Holy trinity
Let’s analyze our Mindfulness prayer, at the potential expense of making the simple seem complex. Here are the steps:
A moment is selected for Centering.
This can be any moment, including those arising from boredom or negativity as in the examples given at the beginning of this chapter.
The moment is given attention .
We validate the moment through awareness of the senses, reducing unnecessary thought – the widow listens carefully to the teapot and the wife touches her husband’s hand and gazes into his eyes.
3. Allow intercession through Jesus Christ using concepts from his teachings.
4. Start your prayer. In the current example:
“Thank you God for this moment, help me to experience You in it.”
5. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill your soul and lift your heart. This can happen in an instant.
6. Listen for God’s communication to you.
This can take many forms, all are comforting.
The structure of this prayerful process, then, is dependent on the Holy Trinity (Ephesians 2:18):
“For through the Son we have access to the Father by one Spirit”.
In other words, Jesus is the mediator or means by which the Holy Spirit brings us to God the Father and we utilize this process through our simple Mindfulness prayer example.
A moment is selected for Centering.
This can be any moment, including those arising from boredom or negativity as in the examples given at the beginning of this chapter.
The moment is given attention .
We validate the moment through awareness of the senses, reducing unnecessary thought – the widow listens carefully to the teapot and the wife touches her husband’s hand and gazes into his eyes.
3. Allow intercession through Jesus Christ using concepts from his teachings.
4. Start your prayer. In the current example:
“Thank you God for this moment, help me to experience You in it.”
5. Allow the Holy Spirit to fill your soul and lift your heart. This can happen in an instant.
6. Listen for God’s communication to you.
This can take many forms, all are comforting.
The structure of this prayerful process, then, is dependent on the Holy Trinity (Ephesians 2:18):
“For through the Son we have access to the Father by one Spirit”.
In other words, Jesus is the mediator or means by which the Holy Spirit brings us to God the Father and we utilize this process through our simple Mindfulness prayer example.
intercession
Jesus is God incarnate. He has left us with words, deeds, and examples of the divine. Listening to his words can be an initiation to acceptance of God’s grace and being with God.
In addition to our liturgies, hymns, and repetitious prayers, we should consider our self-centered preferences and ideas about God in thought form, clearing our minds of selfish and habitual thinking, opening ourselves to the Divine within.
In the Epistle to the Hebrews (Hebrews 7:25), Saint Paul wrote of the continued intercession of Christ:
“Wherefore also he is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
The intercession of Christ is seen as a continuation of the prayers and petitions He performed for humanity while on earth (Luke 23:34):
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
John writes (John 1:17):
"Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Grace and truth does not come through following commandments and laws alone. Paul wrote (Galatians 2:21):
“If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
The only alternative, as he says in this same verse, is "the grace of God."
This grace is an open door toward being with God, if only we recognize this and accept it. No effort is required; in fact by contrast, effort is needed to avoid grace. You cannot come to God, or unify with God through conscious effort, only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ.
We must become detached from our personal ideas about reality to reach a level of divine consciousness that St. Paul described (Galatians 2:20):
“It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”
And (1 Corinthians 2:16)
”We have the mind of Christ”.
We too can have the “empty” or “detached” mind and heart of Christ in which all things are perceived without personal distinction and judgement but through the light of God.
A procedure to allow the intercession
Jesus did not provide us with a detailed developmental program of prayer. In fact, the only explicit direction He gave is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew where He emphasizes solitude and a specific focus on God as Creator and Father, stating in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6.6):
“...But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.”
After the moment is chosen and given attention, one could select a passage from scripture from which to begin a Mindfulness prayer.
Mercy
God wants us to know our need for mercy and for us to have mercy toward others. Jesus was exemplifying this when he ate with tax collectors and talked with sinners—he was showing by His behavior that God wants fellowship with all of us, and Jesus took all our sins upon Himself and God has forgiven us in order to have that fellowship.
Jesus told a parable of two debtors, one who owed an enormous sum, and the other who owed a much smaller amount (Matthew 18:33). The master forgave the servant who owed much, but that servant failed to forgive the servant who owed less. The master was angry and said,
"Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?"
The point of the parable is that each of us should see ourselves as the first servant who was forgiven an enormous debt. We have all fallen far short of what the law requires, so God shows us mercy—and he wants us to show mercy as well. Of course, in mercy as well as in law, we fall short of what we should do, so we must continue to rely on God’s mercy.
The parable of the good Samaritan concludes with a command to show mercy (Luke 10:37):
The prayer:
“Go and do likewise.”
The focus: mercy
The objective: being with God
Feeling unworthy
It may seem to some of us at times that our part in the world is trivial and insignificant. But Jesus has good news (John 8:12):
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’.”
This is a very powerful pointer. If you have the light of life, you are no longer mired in physical or thought forms.
The prayer:
“Lord Jesus, You are the light of the world – I am the light of life.”
