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All for Love

All for Love

Dec 29, 2022

Dear Friends in Silence,

I pray that this post finds you all safe and well having had a joyful, peaceful and restful Christmas.

I would firstly like to share the return dates for Silentium gatherings in 2023:

Silence on Sunday

Will return to The Wisdom Chapel on Sunday 15th of January at 9am (Irish Time).

I will share the liturgy text in advance as usual.

The Silentium Spiritual Practice Group

Will return to The Wisdom Chapel on Thursday the 19th of January at 8pm (Irish Time).

Those of you present at our last gathering before Christmas are aware that I am discerning a different format for this gathering and the reasons why - I will share more information closer to the time.

I also wanted to share a 31 day contemplative practice challenge that I am setting for myself to begin 2023. I'm calling it the All for Love Challenge and it has 3 movements:

  • Practicing Love: St. Therese of Lisieux's quote above captures my intention perfectly - to practice at least one small act of love towards another living being, myself, or something in nature. I was reminded by our reflections throughout Advent that acts of love need not be big grandiose gestures that you hope might affect the world, but are those little things you do closer to home - a smile given, a door held open or a genuine gratitude uttered. I especially love the idea of there being a 'small sacrifice' involved - Brene Brown in the Adventus reflection suggested that the practice of love is not always easy and can require us to stretch ourselves beyond the limits of our comfort zone, biases and personal blockages. I'm reminded of these words of Jesus:

    “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

    Luke 6:32-36

    • Witnessing Love: I was standing in our kitchen the other day and our eldest granddaughter, Ella, visited unexpectedly. I was turned to the stove heating soup at the time and suddenly felt her arms around me from behind offering me a lovely warm hug - I felt her love. It's one thing to witness the giving of love, whether its our own giving or that of others, but how often do we notice what might be going on for the being who receives the gesture, especially ourselves. We all too quickly notice our own and others reactions to a hurtful remark, a selfishness expressed or a judgement made, but do we see the smile, the tear, the lightness of heart or the softnening of tension that love received can bring with it. I'll be trying to do that during this challenge.

    • Journaling Love: The final part of the challenge will be, to journal my practice and witness of love into my review of the day, with gratitude. Those familiar with Ignatian spirituality call a review like this The Prayer of Examen while I love John O'Donohue's beautiful expression of it:

      At The End of The Day - A Mirror of Questions

      What dreams did I create last night?

      Where did my eyes linger today?

      Where was I blind?

      Where was I hurt without anyone noticing?

      What did I learn today?

      What did I read?

      What new thoughts visited me?

      What differences did I notice in those closest to me?

      Whom did I neglect?

      Where did I neglect myself?

      What did I begin today that might endure?

      How were my conversations?

      What did I do today for the poor and the excluded?

      Did I remember the dead today?

      When could I have exposed myself to the risk of something different?

      Where did I allow myself to receive love?

      With whom today did I feel most myself?

      What reached me today? How did it imprint?

      Who saw me today?

      What visitations hd I from the past and from the future?

      What did I avoid today?

      From the evidence – why was I given this day?

      Credit: John O’Donohue, Benedictus: A Book of Blessings

I'll finish today with an extract from a New Year prayer by Ted Loader but first I'd like to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a wonderful season of epiphany and a very happy and love-filled New Year:

We hold our lives up to You now Beloved.

Come close, lest we wobble and fall short.

It is not days or years we seek from you,

not infinity and enormity,

but small things and moments and awareness,

awareness that you are in what we are

and in what we have been indifferent to.

It is not new time,

but new eyes,

new heart we seek,

and you.

Go Well and God Bless

John

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