Foundations of Prayer Christian †Meditation
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1 | Mysticism Mysticism: a False Model of the Christian's Communion with God and Sanctification by Pastor Mark R. Perkins H
Mysticism: A False Model of the Christian's Communion with God and Sanctification By Pastor Mark R. Perkins Human spirituality has suffered more from the assault of mysticism than from any other enemy. Even among Christians, mysticism is overwhelmingly misunderstood, rampantly practiced against every caution, and is a vital conduit for the introduction of a great volume of false doctrine into the world. Today, mysticism is wildly popular among Christians. Movements such as contemplative spirituality, spiritual formation, and in large part the charismatic branch of evangelical Christianity all have significant elements of mysticism. Because of extensive involvement in mysticism, the result to Christianity through the ages has been nothing less than devastating. In generation after generation mysticism has produced heresy and war, and from association with the name of Christ has done significant harm to the reputation of Christians and the church. The purpose of this presentation is to define mysticism, and then to determine whether the biblical description of communion with God, and of sanctification, meets that definition. Other benefits will accrue in the journey. The Definition of Mysticism According to the concise Oxford English Dictionary, a mystic is “a person who seeks by contemplation and self–surrender to attain unity with the Deity or the absolute, and so reach truths beyond human understanding.”1 While anything mystical is something “having a spiritual, symbolic, or allegorical significance that transcends human understanding… relating to ancient religious mysteries or other occult rites.”2 The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church adds this illumination, “In modern usage ‘mysticism’ generally refers to claims of immediate knowledge of Ultimate Reality whether or not this is called ‘God’) by direct personal experience;”3 Finally, Francis Schaeffer emphasizes the unintelligibility of mysticism, “Mysticism is nothing more than a faith contrary to rationality, deprived of content and incapable of communication. -
Sacred Heart of Jesus (Kettle Falls), Pure Heart of Mary (Northport) Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2017
MY PARISH FAMILY Immaculate Conception (Colville), Sacred Heart of Jesus (Kettle Falls), Pure Heart of Mary (Northport) Third Sunday of Advent, December 17, 2017 MASS AND CONFESSION SCHEDULE PARISH STAFF Tuesday, December 19 Pastor…………………………..……Father Kenneth St. Hilaire 5:00 pm Confession [email protected] 5:30 pm Mass (Colville) Office Manager………………………...……..…..Pam Milliette Cliff & Esther Cox+ [email protected] Wednesday, December 20 Custodian…………………………………..….………Maria Wojcik 7:15 am Mass (Mt. Carmel Chapel) Facilities Supervisor……………………..…….…...Greg Rainer Denny Enright+ Social Outreach……………….…..…………..……..……Pam Vail Thursday, December 21 Parish Office……………………………....……..(509)-684-6223 7:15 am Mass (Colville) Office Hours………………………..Tues-Thursday 9am-3pm John Chapman PARISH MINISTRIES Friday, December 22 Pastoral Council ............................................. Adam Huff 7:15 am Mass (Colville) Finance Council ....... Joe Fazzari, Dave Hewes, Art Paine Vi and Mike Cournyer Knights of Columbus ............................... Ted Van Cleave Saturday, December 23 Catholic Daughters .............................. Valorie Anderson 3:00pm Confessions (Colville) Adoration. ........................................... Sharon Sprangers 4:00pm Mass (Colville) Prayer Line ......................................... JoHanna Andrews Michelle & Eric Boyd Funeral Luncheons ........................................... Janie Kuh 6:00pm Mass (Kettle Falls) Music Coordinator .......................................... Joan Davis U.S. Soldiers’ -
St. Bonaventure Catholic Community Comunidad Católica De San Buenaventura
St. Bonaventure Catholic Community Comunidad Católica de San Buenaventura 5562 Clayton Road, Concord, CA 94521 • PHONE (925) 672-5800 • FAX (925) 672-4606 • www.stbonaventure.net Blessing of departing Director of Faith Formation For Children, Rosann Hallick. Photo Credit: David Blankenhorn Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Decimoquinto Domingo del Tiempo Ordinario July 15, 2018 MASSES IN ENGLISH/EN INGLES MARRIAGE/MATRIMONIO Mission Saturday Vigil/Sábado: 5:00 PM Call the office to arrange with a Priest or Deacon. This Sunday/Domingo 7:30 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM requires six months preparation. As disciples at St. Bonaventure, we are committed to know Christ better and Llame a la oficina para solicitar información y concer- make Him better known. To this end we MISA EN ESPAÑOL IN SPANISH tar una cita con el Sacerdote. Este proceso requiere / are committed to… Domingo: 12:45 PM mínimo seis meses de preparación. Keep connected to our parish DAILY MASS/MISA DIARIA (CHAPEL/CAPILLA) RECONCILIATION/RECONCILIACÍON community, PM Monday/Lunes thru Friday/Viernes : 6:30 AM & 9:00 AM In English: Saturdays 3:30 (in the church) or by appointment. Nurture the development of our faith Llame a la oficina para hacer una cita con el Sacer- and knowledge of Christ, BAPTISM/BAUTIZOS dote. In English: Call the office to begin the process. This Offer to share the Holy Spirit’s gifts of requires two months preparation time, talent and treasure, En Español: Llame a la oficina para solicitar infor- Worship through prayer, Mass and the mación y concertar una cita con el Sacerdote. -
