Prologue to The Rule (paragraph 8)
If, however, you find in it anything which seems rather strict, but which is demanded reasonably for the correction of vice or the preservation of love, do not let that frighten you into fleeing from the way of salvation; it is a way which is bound to seem narrow to start with. (From para. 8 of Prologue to The Rule of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)
Meditation, it seems to me, is also a school for the Lord's service. The practice of the mantra is strict, demanded reasonably for the correction of vice or the preservation of love, and is a way which is bound to seem narrow to start with.
Do not run away from that which is demanded for "the correction of vice or the preservation of love." But it is love always at the root. I ask for faith and trust to face all in the light of love, to have confidence in the "narrow" and "frightening" way. Here is a quote from one of the recent WCCM readings:
ReplyDelete"Meditation is of such importance because we can only come to the truth if we have the confidence to face it. This confidence arises from the encounter with pure love in our own hearts. The really important thing to know in life—for life—is that God is and that God is love. . . .It is very simple. The most important task of any life that would respond fully to its potential is that we come into this light to be purified, to be made real, to discover our own divine potential." Here is where I begin my confidence.