Dear Group Leaders and Friends in Christian Meditation,
When I arrived at New Harmony, Indiana for the 2024 John Main Seminar, I quickly checked into my room at the inn hosting this international annual event. This gathering was a little different than past years which would begin with a silent retreat. Of course, during the seminar there were times of silence and certainly periods of meditation, however this year, it was a more interactive time as we learned a new way of listening contemplatively and sharing from a place of silence and stillness. We had a collective desire to open our minds and hearts to hear what God might be calling us to be in these most challenging of times.
As I unpacked my belongings, I realized that I had overpacked. I found the Wi-Fi password and connected my iPad to the web. I decided to give myself the liberty to watch television as I got myself adjusted in my room. I quickly realized that the tv was not set up properly and so no television for me. I next tried to watch a movie on my iPad. Again, no luck there. Something wasn’t working correctly on this device. I decided this lack of technology was what was needed for me to have a bit more silence and not using these electronic distractions to avoid the God we find in silence.
“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in his room.” That quote from Blaise Pascal has always resonated with me. The language of “man” is dated, but the quote continues to ring true. Maybe even more now than when it was first written. Perhaps God, the universe, the limits of technology all conspired to have me embrace the quiet that I needed as I prepared for the seminar, and as I continued to follow the path of Christian meditation. Meditation reminds us that it is in our solitude that we begin to see our uniqueness as members of God’s people.
During the week, we collectively experienced what happens when a tornado is in the neighborhood of New Harmony. We heard the sirens in the midst of our silence. An emergency siren echoed throughout this small town and our meeting room. It took us a moment to realize the difference between sirens for a tornado watch and just a warning. We understood the difference when it was reported that a tornado had touched down in a town near us. We quickly found shelter. Many of us ended up in the gym of one of our hotel’s buildings. It was a lesson in how we each respond to emergent events in our lives. As one meditator remarked as we were sheltering from the tornado: “We are a community, right?” It was a moment of clarity when I could hear the words of Fr. John Main echoing in my soul: “meditation builds community.” And so does sheltering from a weather emergency. This experience reminded me that we are in communion with one another just as we are in communion with the God who calls us to offer our life and gifts to God’s own community of love.
As we continue our lives in the world and our lives of meditation, may these summer days be a respite from the busyness of our lives and the challenges of these times. I would encourage us as we gather to meditate, with our groups or in our own daily practice, to remember that we are called to a paradoxical life: we are a people of silence and solitude but also called to commune with one another as we grow into God’s own community of love.
I believe in the depth of my own heart that as we sit to meditate in the morning and evening and say our mantra, we are having an impact beyond our simple human understanding on our own lives but also on the entirely of our universe. So I end with this one desire: may the gift of our daily meditation reverberate throughout our world that so desperately needs the peace of Christ.
Warmly,
Kevin Maksym
