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The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo Present
Bridges to Contemplative Living for Lent and Holy Week
Like the regular
Bridges to Contemplative Living experience described
below, this special Lenten series uses the
writings of Thomas Merton and other contemporary spiritual
writers to help participants appreciate more deeply the central
themes of the Lenten season.
Using the
contemplative dialogue process developed in the original
Bridges program, participants will explore Merton's insights
about our journey to deeper faith and a more complete conversion
which marks the Lenten season.
Groups will meet
once a week on a day/time chosen by the participants.
This Lenten series is
appropriate for adults and young adults of any age, whether they
have participated in previous Bridges faith-sharing groups or not.
$6.00 book fee.
Registration required.
Information
Meeting:
Monday, Feb. 8. 7:00-8:00pm.
O'Hagan Hall (church basement), Sacred Heart Parish.
Click here to register online
• • •
Themes for
the Lenten and Holy Week Series
•
(optional)
Week of Ash
Wednesday: Where Do We Turn for Forgiveness?
•
First Week of Lent: Living More Deeply in Christ
•
Second Week of Lent: A Season for Compunction and Tears
•
Third Week of Lent: In All Things, Always Seeking God
•
Fourth Week of Lent: Choosing with Christ to Love the World
•
Fifth Week of Lent: In the Service of Peace through Humility
and Prayer
•
Holy Week/Triduum: Returning to the Source of Our Unity in
Christ
•
(optional)
Easter Week: Resurrection of Our Lord--Liberated to Redeem
the World
"The purpose of Lent is not only expiation, to satisfy
the divine justice, but above all is a preparation to rejoice in
His love. And this preparation consists in receiving the
gift of His mercy -- a gift which we receive insofar as we open
our hearts to it, casting out what cannot remain in the same
room with mercy....
"Now one of the things we must cast out first of all is fear.
Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks
our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to give
ourselves. If we were terrified of God as an inexorable
judge, we would not confidently await His mercy, or approach Him
trustfully in prayer. Our peace and our joy in Lent are a
guarantee of grace."
--Thomas Merton,
Seasons of Celebration.
_______________________
More About Bridges to Contemplative Living
Bridges to Contemplative Living
with Thomas Merton is a
small group faith-sharing process designed to help participants
enter into a process of personal spiritual transformation
leading to a more just and peaceful world.
It uses the writings of Thomas
Merton and other spiritual guides to help participants enter into a holistic process of growth which will
lead them to spiritual transformation and a life of deeper
contemplation. However, the thoughts of these spiritual
guides are just a starting point; the process depends upon the
life experience and spiritual awareness of the participants as
the foundation for spiritual growth and transformation.
The Bridges to Contemplative
Living series was edited by Jonathan Montaldo, executive
director of the Merton Institute for Contemplative Living, and Robert G.
Toth, associate director of the Institute. The series was published by Ave Maria Press.
Principles of Bridges to Contemplative
Living
This process of spiritual
transformation is based on five key principles of Merton's
thought:
• Our everyday life if our spiritual life.
• It is every person's primary vocation to be fully
human, aware of who we
are, and how we relate to other persons.
• Our spiritual formation cannot take place in
isolation from the rest of our
lives.
• Spiritual formation is grounded in the experience of
relationships and
community.
• Personal growth and transformation is the foundation
for social and
cultural transformation.
The Bridges format uses
contemplative dialogue, a process which uses various themes to
help participants reflect on their own experiences and the
experience of others. Contemplative dialogue is focused on
listening, reflecting and integrating what ones hears and
discovers. It is not out-come oriented. It avoids
judgment and evaluation. It is meant to be
non-threatening, safe, and affirming.
What is Contemplative Living?
Contemplative living is a way of
listening and responding to our everyday experience. It
deepens the awareness of our connectedness and communion with
others, becomes a positive force of change in our lives, and
provides meaningful direction to our spiritual journey.
