| Guidelines:
1. Through the Internet
we exchange experiences and insights from our search of
Sacred Scripture; from the teaching of the Magisterium
and of the Christian mystical tradition; and from our
daily practice of contemplative prayer.
2. In prayer we have a
sense of union with one another who share the same
commitment to the Magisterium of the Church in our
contemplative prayer practice.
"Therefore, in
order to say a little about this dark night, I shall
trust neither to experience nor to knowledge, since both
may fail and deceive; but, while not omitting to make
such use as I can of these two things, I shall avail
myself, in all that, with the Divine favour, I have to
say, or at the least, in that which is most important and
dark to the understanding, of Divine Scripture; for, if
we guide ourselves by this we shall be unable to stray,
since He Who speaks therein is the Holy Spirit. And if in
aught, I stray, whether through my imperfect
understanding of that which is said in it or of matters
unconnected with it, it is not my intention to depart
from the sound sense and doctrine of our Holy Mother the
Catholic Church; for in such a case I submit and resign
myself wholly, not only to her command, but to whatever
better judgment she may pronounce concerning it. (St.
John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel,
Prologue, no. 2, p. I I in the E. Allison Peers
translation, The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland.)
3. We commit ourselves
to a basic Rule of Life. The rule of life must be
congruent with our state in life. The rule provides a
practical discipline of prayer: to practice silent prayer
(called prayer of the heart, centering prayer or the
prayer of union) in the morning and evening for at least
twenty minutes each time; to share in the Holy Eucharist
each Sunday and more frequently when possible; to pray
the Liturgy of the Hours; to practice daily Lectio
Divina based on the Scriptures; to study the writings
of the mystics of the Church and compendiums of doctrine
for example, the Catechism of the Catholic Church; to
receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation regularly and to
have some form of Spiritual Direction. The seriousness of
our commitment to union with God in contemplation will be
practically reflected in the time and space given to
prayer, silence, solitude and simplicity of life. Each
particular task of our state in life reflects God's will
for the moment. Obedience to Gods will in love and the
freedom of the Holy Spirit is the food of the
contemplative.
4. Within the mystery of
the Church we look especially upon Mary, the Mother of
God, as model and advocate, intercessor for the grace of
transformation in Christ and of openness to the Word Made
Flesh, Jesus, our Lord.
5. We will be seek to
avoid the influence of the spiritual culture that fosters
relativism, syncretism, new age Gnosticism, and rebellion
against the Magisterium in the guise of a more liberated
and humanistic spirituality.
6. This steadfast
commitment to the Church that is completely
counter-culture, will be gentle and kind, not
mean-spirited or querulous.
7. The contemplative
life is lived in the mystery of the Trinity; of the
Paschal Sacrifice and Glory of Jesus, the Son of God and
the Christ; and of the Church as the Body of Christ.
Abandonment in faith and love is the same in each of
these dimensions of the one mystery of sharing in the
Triune Divine Life. Thus, obedience to the Church is one
with the loving mutual gift of the Persons within the
Trinity and is one with the obedience of the Son who said
"My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to
accomplish his work" (John 4.34). Teresa of Avila
and John of the Cross taught that the mystical life of
transformation in Christ does not separate us from the
life of the Church, rather it immerses us even more
profoundly within the mystery of the Church, "which
is his body, the fullness of Him who fills all
things" (Eph. 1.22) Openness to the Church
Magisterium liberates the contemplative from the
insatiable desire to know through controversial
theological theories and from errors of private judgment
on Revelation.
8. The contemplative
life includes the affirmation of faith in the profession
of the Christian message of salvation, the celebration of
Christ's Mystery in the Liturgy and the abiding fight of
Christ. The contemplative life also includes the
unknowing of faith and the dark nights of purification:
God enters into our hearts to dismantle our ingrained
systems of selfishness and to free us from sin; and the
Triune God draws us into Divine Union in relationship
with the Persons of the Trinity beyond thoughts and the
powers of our consciousness. This harmony of light and
night, of affirmation and of unknowing, is expressed in
the Prologue of St. John's Gospel: "No one has ever
seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the
Father, he has made him known." (1. 18). The
kataphatic and apophatic are both dimensions of divine
union in Christ.
9. According to our
state in life and the promptings of the Holy Spirit we
will engage in our daily work with a sense of the
Presence of God; we seek out committed service in the
apostolate of spreading the faith and in works of
justice, peace, tending to the poor and needy.
10. The Affiliation
recognizes the call to ecumenism. Contemplatives seek to
discern how to be involved in this movement of the Holy
Spirit according to the directives of Vatican II and the
encyclicals of the Holy Father. We seek dialogue with all
members of the Church, with all Christians and seekers of
truth.
11. The Affiliation is
not an official institute of the Church. It is a
voluntary association of people who seek to follow the
above guidelines.
Each week at this site we will
publish a meditation on the liturgical readings of the
Sunday's Catholic Lectionary and of the weekday's Gospel
reading. The commentary will address the spiritual
meaning of the readings. Periodically we will give
selections from theological authors and advice on
contemplative practice.
For
questions, comments or other communication, please
contact:
William
Fredrickson: Fredrickson46@msn.com
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