All pilgrims have to let go when necessary of their securities

to discover that they are being held by God. There are no

construction costs, house insurance, utility bills or alarm

systems necessary to keep small local meditation groups

meeting in homes, parish halls and churches going. The

focus can be kept on the value of the practice and the

practitioners. A monastery is not a building but is a group

of people dedicated to God and to each other. Some might

say that God can be seen more clearly in a monastery

without walls, though in my experience actually physical

monasteries help keep God in focus (maybe that is why

going on retreat is so important). We need desperately in

this modern world to develop a contemplative awareness,

the vision of God has no boundaries between cloister and

world, between orthodox and unorthodox or between men

and women (separated as they are in traditional monastic

communities). There are practical reasons for boundaries

but as John Main said monastic life is always in a sense an

adventure into the unknown.

In this sense it must be part of the charism of The

WCCM that the monastic wisdom it draws from and shares

is not limited to those who see themselves as Oblates.

It is something shared by everyone. By the symbiosis of

community all meditators share in a monastic inspired

spiritual practice just as all Oblates are meditators. The

only criteria for entry to this ‘monastery’ is, as St Benedict

says, whether we do truly seek God. Meditating daily shows

that commitment. Though we may be very distracted by

the ‘everything else’ of life, morning and evening we align

ourselves with the compass of the mantra which points to

God’s Kingdom. That Kingdom, as Jesus showed, is itself

without walls, ‘everything else’ is contained in it as well.

Everything belongs for those who know to whom they

belong. The saying of the prayer word or mantra every

morning and evening for half an hour can help to remove

the obstacles of our vision, tear down the walls, so that,

as William Blake put it, ‘we may see everything as it really

is—infinite’. STEFAN REyNOLDS, UK

stefandreynolds@gmail.com

nAtionAl oblAte Co-ordinAtors

USA: Mary Robison, maryrobison@mac.com

UK: Eileen Dutt, eileendutt@yahoo.co.uk

NEW ZEALAND: Hugh McLaughlin, hungnz1916@yahoo.com

ITALY: Giovanni Foffano, foffano@libero.it

IRELAND: Rowena O’Sullivan, rowenaos@gmail.com

CANADA: Polly Schofield, wccm.oblates@bell.net

BRAZIL: Marcelo Melgares, marcelomelgares@yahoo.com.br

AUSTRALIA and INTERNATIONAL: Trish Panton, pantonamdg@ozemail.com.au

ViA VitAe, no. 16, december 2012

EDITOR: Trish Panton PO Box 555 Pennant Hills, NSW Australia 1715 Tel: +61 2 9489 1780 Mobile: +61 409 941 605 Email: pantonamdg@ozemail.com.au

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Alexandra Irini, Australia

booK Cornerthree books from the Meditatio series

Published by Convivium Press

exPerienCing god in A tiMe of Crisissarah bachelard

There are critical times in our lives,

moments of profound loss, grief

and fear in which our frameworks

of sense seem to collapse and

no longer enable us to convey

meaning to overwhelming events

or even to life itself. In this work

Sarah Bachelard suggests that

the practice of meditation and

contemplative living may help us

endure and integrate such turning-point experiences, and

bring our life and identity into a deeper wholeness. Crisis,

Bachelard indicates, may be seen as a call or opportunity

to genuinely encounter the reality of God. The journey

is painful and involves letting go of our old ways to enter

the unknown realm of poverty of spirit, but it also offers

us the possibility of going back into the world free and

courageous, with a new sense of being alive, and with a

radically deepened capacity to be with and to love other

human beings.

Why Are We here? laurence freeman, osb

In this work Fr Laurence Freeman

examines the radical question of

our being in the world. We are here,

he reflects, to come to continuous

prayer, to a constant openness to

the prayer of Christ in our hearts.

Continuous prayer, he says, must

not be understood as saying prayers

all the time but as the living in

a childlike state of simplicity, in

which our ego concerns are left behind, opening the way to

interior silence, communion with God, and greater power

of attention to others. Fr Laurence examines the teachings

of John Cassian to show that meditation, with the aid of

the ancient Christian tradition of the continuous saying of

a mantra, is a path and a discipline to reach this state of

simplicity and poverty of spirit of pure prayer called for by

the Lord. Along these lines, Fr Laurence also examines the

contemplative awakening that is taking place throughout

the church fostered in great part by the works of Merton

and, especially, Fr John Main, who gave a specific teaching

on how to enter the contemplative dimension of prayer

and planted the seed for today’s growing community of

Christian meditation in the world.

the goAl of lifelaurence freeman osb

Father Laurence Freeman shares

insights into understanding Jesus

in order to better understand

ourselves. He teaches that the

goal of life is to know fully who we

are, and that self-transcendence is

the way to self-knowledge. In this

state, the centre of consciousness

no longer resides in the ego.

Individual identity is not lost but it

is transcended. The practice of meditation harmonises and

integrates in the spirit all that we think and feel and say

and do. Meditation, the simplifying practice of silence and

stillness, inaugurates a whole new way of being. It is a way

of life.

Fr Laurence provides a guide into a Christian way of

meditation, simple and capable of being practised by all,

that is found in the teachings of the first Christian monks.

Readers of The Goal of Life will learn how this dramatic

rediscovery of Christian meditation has deepened the way

many can understand their Christian identity.