ORTHODOX PRAYER and BUDDHIST MINDFULNESS Fr. Brendan Pelphrey Fall, 2014 Thank You for the Invitation to Take Part in This Weeks
ORTHODOX PRAYER AND BUDDHIST MINDFULNESS Fr. Brendan Pelphrey Fall, 2014 Thank you for the invitation to take part in this weeks’ conference. My task is to compare the Orthodox tradition of silent prayer, or “watchfulness” (nipsis), as described by the Hesychasts, with the Buddhist practice of “mindfulness” (sati) in its various traditions, as we explore how these things may be beneficial to healing. To be done well I believe the topic would require someone who is experienced in monastic life, whether Orthodox Christian or Buddhist, or both. Unfortunately I am neither, but I offer my comments in light of an admonition attributed to St. Gregory Palamas: Let no one think, my fellow Christians, that only priests and monks need to pray without ceasing, and not laymen. No, no: every Christian without exception ought to dwell always in prayer. Gregory the Theologian teaches all Christians that the Name of God must be remembered in prayer as often as one draws breath.1 For Orthodox Christians our topic is in fact prayer—as different from Buddhist meditation or mindfulness as our right hand is from our left, and so opposite at every point. Orthodox watchfulness seeks the presence and energetic gifts of God, holiness, cleansing from sin, taking on the image and likeness of Christ, even in the body. “Self-awareness” is not the goal, except in the sense of becoming aware of our need for God and of delusions which deceive us. Rather, the goal is inner stillness which allows for prayer and transformation.2 This way of prayer is continual, involving the unity of body, mind and soul in Liturgy, psalmody, hymns and prayers, as well in disciplines of kindness and compassion. -
On Christian Asceticism Spiritual Exercises in Saint Augustine's
Studies in Spirituality 25, 21-43. doi: 10.2143/SIS.25.0.3112887 © 2015 by Studies in Spirituality. All rights reserved. JOSEPH GRABAU ON CHRISTIAN ASCETICISM Spiritual Exercises in Saint Augustine’s Confessions* SUMMARY – The present article seeks to address an important point of contact between early Christian ascetic practice and the heritage of Platonism through the end of the fourth century AD. In short, I find marked similarities between Pierre Hadot’s reading of Plato’s Phaedo, for example, and that of St Augustine’s personal prayer book, the Confes- sions. After outlining essential characteristics of Hadot’s take on spiritual exercises and Augustinian anthropology, I subject the text of the Confes- sions to critical examination in order to determine whether an emphasis on ‘spiritual exercises’ is indeed present. I argue that similar spiritual practices may be clearly discerned. First, I discuss the distinct ‘Christian’ and Augustinian character of ‘spiritual exercises’ which incorporate bibli- cal typology of Adam and Christ as paradigmatic for the spiritual life. Next, in terms of concrete practices, I then discern from the first four books of the Confessions a series of exercises through which such a path of spiritual progress (i.e. from ‘Adam’ to ‘Christ’) may occur. Of note, I consider the dialectic praxis of 1) contemplative reading, 2) prayer- writing and 3) prayer itself, or ‘pure’ prayer – distinct from Augustine’s written reflections; 4) the role of lectio divina or meditation on Scrip- ture; and, finally, 5) meditation on death. In addition to developing these individual practices, it is the traditional Augustinian anthropology (rooted as it is in a theology of divine grace) that reveals the essential ‘Christian’ contribution of Augustine’s. -
The Centering Prayer Method by Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O
