CIS NEWSLETTER  No. 49 - December 2007 Down Memory Lane “How are you?” I asked a friend whom I had not seen for quite some time. “Life has been awful for me after the death of my mother!” she replied. I had no idea that her mother had died, and so I asked her: “Did she die recently, for I do not remember hearing about her death?” I asked. “No,” she replied, “My mother died eight years ago!” It is evident that for my friend life had stopped eight years ago and that the healing process of mourning had not yet taken place. Of course, we do miss our loved ones when they die, but life has to go on. It is true that the past is part of our life, but when we get stuck in the past we are doomed to miss the wonderful opportunities of the present. At that point our growth is at risk. What is true of life in general is also true of our spiritual life. Do you remember the two disciples of Emmaus (Lk24: 13-36)? They were still living in the past convinced of their unshakable concepts of what the Messiah should have been. At the same time they were missing the shuttering new reality which had dawned with the Resurrection of Jesus. The Messiah was more alive than ever. The risen Lord was victorious over death and over his enemies much more than his disciples could ever dare to imagine. There are many such disciples of Jesus today. Some people would like to be living in a pre-Vatican II Church. Others would like to be in a society of the “good old times”, while forgetting that no period of history was ever free from catastrophes, problems and dark shadows. So in order to allow ourselves to grow healthily spiritually, psychologically and physically, it is good to live in the present. It is only in the present moment that we can meet others and God himself. Let the dead bury the dead, Jesus said. We do well when we give thanks to God and others for past benefits and happy experiences. These memories will fill our lives with warmth, gratitude and love. Happy memories can boost our morale in difficult times. We lay in God’s hands our past sins, failures and tragedies. If we trust in God he can still draw good things for us and for others also from these bad experiences. But there is no point in letting our heart become overburdened with guilt feelings. Let us rejoice that we now can turn to our God and offer him all our good wishes, thoughts and deeds. As believers in the risen Lord we live in the present moment. Jesus is always with us because he himself has promised us so. Reflection and Prayer Let me think of pleasant past events in my life. Let me recall and relive these events in the Lord’s presence. In the same way, let me recall the hurtful or unpleasant experiences in my life. Let me do so in the Lords presence while asking for his healing. Having put my past in the Lord’s hands let me eagerly look forward to the blessings that the Lord wants to shower on me now and in the future.   Fr Paul Zammit sj   Book Review Open Mind, Open Heart The contemplative dimension of the Gospel By Thomas Keating Continuum, New York, London, 2006   This book is about Centering Prayer, that is being present in one’s center where God dwells, leading to contemplation. Centering prayer is being simply present to God, away from all images, words or thoughts, away from all that is not God. It is about putting into practice what the book “The Cloud of Unknowing” is about, consigning all to the “cloud of forgetting”, in order to enter the “cloud of unknowing”. God is beyond all knowing and so one has simply to let go in Him. This is indeed “Abandonment to Divine Providence” as Jean Pierre de Caussade would put it. Centering Prayer is moving forward into monologistic prayer which consists in the repetition of a very short prayer (e.g. the Jesus Prayer) until the person becomes the prayer, until the prayer takes over the person’s consciousness and so becomes continuous. In Centering Prayer, the short prayer (e.g. the Jesus