Dear Friends in Carmel-
It has taken a few days to get back to my intention of writing down the homilies preached by Fr. Doug this summer. Before fulfilling this, I want to express my sincerest hopes that everyone is enjoying a holy feast day for Bl. Mary of Jesus Crucified, whom the Church honors today. Our 'Little Arab' is the one who founded the Carmel in Bethlehem that we are closely connected with. She was known for many supernatural gifts, and a special understanding of the Holy Spirit. She also bore the wounds of Christ. Despite the rich gifts and suffering bestowed upon her, she was truly a daughter of Carmel, seeking union with Our Triune God in love and simplicity. Such is seen in the following little prayer of hers, "O fraternal charity, O humility, be water to wash me, be light to instruct me. O simplicity, be bread to nourish me."
Tomorrow we will celebrate the Transverberation of the Heart of St. Teresa of Jesus. Let us ask our holy Foundress to intercede before the Throne of God, that we may grow in faith, hope, and charity to be completely united to His Divine Will as she was. Amen.
Now, to this beautiful homily we heard on Saturday. Fr. Doug's homily was inspired, in part, by the anniversary of the death of six Buddhist monks, a nun and two young students in their temple which tragically occurred some 20 years ago. Fr. Doug pointed out that we are of course Christians and cannot embrace many of the tenets taught in Buddhism. Nonetheless, we are allowed to 'strain out the truth in a religion' and use those kernels of truth according to the teachings of Blessed Pope John Paul II.
Fr. Doug first focused on our relationship with the natural world. In our modern age, we have a very utilitarian relationship with nature, with God's creation. Before science, man was attached to nature and recognized the fingerprint of God in all of his natural surroundings. In Scripture we are reminded of the goodness of God's creation, and how nature can partake in our personal lives and be used as a comfort, a warning, or a blessing. For example, Elijah was fed by the ravens. Buddhism recognizes that all of the natural world is interconnected.
How do we experience God?
Fr. Doug proceeded to share with us a story about his recent interaction with a little lizard while visiting breath-taking Sedona and waiting on a bench. Instead of ignoring the little reptile, he started to watch it intently and was amazed at how adept the lizard was in finding the cold spots on the concrete when he heard people coming and was seeking shelter and safety. After talking to this lizard and seeing it begin to approach him on the bench, Fr. Doug felt connected to this living creature and recognized God's presence in this amazing little scenario. The lizard blended with the shade and all was peaceful.
St. Francis recognized the touches of God in nature. The story is told as follows: One cold day in very early Spring, the saint was standing in front of an almond tree. The tree was still dormant and leafless from the long Winter. St. Francis gave a command: "Almond tree, speak to me of God"! According to the story, the almond tree immediately burst into full bloom. (See http://www.franciscanfriars.com/greyfriarsnews/GFN/GFN95sum.htm)
In this story, God made something beautiful that was once cold and dark. He can do the same with us. Now, Thomas Merton and a Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh wrote on commonalities of Christian and Buddhist meditation/prayer. The first thing a Buddhist will do is attempt to unite the mind and body. This is done by focusing on one's breathing first. You must place yourself in the place where you are at in the present moment. Once you have slowed your breathing, you are able to unite your mind and heart together. Suffering (physical, spiritual, or emotional) can lessen and pain and anxiety decrease. St. Therese lived always in the present moment, because she knew that one cannot fix the past or the future.
This initial focus on breathing, and then uniting the mind and heart is used in the Jesus Prayer. This method of prayer is often used in the Orthodox or Eastern Rite tradition. (See http://orthodoxinfo.com/praxisignaty_jesus.aspx)
The Greek Orthodox Church shares this on its website as follows:
The anonymous author of The Way of the Pilgrim reports that the Jesus Prayer has two very concrete effects upon his vision of the world. First, it transfigures his relation ship with the material creation around him; the world becomes transparent, a sign, a means of communicating God's presence. He writes:
"When I prayed in my heart, everything around me seemed delightful and marvelous. The trees, the grass, the birds, the air, the light seemed to be telling me that they existed for man's sake, that they witnessed to the love of God for man, that all things prayed to God and sang his praise."
Second, the Prayer transfigures his relationship to his fellow human beings. His relationships are given form within their proper context: the forgiveness and compassion of the crucified and risen Lord.
As Fr. Doug reminded us, we must focus on compassion and on love who is God Himself. The Holy Spirit dwells in creation because without His Spirit nothing lives. He is everywhere. We can slow ourselves down for prayer by doing the following:
Breathing in say, 'I calm myself'.
Breathing out say, 'I smile.'
In closing, Fr. Doug mentioned that St. John of the Cross learned a lesson from a frog. A humble lay sister, Catalina de la Cruz, once asked him: "Why when I go to the garden do the frogs jump in the water?" Quickly seizing an opportunity to draw out a spiritual lesson, John replied that it was because they felt safe in the depth of the pool and "that is what you must do, flee from creatures and hide yourself in God."
There are so many lessons we can learn from our natural surroundings which are a part of God's creation. May we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open for Our Lord's promptings from them. Amen.