Fr. Donald Goergen OP writes:
"'Contemplative' describes a way of living, a way of loving, a
way of being, a way of seeing. Contemplation is not something we
do at a
particular time of the day. Contemplation is rather living here
and now the day in which we find ourselves. Contemplation has to
do with the everyday. It is not a question of withdrawing from
the world but rather a way of being in the world. One can
retreat from the world and still not attain contemplative
presence. One can be headed in the wrong direction even in the
desert. One can be hurrying to accomplish something even in a
monastery. There can be a rush toward enlightenment.
Contemplation doesn't have so much to do with 'doing' as it does
with 'letting it be done unto me' (Luke 1:38). It means
attentiveness to a different sense of time and timing"
("Becoming Contemplative," Priests and People, June 2002).
Living contemplatively begins with
ourselves but leads us in the end to embrace deeply not only our
truest self, but God, neighbor, and all of creation. By
reflecting on our everyday everyday experiences, we seek the
depths of our inner truth. By exploring our beliefs,
illusions, attitudes and assumptions, we find our true self and
discover how we relate to the larger community.
The goal of contemplative living is
not merely personal fulfillment, but a way of living that
contributes to the creation of a global society that
incorporates God's design for justice as peace.
Contemplative living directs our minds and hearts to the truly
important issues of human existence, making us less likely to be
captivated by the superficial distractions that so easily occupy
our time.
Ultimately, contemplative living
leads us to a sense of well-being, profound gratitude, and a
clearer understanding of our purpose in life.
About Thomas Merton
Thomas Merton was born in France in
1915. He was educated in France, England and the United
States and was baptized in the Catholic Church in 1938. In
1941 he entered the Cistercian Order as a monk of the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky, where he wrote his autobiography, The
Seven Storey Mountain, which was published in 1948. He
served as Master of Scholastics and Novices at Gethsemani and
wrote numerous books and articles on the spiritual life,
inter-religious understanding, peace and social justice.
In 1968 he journeyed to Thailand to attend a conference of
contemplatives, and was accidentally electrocuted. He died
there at the age of 53.
For over sixty years, Merton's
thought and writing have guided spiritual seekers around the
world. His writing offers important insights into four
essential relationships -- with oneself, with God, with other
people, and with all of creation. While the Christian
tradition is the foundation of Merton's thought, he is open and
inclusive in his examination of other religious traditions and
often draws from their contributions to enhance the spiritual
growth of individuals and communities.
Merton is distinguished among modern
spiritual writers by the depth and substance of his thinking.
He was a scholar who distilled the best thinking of outstanding
theologians, philosophers and poets, from both the West and
East. His remarkable and enduring popularity suggests that
he speaks to the minds and hearts of people searching for
answers to life's important questions. His writing takes
people into deep places within themselves and offers insight
into the paradoxes of life.
Merton wrestles with how to be
contemplative in a world of action, but offers no quick fix or
"ten easy steps" to a successful spiritual life. In The
Hidden Ground of Love, published in 1985, he wrote:
"When I first became a monk, yes, I was
sure of 'answers.' But as
I grow old in the monastic life and advance
further in solitude, I
become aware that I have only begun to seek
the questions. And
what are the questions? Can we make
sense out of our existence?
Can we honestly give our lives meaning
meerely by adopting a certain
set of explanations which pretend to tell
us why the world began and
where it will end, why there is evil and
what is necessary for a good
life? My brothers and sisters,
perhaps in my solitude I have become,
as it were, an explorer for you, a searcher
in realms which you are
are not able to visit...."
______________________
Some of the information on this webpage was
reprinted or adapted from Bridges to Contemplative Living
with Thomas Merton, edited by Jonathan Montaldo and Robert
G. Toth. Copyright Ave Maria Press.
• • •
Registration
•
By phone: call
319-234-9912
•
By email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
•
Online:
Click here to register online
• • •
For information contact:
Director of Adult
Faith Formation
320 Mulberry St., Waterloo IA 50703 • Phone:
319-234-9912
email: DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted 09.30.08 •
Last Update: 01.24.10
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