The Centering Prayer Method By Thomas Keating, O.C.S.O The following clarifications are in order concerning the Centering Prayer Method. 1. Centering Prayer is a traditional form of Christian prayer rooted in Scripture and based on the monastic heritage of “LectioDivina”. It is not to be confused with Transcendental Meditation or Hindu or Buddhist methods of meditation. It is not a New Age technique. Centering Prayer is rooted in the word of God, both in scripture and in the person of Jesus Christ. It is an effort to renew the Christian contemplative tradition handed down to us in an uninterrupted manner from St. Paul, who writes of the intimate knowledge of Christ that comes through love. Centering Prayer is designed to prepare sincere followers of Christ for contemplative prayer in the traditional sense in which spiritual writers understood that term for the first sixteen centuries of the Christian era. This tradition is summed up by St. Gregory the Great at the end of the sixth century. He describes contemplation as the knowledge of God impregnated with love. For Gregory, contemplation was the fruit of reflection on the word of God in Scripture as well as the precious gift of God. He calls it, "resting in God". In this “resting”, the mind and heart are not so much seeking God as beginning to experience, "to taste", what they have been seeking. This state is not the suspension of all activity, but the reduction of many acts and reflections into a single act or thought to sustain one's consent to God's presence and action. -
AL Jplblo Tome
.A HISTORY OF THE KANAWHA COUNTY TEXTBOOK CONTROVERSY, APRIL 1974 - APRIL 1975 by Catherine A.,Candor, Dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fullfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in Educational Administration APPROVED: eet me lA L. ie Chairman jplblO Tome Cok AL M. D. Al4éxander T. C. Hunt HU: Bonen : Mithealer D. B. Fleming/ “A. P. Johnston March, 1976 Blacksburg, Virginia LD 565S° V356 41 C35 | hn{7 ai Directed by Larry J. Weber Professor of Education DEDICATION This study is dedicated to two generations of ''Doc'' Candors who made it necessary and Andrew who made it worthwhile. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There were a number of people who were instrumental in the pre- paration of this study. Or. Kenneth E. Underwood first suggested to me that a study should be done on the textbook controversy. Dr. A. P. Johnston helped me narrow the topic and define the approach to be taken. Dr. T. C. Hunt and Dr. Daniel B. Fleming were most generous with their time as they reviewed the study with me step by step. Their innumerable comments and constructive criticisms made the writing a learning process. A particular debt of gratitude is owed to Dr. Larry J. Weber, my advisor, who provided encouragement and positive suggestions from the beginning to the end. Many people within the Kanawha County School system were also of great assistance. Mrs. Nell T. Wood edited the manuscript for spel- ling, punctuation and word usage. My secretary, Ruth H. Yarbrough, typed this study with her usual concern and critical eye, saving me considerable rewriting. -
Life in the Word Week 3 “Christian Meditation” J.C. Ryle (Bible
Life in the Word Week 3 “Christian Meditation” J.C. Ryle (Bible Reading) – “Next to praying there is nothing so important in practical religion as Bible-reading. God has mercifully given us a book which is “able to make us wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 3:15). By reading that book we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do; how to live with comfort, and how to die in peace. Happy is that man who possesses a Bible! Happier still is he who reads it!” Ephesians 3:17-21 – “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Jerome - “The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for a theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom.” Meditation Scriptures: • Joshua 1:8 - “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. -
A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S)
Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Faculty Publications 2009-05-01 A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S) Gary P. Gillum [email protected] Susan Wheelwright O'Connor Alexa Hysi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub Part of the English Language and Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Gillum, Gary P.; O'Connor, Susan Wheelwright; and Hysi, Alexa, "A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S)" (2009). Faculty Publications. 11. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/11 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 1462 MACHIAVELLI, NICCOLÒ, 1469-1527 Rare 854.318 N416e 1675 The Works of the famous Nicolas Machiavel: citizen and Secretary of Florence. Written Originally in Italian, and from thence newly and faithfully Translated into English London: Printed for J.S., 1675. Description: [24], 529 [21]p. ; 32 cm. References: Wing M128. Subjects: Political science. Political ethics. War. Florence (Italy)--History. Added Author: Neville, Henry, 1620-1694, tr. Contents: -The History of florence.-The Prince.-The original of the Guelf and Ghibilin Factions.-The life of Castruccio Castracani.-The Murther of Vitelli, &c. by Duke Valentino.-The State of France.- The State of Germany.-The Marriage of Belphegor, a Novel.-Nicholas Machiavel's Letter in Vindication of Himself and His Writings. Notes: Printer's device on title-page. Title enclosed within double line rule border. Head pieces. Translated into English by Henry Neville. -