The focus: light of life
The objective: being with God
Waiting for the divine
Sometimes it may appear that our spiritual quest is stagnant and that a lot more effort, study, and good deeds are necessary to advance our spiritual goals. More thought forms to feed the ego, that you are not quite whole. But Jesus wishes us to rejoice (Mark 1:15):
“The kingdom of God is at hand.”
Our purity of heart through our Lord Jesus Christ makes available, right here and now, the kingdom of heaven. The transcendent self becomes more present, not the conditioned self.
The expression “kingdom of heaven” is for some a difficult concept. I like to interpret “kingdom” as dimension and heaven as sky – heaven is the same word as sky in French, Spanish, and German. Sky is a vast expanse and has no physical form. So the “kingdom of heaven” suggests the dimension of the formlessness.
The prayer:
“Lord Jesus, help me reach the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The focus: Kingdom of heaven
The objective: being with God
Change
Jesus prayed before he went to the Garden of Gethsemane where he left his disciples, with the betrayal, the judgment seat of Pilate, and the cross to follow. As these events unfolded, his disciples must have felt frightened, helpless, alone, and unable to understand what was taking place. They could not yet see that Jesus was introducing a higher and a deeper relationship to them.
Here is Jesus’ prayer (John 17: 9 – 11):
“I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.”
Certainly we all have faced change that frightens us. Could it be that God is but leading us and those we love to a higher, newer, and greater relationship?
The prayer:
“Dear God, help me during this time of change, protect those I love while strengthening our relationship with the Holy Trinity.”
The focus: change
The objective: being with God
ascension
Although Each of the Trinity is equal, the roles are distinct. In Ephesians 2:18 is written:
"For through the Son we have access to the Father by one Spirit. “
That is, we have access to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are found in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:1-2), where the Biblical passage refers to the characteristics of a figure understood by Christians to be Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that four of these gifts (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel) direct the intellect, while the other three gifts (fortitude, piety, and awe) direct the will toward God .
It is the latter three gifts that we emphasize in the ascension to God through the Holy Spirit in our Mindfulness prayers: steadfast reverence and veneration.
In addition to our important liturgies, hymns, and discursive prayers, we must become inwardly detached in an ambience that connects us to creation. When we open ourselves to the Divine movement within, the Holy Spirit will help us do this work. We do the work of creating a space within us for God, and then trust that the Holy Spirit will do the work in us. As we flow out of ourselves, the Holy Spirit flows in.
This is the fifth step in our mindful prayer process given at the beginning of this chapter. The prayer or scripture has been selected and considered with careful thought and attention. Then the simplified focus of the prayer is considered. Then even this simple focused thought is displaced as one allows the Holy Spirit to ascend our being toward God.
This ascension doesn’t have to happen quickly, nor is there a time limit. It could be thought of as a prolonged space after a simple reverent thought, before another thought begins.
"For through the Son we have access to the Father by one Spirit. “
That is, we have access to the Father through the Son by the Holy Spirit.
The seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are found in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 11:1-2), where the Biblical passage refers to the characteristics of a figure understood by Christians to be Jesus Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. Saint Thomas Aquinas says that four of these gifts (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel) direct the intellect, while the other three gifts (fortitude, piety, and awe) direct the will toward God .
It is the latter three gifts that we emphasize in the ascension to God through the Holy Spirit in our Mindfulness prayers: steadfast reverence and veneration.
In addition to our important liturgies, hymns, and discursive prayers, we must become inwardly detached in an ambience that connects us to creation. When we open ourselves to the Divine movement within, the Holy Spirit will help us do this work. We do the work of creating a space within us for God, and then trust that the Holy Spirit will do the work in us. As we flow out of ourselves, the Holy Spirit flows in.
This is the fifth step in our mindful prayer process given at the beginning of this chapter. The prayer or scripture has been selected and considered with careful thought and attention. Then the simplified focus of the prayer is considered. Then even this simple focused thought is displaced as one allows the Holy Spirit to ascend our being toward God.
This ascension doesn’t have to happen quickly, nor is there a time limit. It could be thought of as a prolonged space after a simple reverent thought, before another thought begins.
being with god
In The Confessions of St. Augustine, Saint Augustine writes in AD 397 :
"If to any man the tumult of the flesh grew silent, silent the images of earth and sea and air: and if the heavens grew silent, and the very soul grew silent to herself and by not thinking … if all dreams and imagined visions grew silent ... and in their silence He alone spoke to us … not by any tongue of flesh nor the voice of an angel nor the sound of thunder nor in the darkness of a parable, but that we should hear Himself … to touch the eternal Wisdom which abides over all: and if this could continue, and all other visions so different be quite taken away, and this one should so ravish and absorb and wrap the beholder in inward joys that his life should eternally be such as that one moment of understanding for which we had been sighing - would not this be: Enter Thou into the joy of Thy Lord."
This “one moment of understanding” from a “silent soul” without thought is what we seek through Christian Mindfulness. To be with God beyond physical or thought forms – to reside in the “joy of Thy Lord.”
