05/04/2017

Good morning,

It’s rather fashionable today to be involved in mindfulness.

Bookshop shelves seem to groan under the strain of new titles encouraging us into one technique or another, and how to achieve a greater mindfulness. It’s all to be encouraged, especially if it brings us to deeper reflection on how we relate to the world we live in.

But we also need to acknowledge that Christian mindfulness and meditation has been around for a very long time. I remember hearing the story of a priest who visited a monk, out in the wilderness. The monk sat and said nothing and then eventually said “Those who lean on Jesus’ breast hear God’s heartbeat”. That purposeful activity of being still and mindful of God is indeed an ancient tradition, and one practised in many religious houses around the world. The discipline of looking inward and engaging our inner self is one that reaches back into the experiences of the Desert Fathers and is often referred to as a Word for your life.

It is an especially important practice during this period of Lent when we recall the way in which Jesus went out into the Desert to discern his future ministry. Like Jesus, this time of inner journeying can bring a much greater sense of what it is we are being called to do and be.

God of tranquillity

Lead us into the places of nourishment and deep listening.

Lean us into your Son’s breast

So that we might hear your heartbeat

And live according to your rhythm Amen