Blog Archives

Centering prayer: keep showing up~

1/27/2016

Here is my report on my daily centering prayer commitment. The showing up part is going well. I have haven’t missed a time since I began nine days ago—two twenty-minute sessions, one in the morning, one in the afternoon.
The actual centering, however, has a long way to go. I can feel my breath and concentrate on my word for no more than six consecutive breaths. Of course, that shows how difficult this all is, because why am I even be counting? And why am I thinking my breath, not feeling it?
The grace in all of this is that I notice some shifts out in my world; a tad more concentration, observable patience, and some spirit led decisions. I am not discouraged; I will keep showing up.

Getting out from under the bushel~

1/25/2016

My prayer routine is different at home than in Florence. More reading, less walking; more sitting in the AR, less sitting in churches; more visiting, less time alone.
I always have to adjust to the busyness of my life when I come home from a trip. To remain in my own solitude wouldn’t be right. Jesus says to go out and do for others; he also went off to pray. Both are necessary; work and faith. Sometimes more of one, sometimes the other gets added attention. When traveling alone I can hide my light under a bushel, but at home faith tells me to let it shine. It takes a couple of days to get out from under the bushel.

Some favorite churches in Florence

Morning prayer at La Badia~

1/23/2016

My last day in Florence found me making a pilgrimage to some of my prayer churches, where I have prayed for the people on my top ten prayer list.
This last morning I was surprised and delighted to step into a service at La Badia; the monks and nuns, prostrate or standing, singing praise and thanksgiving! A disheveled man came in, took off his shoes and prostrated himself for most of the service; afterwards he stretched out on a corner pew. * I lit a candle for a friend’s sister whose cancer has reoccurred.
What to make of all of this without judging? The celebration in song, the humility of the man, the prayer for the sick. I want to say that it is all part of God’s plan, but no, the idea of God’s plan doesn’t ring true. It is what happens, and God is with us to work it through.

* You may have noticed that I never post picture of people in personal or compromising situations—the homeless sleeping by a church, people in wheelchairs, etc. I honor them too much to make an example of their ‘otherness’. Who am I to judge?

Centering prayer at San Miniato

1/21/2016

Centering prayer is going well. Well, in that I have participated as promised, two times a day for twenty minutes, for two and a half days. I read up a little; the procedure itself is simple. Here’s my summary: sit quietly, close your eyes, and pray for God’s presence; pick a word (mine is Jesus) to think and to return to when your mind wanders; at the end of the time remain in silence for a few minutes before opening your eyes; offer prayers of gratitude.
I’ve been doing my centering prayer in La Badia because it is nearby and quiet. San Miniato al Monte, the church on the hill overlooking Florence would be another quiet church, but it is quite a hike to get there.
Here are my photos from visit there the other day.

Centering prayer--another try~

1/19/2016

I’ve started, once again, to meditate. I’ve written about this before—my desire, my commitment, and then I drop the subject because I’ve dropped the practice. So what makes me dare to go public again? What makes me committed with renewed desire? The simple answer is that my longing for God has deepen during this time in Florence. I have committed the time here to being with God, and one of the messages I’ve heard is that if I’m serious about living a life with God, I must get out of my head, I must stop thinking. Centering prayer is practice in doing just that!
This was reinforced last night while reading the latest on-line newsletter from Contemplative Outreach *, the site featuring Thomas Keating, the acknowledged leader of Centering Prayer. I found myself listening to a lecture by Keating on YouTube. In his charming, convincing manner, he was clear that centering prayer formed the foundation for a deep communion with God. By emptying ourselves of thought, we can hear God speaking to us. That’s the gist of what I heard.
So here is my commitment. Two twenty minute periods of centering prayer a day. One in the morning, another in the afternoon. I dare not attempt it in the evening for fear I’d fall asleep. I began this morning at La Badia, where it is very quiet, and I’ll probably return there this afternoon. This obligation is easy to fulfill while I’m in Florence, but at home, well, it will be a challenge. I’ll keep you posted.