Dwelling in this detachment away from our personality, the “me” with all its pre-conditioned thought forms, we come to a consciousness that St. Paul described as (Galatians 2:20),
"It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me"
As you quiet yourself and allow the ascension through the Holy Spirit, you may reach a space where there are no thoughts, not even the sacred thoughts that began your journey toward God.
It’s not possible for me to fully describe this “space” or being with God. That is the nature of the “experience”, being beyond words, beyond “explanation.”
I can’t even say that you should “work” toward “being with God.” There is no work involved – one just places oneself in a state ready to receive God through grace. The Holy Trinity provides that “preparation.” Recall that “lilies of the field” do not toil, they are not anxious the next moment (Matthew 6:27-34).
Without resistance, one can be available in any moment, this moment, to be with God. That is true reality, real living. Life is God. Life is now.
The distractions of physical and thought forms, when they happen, can ultimately be brought into the Mindfulness Prayer, not to judge these distractions but to accept these without complaint. Then the distractions, which are inevitable, can become part of your mindful presence with God. This is, then, incorporating the essence of being with God into your life.
Then nothing can happen in your deepest prayer to interfere; conversely nothing can happen in your life that obstructs being with God. You become aligned with what is right now in this moment in the presence of God.
It shouldn’t require much time to be able to dwell with God in this moment. In a sense it is the simplest of all states of being.
Listening to God
By “listening”, it is not the external auditory sense perception that is meant, but the underlying consciousness of absolute receptivity and alert presence.
Jesus said (Mark 13:34 – 35):
“It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return.”
“Keeping watch” is the alert presence that awaits God’s communication. Listen. Keep watch as Jesus said (Matthew 24:42):
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.”
And (Mark 13:37):
“And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!"
Listening doesn’t mean you are waiting for an “answer.” You’re not waiting for anything – you are in a receptive state of bare, pure attention without expectations or demands, totally accepting and available. This is the essence of the Mindful Prayer.
It may happen that an “answer” or the beginning of a resolution to a challenge follows, but that cannot be the “reason” for communication with God in this deepest sense, as any physical or mental thought forms will block our pure unrestricted presence with God.
"If to any man the tumult of the flesh grew silent, silent the images of earth and sea and air: and if the heavens grew silent, and the very soul grew silent to herself and by not thinking … if all dreams and imagined visions grew silent ... and in their silence He alone spoke to us … not by any tongue of flesh nor the voice of an angel nor the sound of thunder nor in the darkness of a parable, but that we should hear Himself … to touch the eternal Wisdom which abides over all: and if this could continue, and all other visions so different be quite taken away, and this one should so ravish and absorb and wrap the beholder in inward joys that his life should eternally be such as that one moment of understanding for which we had been sighing - would not this be: Enter Thou into the joy of Thy Lord."
This “one moment of understanding” from a “silent soul” without thought is what we seek through Christian Mindfulness. To be with God beyond physical or thought forms – to reside in the “joy of Thy Lord.”
Dwelling in this detachment away from our personality, the “me” with all its pre-conditioned thought forms, we come to a consciousness that St. Paul described as (Galatians 2:20),
"It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me"
As you quiet yourself and allow the ascension through the Holy Spirit, you may reach a space where there are no thoughts, not even the sacred thoughts that began your journey toward God.
It’s not possible for me to fully describe this “space” or being with God. That is the nature of the “experience”, being beyond words, beyond “explanation.”
I can’t even say that you should “work” toward “being with God.” There is no work involved – one just places oneself in a state ready to receive God through grace. The Holy Trinity provides that “preparation.” Recall that “lilies of the field” do not toil, they are not anxious the next moment (Matthew 6:27-34).
Without resistance, one can be available in any moment, this moment, to be with God. That is true reality, real living. Life is God. Life is now.
The distractions of physical and thought forms, when they happen, can ultimately be brought into the Mindfulness Prayer, not to judge these distractions but to accept these without complaint. Then the distractions, which are inevitable, can become part of your mindful presence with God. This is, then, incorporating the essence of being with God into your life.
Then nothing can happen in your deepest prayer to interfere; conversely nothing can happen in your life that obstructs being with God. You become aligned with what is right now in this moment in the presence of God.
It shouldn’t require much time to be able to dwell with God in this moment. In a sense it is the simplest of all states of being.
Listening to God
By “listening”, it is not the external auditory sense perception that is meant, but the underlying consciousness of absolute receptivity and alert presence.
Jesus said (Mark 13:34 – 35):
“It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return.”
“Keeping watch” is the alert presence that awaits God’s communication. Listen. Keep watch as Jesus said (Matthew 24:42):
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.”
And (Mark 13:37):
“And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!"
Listening doesn’t mean you are waiting for an “answer.” You’re not waiting for anything – you are in a receptive state of bare, pure attention without expectations or demands, totally accepting and available. This is the essence of the Mindful Prayer.
It may happen that an “answer” or the beginning of a resolution to a challenge follows, but that cannot be the “reason” for communication with God in this deepest sense, as any physical or mental thought forms will block our pure unrestricted presence with God.