Spirituality IX
Bishop Roger
Warnings over, there is one more consideration before we start on the ‘mind’ part of our journey. What we are attempting to do is to fit ourselves to accept from God the right to be children of God (see John 1;12 and other places). Now this is a gift, not a right per se, because we are creatures of God, made by him for his purposes which we neither know nor understand. Because this is so we may labour in this field for years without experiencing any ‘union with God’. Or it may come suddenly and unexpectedly. Rarely the gift is given to a person who seems to have done nothing to ‘deserve’ it. We do not know why - His ways are not our ways.
What we do know is that by following a path of spirituality such as we are doing here we affect our whole selves, body mind and spirit, to our benefit, and are prepared for God’s gift if and when it comes. (And we have Jesus’ promise that it will come, which should cheer us up a bit!). But we must always be conscious that the ‘spiritual sweets’ which I have mentioned before, and which may come easily (or not at all!) are not the goal we seek, must not be sought, and may quite suddenly depart, leaving us bereft if we take them too seriously.
The first thing to develop is a ‘spiritual’ mind-set. This does not mean a mealy mouthed Uriah Heap creepy pseudo humility, nor a PollyAnna attitude that everything is lovely, but an underlying belief that God is present ‘in all our doings’ closer to us, as Muslims say, than our great neck veins. So we need to remember this often, and the easy way is by a little prayer at frequent times in the day. Of course the daily Office is there if we wish to use it, as is the Angelus, but I am not talking of formal prayer, just reminders.
On waking it is helpful to say ‘Glory be to God, and thank you for a good night’s sleep’ or even the whole Gloria, or, if you like it, the Hebrew Shema ( Deut6;4-9,11, 13-21 and Num 15;37-41). This sets the tone for the coming day. At mealtimes it is important to give thanks for the food and for those who have worked to provide it – and this applies to any snack or drink that we may take.
When we wash we can give thanks for the cleansing water, and those who provide it, and so on. George Herbert (1593-1633) clearly had this attitude in mind when he wrote of the menial task of sweeping a floor ‘who does it with this tincture (an apothecary term for a medicine) “For Thy sake” makes that and the action fine’.
None of this sort of background prayer should be petitionary, nor long winded, nor formal. It is merely a way of starting and maintaining a state of mind which is grateful, loving and God centered. None of it need be formal – no large signs of the Cross, no closing of eyes nor obvious withdrawal from what’s going on, no speech, just simple internal attitude. What we are after is an attitude of continual loving attention to God, while remembering our fellow humans – our neighbours. Do not get so caught up in seeking God that our fellows – all of God’s creation are forgotten, or dismissed as unimportant.
Later in this course we shall come onto prayer, formal and informal, spiritual reading or Lectio Divina, and meditation, all of which are seriously important in the life of the spirit, particularly using our mental facilities with which we are able to provide the tilled soil of our garden for Our Lord to work in., but for now we need to spend some time in this simple development of an attitude of mind so that it becomes second nature.
In the pursuit of spirituality, as in all other walks of life, each person is different. We are compounded of our genetic heritage and our family and social experiences. There is no magic way that fits everyone, so that you may consider yourself free to do as you wish within the parameters set out, which is why, although I may give suggestions which you may wish to follow, they are merely suggestions – guideposts along the way. They are not my guideposts specifically, but have been culled from the vast heritage of Christian Spirituality over the past two millennia, with a sprinkling of matters that help along the way culled from my study of other religions as well, which goes back well over sixty years now.
Always remember that you are you, and if anything I may suggest seems uncomfortable you are free to leave it – though you may wish to try it first and see how you get on. The sole aim of all this is to bring you nearer to God and to the Theosis which he has promised is available to us all.
+Roger