Contemplative Haven

“All the beauty of nature, the kind influences of the seasons, the gifts of sun and moon, and the fruits of the earth, the advantages of civilized life, and the presence of friends and intimates; all these good things are but one extended and wonderful type of God’s benefits in the Gospel.  Those who aim at perfection will not reject the gift, but add a corrective; they will add the bitter herbs to the fatted calf and the music and dancing; they will not refuse the flowers of earth, but they will toil in plucking up the weeds.  Or if they refrain from one temporal blessing, it will be to reserve another; for this is one great mercy of God, that while He allows us a discretionary use of His temporal gifts, He allows a discretionary abstinence also; and He almost enjoins upon us the use of some, lest we should forget that this earth is His creation, and not of the evil one.” (John Henry Newman: The Heart of Newman)

“…the things of the earth are for the sake of fostering union – our union with God and with each other.  Hence, our relationship to the material world must be both aesthetical and ascetical.  The aesthetical aspect ensures that we delight in the goodness and beauty of all created things.  The ascetical aspect ensures our freedom to say “no” to certain material objects because of a “yes” we want to say to deeper desires.  By preserving this freedom to say “yes” or “no” to created goods, we strengthen our ability to use creatures only in ways that deepen our relationship of love with God and others.” (Wilkie Au, S.J.: By Way of the Heart.  Toward a Holistic Christian Spirituality)

I almost feel like saying, “Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?”, but the fact of the matter is, there’s no bad news when it comes to detachment – only a lot of hard work.

One of the areas where I think it’s easiest for us to get a sense of what detachment truly means is in our relationship with God’s creation.  If we could love everything and everyone in our lives the way we love this beautiful universe He’s fashioned, then we would see how completely loving and freeing detachment really is.

When we are absorbed in the beauty of nature, be it a skyful of stars, a field of lavender, a roaring ocean, a snow-capped mountain, a daffodil, a hummingbird, or the frost on the windowpane, there is no sense of selfishness; there is no sense of, “I want these stars, this lavender field, this mountain for myself.”  We are enthralled by the beauty, we try to absorb it into ourselves so we will never forget it, we marvel, we stand in awe, and we are led to glorify God for His work as Creator, and to give Him thanks for all He has given us.

We have no hidden agenda for the starlit night sky or the delicate frost patterns.  We don’t try to improve them, change them, or make them stay any longer than they are meant to.  Our sense of self-worth is not confused or threatened in any way by their existence, nor by the fact that we cannot have them for ourselves, any time and any place we desire.

Let us pause for a moment, close our eyes, and imagine a scene of nature that is dear to our hearts.  Pause and think about the feelings that scene evokes – wonder, joy, peace, awe, a quiet praise and gratitude to the Lord.  Now if we were to substitute something else for that nature scene – let’s see – a spouse, a career, a chocolate cake, a cigarette, a beer, a house, a car – hmmmmmm, I think this is where the hard work begins…

Why is it that the subject of detachment in the spiritual life is so generally misunderstood, avoided, or thrown out altogether from our spiritual practice as something so “inhuman” as to not be worth investigation? One of the reasons, according to Father Thomas Dubay, is that we do not understand what “attachments” are in the first place.

In, “Fire Within”, Fr. Dubay tells us that, “strong attractions to persons or things are not attachments”, and “having a feeling of pleasure in any of the five senses in connection with these persons or things is also not attachment”. So what does “attachment” mean, in its undesirable sense?  It means, writes Fr. Dubay,  “voluntary, disordered seekings”; “willed seekings of finite things in and for themselves rather than seeking them in God, their true Source and Purpose”.  Attachment is desiring or centering on something created, for its own sake.

So in our exploration of detachment, we will be looking at some of these things – disordered seekings and desires versus natural appetites, created versus Uncreated, finite versus Infinite, relative versus Absolute – and we will see why virtually every contemplative writer equates detachment with freedom.  Freedom, and love.

Possibly one of the most difficult things to attain on our spiritual journey, and very likely one of the most misunderstood, is something which is generally referred to as “detachment”.  Our modern-day usage of the word, signifying an emotional state of coldness, of non-caring, tends to muddle our way of thinking about it in the spiritual sense.  It may even cause us to reject the concept of detachment outright as something not only personally unattainable “because we care about people too much”, but as something we may even consider to be undesirable.