Prayer), becomes a means of entering the presence of God, of recalling one’s attention to God, of reaffirming one’s dedication to God. Once in God’s presence the prayer is let go. As the author puts it: “Resist no thought, retain no thought, react emotionally to no thought, return to your sacred word when you notice you are thinking about some other thought.” “The basic understanding, which provides the basis for centering prayer, is that God is already with us, in our centre. We are already redeemed, we are already participating in the divine centre. We are already with God our Saviour. There is nothing to do in order to come to God our Redeemer . . . God is closer to you than you are to yourself.” (from: Ken Kaisch, Finding God, a handbook of Christian meditation) Centering prayer is profoundly liberating. It integrates the person with God, and so frees from attachment to the false self, to anything worldly; it gives the freedom to be. As Saint Catherine of Siena put it: He is the one who is, I am the one who am not. For further understanding one can look up in the Internet under ‘Centering Prayer’ Fr Victor Degabriele, S.J.   Prayer O my God, I give myself to Thee. I trust Thee wholly. Thou art wiser than I-- more loving to me than I myself. Deign to fulfill Thy high purposes in me whatever they be; work in and through me. I am born to serve Thee, to be Thine, to be Thy instrument. Let me be Thy blind instrument. I ask not to see, I ask not to know-- I ask simply to be used.   from John Henry Newman's Meditations and Devotions   From the CIS Programme Diċembru Nitolbu bl-Evanġelju (erba’ Ħdud ta’ l-Avvent) Dati: 2, 9, 16, 23 ta’ Diċembru 2007 mis-7.00pm sat-8.15pm Imexxi; Fr Paul Sciberras Post: Mount St Joseph Retreat House, Mosta BODY - MIND – SPIRIT A Psycho-spiritual workshop This workshop will consist mostly in learning a series of bodily, mental and spiritual exercises which you can then practise in your daily life. These exercises include: awareness, centering, breathing, focusing, guided fantasy, visualisation, bio-energetics, sub-personalities within you, and relaxation. A few short inputs will be given to help participants integrate body, mind and spirit in a holistic way. The workshop will be conducted in Maltese by Fr Alfred Darmanin sj, a clinical psychologist. Date: Thursday 13th December Time: 9.00 am – 1.00 pm (+ lunch, optional) Venue: Mount St Joseph Retreat House, Mosta Inħejju ruħna biex nilqgħu lil Dak li ġej biex isalvana flimkien ma’ Ommu Marija. L-Avvent hu żmien ta’ stennija u preparazzjoni għall-miġja tal-Mulej Ġesù. Dan iż-żmien liturġiku huwa wkoll żmien marjan, għaliex ħadd daqs il-Verġni Marija ma jista’ jgħallimna kif għandna nħejju ruħna biex nilqgħu lill-Mulej. Dan nagħmluh billi nirriflettu fuq l-Ikona Marjana « Pana ghia » jew kif ħafna isejjħulha l-« Ikona tas-Sienja ». Dan għaliex Marija hija għalina s-sinjal tal-preżenza ta’ Alla fostna. Data: Mill-Ġimgħa, 14 ta’ Diċembru, 2007 fis-7.00pm, sal-Ħadd, 16 ta’ Diċembru wara l-pranzu. Imexxi: Fr. Gerard Buhagiar, SThD, Dip Lit, Dip Arch Post: Dar Manresa, Victoria, Għawdex. Jannar Irtir għall-Ħaddiema ta’ l-Id Id-dinja tax-xogħol għandha s-sabiħ u l-iebes tagħha. Dan l-irtir hu maħsub biex jgħin lill-Ħaddiema jifhmu aħjar ir-realtà li jgħixu fuq il-post tax-xogħol u jagħmlu minnha esperjenza nisranija. Data : 20 ta’ Jannar 2008 mid-9.00am sal-5.00pm (bl-ikel inkluż) Imexxi : Fr Paul Deguara S.J. Post : Mount St Joseph Retreat House, Mosta Nofs ta’ nhar ta’ riflessjoni fuq kif nuża l-immaġinazzjoni fit-talb (Kontemplazzjoni Injazjana) Tul dan in-nofs ta’ nhar ser naraw kif nistgħu nitolbu bl-Iskrittura billi nużaw l-immaġinazzjoni tagħna. Data : 26 ta’ Jannar 2008 mid-9.00am sas-1.00pm (bl-ikel inkluż) Tmexxi : Ms Mary Clare Camilleri Post : Mount St Joseph Retreat House, Mosta   We would like to wish all readers a very Happy Christmas and a blessed New Year The CIS Newsletter Team (Fr. Reno, Sandro, Mark)