action and contemplation

Opening Prayer: “I have stilled and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.”

Scripture: Psalm 131:1-3

Journal: Is your soul like a weaned child with its mother right now?  Why or why not?  What would happen if you actually took the time right now to stop and rest in the loving embrace of your God?  Will you?

Reflection: “When there is a crisis in the Church, it is always here: a crisis of contemplation.

     The church wants to feel able to explain about her spouse even when she has lost sight of him; even when, although she has not been divorced, she no longer knows his embrace, because curiosity has gotten the better of her and she has gone searching for other people and other things.” (The God Who Comes by Carlo Carretto)

We talk about being a weaned child with its mother, we read about it, we study it, we teach it, and we even write about it.  But do we do it?  Do we actually ever become a weaned child with its mother?  That is the crisis of contemplation.

Action that is not born out of contemplation has no power or authenticity.  It is just theory and dogma without experience and encounter.  We must stop talking about it and just do it!  Become a weaned child with its mother!  For only then will we be able to experience the stilled and quieted heart of one whose hope and love and life are rooted firmly in God alone.  Only then do we have any hope of being a non-anxious presence in this broken, chaotic, and fearful world.

Pray

Closing Prayer: O Lord, help me not just to talk about being a weaned child with its mother, but help me to actually become a weaned child with its mother.  Help me to live every minute of my life in your strong and loving embrace.