Introduction Alan Watts and the Academic Enterprise
Introduction Alan Watts and the Academic Enterprise Peter J. Columbus and Donadrian L. Rice As in some economies the rich keep getting richer and the poor poorer, so in the overspecialized disciplines of modern scholarship the learned get more learned and the ignorant get more ignorant—until the two classes can hardly talk to each other. I have dedicated my work to an attempt to bridge that gap. —Alan Watts, 1975b, p. xx his collection of academic essays by Alan Watts serves to com- Tmemorate the centenary of his birth on the Feast of the Epiphany— January 6—in 1915. Watts was born into a middle-class family at Rowan Tree Cottage, in the village of Chislehurst, located on the outskirts of London. He was raised in the Church of England, educated at elite Anglican preparatory academies—including King’s School in Canterbury (1928–1932)—and studied at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois (1941–1944). Receiving the Sacrament of Holy Orders on the Feast of the Ascension, May 18, 1944, Watts served as Episcopal priest, chaplain and theologian at Northwestern University (1944–1950), professor of comparative philosophy at the American Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco (1951–1957), and freelance philosopher (1958–1973), including visiting scholar at Harvard University (1962–1964). He held a Master of Sacred Theology degree from Seabury-Western Seminary (1948), an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from the University of Vermont (1958), and was a Fellow of the Society for Arts, Religion, and Contemporary Culture. Watts integrated his Anglo-Catholic religious formation with knowledge of Buddhism, Daoism, and Hinduism toward resolving problems of ontological estrangement in the twentieth-century West (Morgan, 2008). -
Christian Prayer, Meditation and Contemplation
虚 鈴 the empty bell Christian Prayer, Meditation and Contemplation © Robert A. Jonas, 2006 (reprint by written permission only) Robert A. Jonas, Director www.emptybell.org 虚 鈴 the empty bell ll four Gospels tell us that Jesus prayed. He prayed alone on mountains and in the wilderness. He Aprayed on roads, in people’s homes and in temples. He prayed alone with God and he prayed with and for others. He prayed out loud and he prayed silently, in his own heart. Those prayers that we hear in the words of the Gospel often reflect or even repeat the prayers we find in Jewish scriptures. Jesus prayed as a Jew and his prayers taste like the Psalms. We can guess from his ministry that Jesus placed a higher priority on prayer than on religious duties and laws. Unfortunately, Jesus did not provide us with a detailed developmental program of prayer. In fact, the only explicit direction he gave is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew where he emphasizes solitude and a specific focus on God as Creator and Father. The prayer that begins, “Our Father in heaven” is prob- ably the one prayer that Christians of all denominations have in common. By tradition it is called The Lord’s Prayer: Whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. -
The Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Theology of Reparation
The Immaculate Heart of Mary in the Theology of Reparation Arthur Burton Calkins I. Introduction One can never speak of the Immaculate Heart of Mary without direct reference to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus because these two persons, one divine and one human, of whom their Two Hearts are symbols, were from all eternity united in the mind of God. Blessed Pope Pius IX declared this solemnly in the Bull Ineffabilis Deus in which he proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception when he stated that God by one and the same decree, had established the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of Divine Wisdom [ad illius Virginis primordia transferre, quæ uno eodemque decreto cum divinæ Sapientiæ incarnatione fuerant præstituta.]1 Precisely because these two persons are not equal we cannot speak of them in exactly the same way and yet they are not entirely different. Thus, we must speak of them in terms of the principal of analogy or “likeness in difference” and then the analogy between the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I trust that this necessary preliminary treatment will prove to be of value in the end. II. The Principal of Analogy Analogy, in the classical sense in which this term is used by St. Thomas Aquinas and his followers, denotes “a kind of predication midway between univocation and equivocation.” 2 Here is the Angelic Doctor’s own description of what he meant by analogous predication: It is evident that terms which are used in this way [i.e. analogically] are intermediate between univocal and equivocal terms.