* “Contemplative Outreach is a spiritual network of individuals and small faith communities committed to living the contemplative dimension of the Gospel. The common desire for Divine transformation, primarily expressed through a commitment to a daily Centering Prayer practice, unites our international, interdenominational community.”
www.contemplativeoutreach.org

Fruit of the spirit~

1/18/2016

Cousin John died yesterday. He was in his early 80s. My words that describe him are acceptance, forgiveness, and faithfulness, the fruits of the spirit given to him by God. Yes, he was an accepting, forgiving and faithful man.
Each of us has some signature word or words that describes our best selves. Maybe you know yours, maybe not, but your friends and family could probably tell you. My mom’s was gratitude.
Paul’s fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5 offers an excellent list for meditation; love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Which one resonates as true for you? Which one is your challenge? This is worth praying on, as a humble way of offering gratitude for our gifts, and acceptance, forgiveness and intercession for our failures.

Walking around Florence with God--again~

1/17/2016

Walking around with God in Florence should be easy. Solitude in a beautiful, safe city with good karma and feng shui. The challenge is mine, and not any different than at any other time or place in my life. I just have to remember, remember God, remember that that’s what I doing, walking around with God.
Sometimes I ask myself why I have to do all the remembering--how self-centered to think I have to do it all. The part that God plays is beyond anything that I can imagine. I only have to do the part I know, and have faith God will do the rest.
Rilke tells us to ‘live the question.’ In this case I’m going to ‘live the answer,’ which is that God is remembering and that with both us remembering, we’re a great team.

Today prayer thoughts from Florence~

1/16/2016

If human beings were perfect, there would be no prayer; I’m not saying no need for prayer; I’m say no prayer. All prayer is reaching out for help, which often involves chatting with God. In the Garden of Eden, before the eating of that apple, Adam and Eve and God didn’t talk. They were in perfect harmony.
It is accepted that we should start prayer with praise and thanksgiving, which we might say was the status back in the garden before Eve ate the apple. Then we move into confession, asking for forgiveness, and intercession. Church liturgy follows this progression, which is an excellent reason to attend church service.
But I am one of those pray-ers who often forgets the praise and awe part when I am not intentional about it. Gratitude, thanks to my mother, is an easy part of my prayer. In fact, expressing gratitude is one of the ways that help me step out of myself, and stand in awe of God’s creation. Forgiveness isn’t a big part of my prayer—Hmm, I need to think about that. God calls me to intercession. I know this is a God call because never could make up such a thing, and because I slip into it consciously and unconsciously all the time.

Praying for concentrating~

1/15/2016

I keep returning to La Badia for my morning prayer. Why not try the Duomo? Simple answer: La Badia is quiet, and by that I mean there is not a sound; the Duomo, on the other hand, always has a Mass going on in one of its chapels. I need all quiet I can get because I get distracted easily, very easily! My concentration is poor so I have work intensely to stay with one thought. In fact, I’m so used to flitting from one idea to another that I’m not usually aware I am doing so.
But when I pray, God reminds me, and with that reminder, I ask for God’s help to concentrate better. I am beginning to notice progress in my prayer, and also in my other activities. A good example is this writing that I am doing here at the café. My mind goes all over the place, but I am aware of this hyperactivity of thought and of God drawing me back to the task at hand.

Walking around Florence with God~

1/14/2016

Yesterday I wrote the following to a friend who composes and performs folk songs: “You sing, I walk around with God--same but different--opening up our souls to the good and sharing what we have.” Peg, who attends a Unitarian Universalist church, wrote back that she liked what I wrote.
Her comment caused me to notice that I have been mentioning God more and more in conversations, and once in a while God even sneaks into my cottagebythesea blog. As you readers of aprayerdiary know, I keep these two blogs separate—I never mention this prayer blog to the cottage readers. Each blog has a different focus, a different mission. Also, many cottage readers want no part of organized religion, spiritual conversation, or serious discussion about prayer. And yet, I trust that underneath their longing for solitude, they are looking for something beyond a rational, self-centered, worldly existence.
I see no good reason to join the two blogs, each of which in its own way serves me and hopefully my readers. On the other hand, I believe that the word God is slipping into general usage and becoming more acceptable out in the world. More people are able to hear and claim the word for their own good use.
That being said, I am considering using the word God occasionally in the cottage blog. I believe I can do so without people feeling offended, or concluding I want convert them, or being turned off by what I say. I’ll give it a try by first explaining more or less what I’ve written here—another example of thought and language, of how writing helps us know what we are thinking.