Dear Group Leaders and Friends in Christian Meditation,
There is something holy and whole for me during the month of November. We begin the month by remembering our loved ones who have gone before us into the fullness of God’s life. We remember these beloveds on All Saints Day and All Soul’s Day. We remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1).
As Christians, we are always a part of something far bigger than our individual experiences. We follow women and men of faith who have tread the way of Christ before us. I find it significant that before we were ever called Christians, to follow Jesus was said to be People of the Way. It reminds us that as followers of Jesus it is meant to be a pilgrimage. As meditators, we might think of this as a pilgrimage to our own center, where we find Christ himself.
One of the best images that I have ever heard was that as Jesus’ disciples we are playing on the field of life. We are striving to be Christ himself in our world that needs compassion, peace and empathy. Those who have gone before us (many of us call them saints) are in the stands surrounding us as we play the game of faith. They are cheering us on, the saints, known and unknown. Our beloveds who have died are always in our midst just as God is always in our midst. Carl Jung knew this intuitively and had cut in stone above the door of his home in Zurich: “Bidden or not bidden, God is present.” We don’t need to call upon God. The Divine is always here. We don’t need to call our beloved dead to be with us, they are always here. The Kingdom of God is in our midst, the Kingdom of God is within us. So, our beloved saints are cheering us on even when we forgot to call upon them.
Although we don’t need to call our forbears in faith or family to be present, it is important to recall them, to remember that we are part of something larger than ourselves. Lately I have been spending more time reading from the writings of Father John Main. I started to read a little bit at night before bed hoping to sleep with the angels through his words and teaching. Here is something that I didn’t know. He died when I was twelve years old. Although I never met him in life, he has become my teacher in spirit. Many of us have been fortunate enough to be introduced to him, even after his death, and be inspired by his teachings, to sit two times a day in silence, stillness and simplicity and be satisfied simply to say our mantra. When we practice this tradition, we are a part of something bigger than ourselves and at the same time we are finding our true selves in Jesus Christ by putting aside our thoughts, and, in the mantra, taking up our cross and following Jesus.
We might meditate in small groups at times, but most of us meditate alone more frequently. The truth is that just as we are always surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses as we live our lives of faith, whenever we sit to meditate, we are joined by countless contemplatives from all eras and times who have found that “there is nothing so much like God as silence”, as the Dominican theologian and mystic Meister Eckhart is reported to have said. Even in the silence of our own rooms, we are a part of something far bigger than ourselves, the way of Jesus Christ.
Now as Advent begins and November wanes and we begin our holiday preparations, I would encourage all of us to take some extra time for faith and community. On our WCCM USA website, you will find some opportunities, both nationally and internationally, to grow in holiness and wholeness. This might be a good time to slow down a bit as the world tells us to speed up. As someone once said: “It doesn’t really matter how fast you’re going if you’re heading in the wrong direction.“
Warmly,
Kevin Maksym
