Category Archives: Spirituality

Silence, Stillness, Simplicity – Maranatha

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I am convinced, after studying the writings of the Desert Fathers and Mothers and the medieval mystics, as well as the more contemporary writings of Thomas Merton, John Main, Thomas Keating, and Richard Rohr, that recovering the elements of contemplation is crucial to one’s relationship with others and ultimately one’s unique relationship with Christ. Contemplation in the Christian West, though, was restricted for centuries to within monastery walls, and the resulting polarity of the active and contemplative life has alienated many from the deep prayer “that transcends complexity and restores unity.”[1] Our lives should be a “both, and” rather than an “either, or” – we need action and contemplation. How, though, do we as lay individuals become contemplatives? How do we leave behind our daily distractions and self-piety? How do we enter into the deep prayer of the heart?

Fr. John Main, OSB (1926-1982) understood, like his contemporary Thomas Merton, that John Main OSBcontemplative prayer provides those answers. We know: God is our creator, Jesus is our redeemer, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Nevertheless, do we realize these truths? John Main held that the great weakness of Christians was to know the truths theologically but never obtain living the truths in their hearts.[2] He understood that prayer beyond thoughts and images was a universal calling, and leaning on the teachings of the fourth-century monk, John Cassian, he brought the Christian tradition of using a mantra to the laity through the practice of Christian meditation.

“Meditation is the work we do to accept the gift of contemplation which is already given and present in the heart.”[3] However, the term “meditation” in our culture has a variety of meanings. Though meditation is a universal spiritual wisdom, Christian meditation is a form of contemplation (also known as contemplative or meditative prayer) that allows one to experience the fundamental relationship of one’s life – to be in the fullness of one’s Wheelrelationship with the Holy Trinity. The old analogy of prayer as a wheel is helpful: the spokes of the wheel are our various expressions of prayer (the Eucharist, the liturgy, the other sacraments, lectio divina, the Rosary, personal devotions, etc.); the hub, the center, is where the spokes converge (the prayer of Jesus in our hearts). Without the hub, without the center, the wheel cannot turn. In the center, in our heart, we find silence, stillness, and simplicity – we find Christ.

The silence of meditation follows Matthew’s advice to go to our inner room and pray in silence (Mt 6:5). The stillness of meditation reminds us to live in the world without being subject to it (ref. Mt 6:19-21). The simplicity of meditation helps us set our minds on the Kingdom of God first (ref. Mt 6:25-34). In meditation, one stops thinking about the past or future and lives in the present moment – in the presence of God. Christian meditation revives the meaning of all our expressions of prayer and can influence positively one’s relationships with others.

Thomas Merton, in some of the final words of his life, said, “In prayer we discover what we already have. You start where you are and you deepen what you already have. And you realize that you are already there. We already have everything, but we don’t know it and we don’t experience it. Everything has been given to us in Christ. All we need is to experience what we already possess. The trouble is we aren’t taking time to do so.”[4] Christian meditation is one method to find the necessary center and experience what we already possess.

John Main taught that sitting in silence and stillness and repetitively and silently using a mantra such as maranatha, an Aramaic word meaning, “Come, Lord,” helps us quiet our multitasking minds and truly move our prayer to our hearts. He instructed:

Sit down. Sit still with your back straight. Close your eyes lightly. Then interiorly, silently begin to recite a single word – a prayer word or mantra. We recommend the ancient Christian prayer-word “Maranatha.” Say it as four equal syllables. Breathe normally and give your full attention to the word as you say it, silently, gently, faithfully, and – above all – simply. The essence of meditation is simplicity. Stay with the same word during the whole meditation and in each meditation day to day. Do not visualize but listen to the word, as you say it. Let go of all thoughts (even good thoughts), images, and other words. Do not fight your distractions: let them go by saying your word faithfully, gently and attentively and returning to it as soon as you realize you have stopped saying or it or when your attention wanders. Meditate twice a day, morning, and evening, for between 20 and 30 minutes. It may take a time to develop this discipline and the support of a tradition and community is always helpful.

John Main provided instruction on individual and group Christian meditation showing us how to live a contemplative life within the chaos of our daily lives. His vision for a “monastery without walls” continues with the World Community for Christian Meditation, founded in 1991. In John Main’s words, we pray: Heavenly Father, open our hearts to the silent presence of the spirit of your Son. Lead us into that mysterious silence where your love is revealed to all who call, Maranatha…Come, Lord Jesus.

Fawn Waranauskas teaches spirituality for Saint Joseph’s College.

[1] John Main, OSB, Word into Silence (London: Canterbury Press Norwich, 2006) viii.

[2] Ibid. 5.