Detachment, in earlier years, was also known as “Holy Indifference”, and was discussed in conjunction with terms such as “self-immolation” and “self-abandonment”.  The goal, and only possible outcome, of true detachment is the exact opposite of coldness of heart and of cutting oneself off from people.  It is a selflessness which brings a peaceful contentment to body, mind and soul, allowing us to perform our duties in a state of serenity, and positioning us to be of service to others. 

So let’s talk about it.  Let’s take a much closer look at what it is and what it isn’t, and why the mere mention of it often gets people very upset.  Let’s get to the bottom of detachment, guided, as always, by our contemplative saints and writers.        

Thrice Holy Hymn

I hope you enjoyed the little retreat.  I’d like to give you the links to the actual sites that I used, just in case the ones in the posts didn’t work for you.  Also, the portions that I used were just a small part of the wonderful material available to you at these sites.  So here they are:

All the music came from: Soaking.net

Fr. Richard Clancy’s talks can be found at: Oblates of Divine Mercy

Fr. Larry Gillick’s talks can be found at: Creighton University Audio Retreats

And visit WorldPriest.com for daily contemplative retreats, lectio divina, liturgy of the hours, and much more.

Last but certainly not least, here is a little surprise I came across last night in my travels. I’ve been waiting most of my life to hear his voice, and maybe you have too. So here is Thomas Merton, giving a little talk on discernment to his novices, which can be found here, at The Merton Institute for Contemplative Living.

Opening Reflection:  (From the Diary of St. Faustina)

“O my Jesus, how very easy it is to become holy; all that is needed is a bit of good will. If Jesus sees this little bit of good will in the soul, He hurries to give Himself to the soul, and nothing can stop Him, neither shortcomings nor falls – absolutely nothing.”

Today’s Retreat Talk:
From the Daily Contemplative Retreat at WorldPriest.com  4:25

Highlights:

• Take time to be alone with the Divine
• Holy Leisure
• Let God love you

Today’s Retreat Music:
“I Fall Into Your Arms” 4:44 (Don Newmeyer. CD: I Fall Into Your Arms)

Total Retreat Time: 9 minutes & 9 seconds

Opening Reflection: (From the Diary of St. Faustina)

Jesus said:  “I do not reward for good results but for the patience and hardship undergone for My sake.”

Today’s Retreat Talk: Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J.
(Talk # 5 from a weekend retreat at Demontreville Jesuit Retreat House in 2003) 32:18

Highlights:

• Our resistance to totally surrendering to God
• Faith and doubt go together; resistance and grace go together
• Nothing, no one, will completely satisfy us here on earth
• God gives us the experience of the incomplete, otherwise we would stop searching for Him
• Facing our dissatisfaction; reverencing our fears

Today’s Retreat Music: (lower your volume to start with)
“Give Your Heart A Home” 4:25 (Don Francisco. CD: Beautiful To Me)

Total Retreat Time:  36 minutes & 43 seconds

Opening Reflection: (From the Diary of St. Faustina) 

“Oh, who will comprehend Your love and Your unfathomable mercy toward us! O Prisoner of Love, I lock up my poor heart in this tabernacle, that it may adore You without cease night and day.”

Today’s Retreat Talk:
(Fr. Richard Clancy, Boston Conference [Part 3] 2002)  5:46

Highlights:

• Benefits of spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament
• Growth in love and generosity
• Redirection to a deeper prayer life. Our ministry will flow from this deeper prayer life, not the other way around.

Today’s Retreat Music:
“Beloved” 4:41 (John Doan. CD: Departures)

Total Retreat Time:  10 minutes & 27 seconds

Many of you are down; I know that.  Illness, work or school-related stress, family problems, addictions, financial woes.  If I could, I would send you all here, because each and every one of you deserves it. Would that I could.

In these last days leading up to Divine Mercy Sunday, it has occurred to me that we are reciting the Chaplet and doing the Novena, but are we paying attention to those five little words printed on the Divine Mercy Image? Jesus, I trust in You.   We must nurture this trust.  Nurturing is difficult when we are so tired, so beaten down at times by everyday life.  I cannot send you to the Poustinia, but I invite you here, at the Haven, to take a little time for yourself over the next three days.  Three mini-retreats.  Check in, take a glance at the “total retreat time”, and come back when you know you can sit down and relax with a cup of tea, wearing your favourite slippers.  No comments are necessary, or expected.  This time is totally for you.