[3] Laurence Freeman, OSB, Jesus the Teacher Within (New York: Continuum, 2000) 197.

[4] Pennington, M. Basil, OCSO. Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form. (New York: Doubleday, 2001) 49-50.

Who is Saint Francis of Assisi?

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Saint Francis of Assisi, born in 1182, lived only 44 years, dying in 1226. He was the son of st_francis_assisi_prayer_carda wealthy merchant, known for taking to the streets with his friends for fun and frolic. However, as he reached manhood, he took off for battle between his town of Assisi and the town of Perugia, Italy, where he landed in prison. Upon his release from prison in 1205, he sought the meaning of life, thinking it should be so much more than following in his father’s footsteps. Therefore, Francis turned his back on the family business to embrace the love of God and serve God through the imitation of Christ. He became a living human example of Christ in action, loving God and all that God made.

Francis was not a theologian, buried amidst a pile of books looking for the true meaning of God. No, Francis found God in his own heart, the heart that burned with love. Through prayer and contemplation, penance and sacrifice, Francis developed a loving relationship with God from which the essence of his spirituality flowed.

Francis trusted God. By detaching himself from earthly cares, he freed himself to open his heart to God. He moved from a life of luxury and indulgence to a life of austerity and self-imposed poverty. He embraced the simplicity of Christ’s life, following Christ as closely as possible. Three biblical passages were near and dear to Francis’ heart and guided his every action:

  1. Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me’ (Matt 19:21).
  2. Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me’ (Matt 16:24).
  3. He said to them ‘Take nothing for the journey, neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money, nor let no one take a second tunic’ (Luke 9:3).

Francis lived by these instructions. He never worried about where his next meal would come from; where he would lay his head to rest; or how he would keep warm in winter. He knew God would provide.

Francis’ approach came across as refreshing to those who became followers. By his own example, he lived the Gospel, rather than talk about the Gospel. Francis did everything for love of God, neighbor and nature, by expressing passion about God and everything that God made.

Francis liked being around people most of the time. However, he understood the need for solitude, silence and stillness. In living the Gospel, he recognized that Christ would also go to pray alone before important decisions or events. Francis would do the same. Yet, he also saw the need to be among the people in service to their needs. He balanced his time between service and solitude.

Within only three years of release from prison, Francis had twelve companions who joined him. They were a community emphasizing a top priority on love, fellowship, brotherliness, and mutual support. Within a year’s time of banding together, Francis recognized a need for organization and a rule of conduct for his little community. The very first sentence of the Rule summarizes all that Francis wanted to accomplish in establishing the Order of Friars Minor:

The rule and life of the Minor Brothers is this, namely to observe the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ by living in obedience, without property, and in chastity (Rule of Saint Francis, Catholic Encyclopedia).

This statement directly correlates back to the three biblical passages from the New Testament, continually referred to by Francis to define what it means to follow Christ.

Men of all different walks of life joined the Order; the wealthy and the poor, the educated and the uneducated; all were welcome. Everyone was treated the same, with no distinctions, except for ordained priests. Francis thought it important that all men should be considered equal, to better foster humility. Francis also believed in obedience, poverty and chastity because Jesus was obedient to God the Father. Jesus lived a life on earth in poverty, and Jesus never married. With the establishment of the Order of Friars Minor formally blessed by papal authority, Francis sent his fellow brothers throughout Europe in pairs of two to evangelize as described in Luke 9:3.

Saint Francis of Assisi is considered one of the greatest saints because of his simplicity, sincerity, compassion, humility, gentleness, and joyous nature, the radical commitment to following Christ, and trust in God to provide. Francis possessed a willingness to live amongst the poor, to understand their struggles and to strive to bring souls to God through his preaching. Francis imitated Christ in everything that he thought and did. He encountered Christ daily, truly living the deep Christian way of living that defines Christian spirituality. Francis was open to God; giving his life over to God, so that the will of God would be accomplished in the life of Francis.

The charisms of Saint Francis flow forth into every person who becomes a Franciscan (Order of Friars Minor, Poor Clares, or Secular Franciscan). Today, we have over one million Franciscans. The simplicity, sincerity, compassion, humility, gentleness, and joyous nature, the radical commitment to following Christ, and trust in God to provide, so effervescent in Francis, are trademarks of Franciscan spirituality to this day. Living the Gospel, with authenticity, is a very alluring attitude that draws people in. Extending care and concern keeps one’s attention. Service with love converts followers. Coming to know Jesus in your heart, not just knowing about Him from reading books, that creates Christians – and that is what Franciscans do – they “rebuild the Church!”

Virginia Lieto teaches spirituality for Saint Joseph’s College. She recently published her first children’s book Finding Patience and blogs at virginialieto.com.