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The Essential Practice For a Spiritual Life

By Frank Squitteri

Of all the spiritual practices available to us, the one essential, fundamental practice that should precede all our spiritual activities is that of centering. I am not referring to centering prayer, which is really only an extension of the centering practice. In fact, centering prayer has become the tail wagging the dog. Ask anyone about centering, and they will identify it with centering prayer. By contrast, I am stating that centering is the essential practice of the spiritual life. Why?
Our concept of God has shifted dramatically in the 20th Century, although very quietly. No major announcements have been made. No sermons preached on the subject. However, in his book, Man Becoming, theologian Gregory Baum has stated that our concept of God has moved from an outsider God, a divine being facing us from beyond history, to an insider God who dwells within us.

At the core of our being, God reveals us to ourselves, calls us to growth and gives of himself to us. God’s revelatory presence, self-gift and call operate within each situation and experience of our daily life. This theological shift changes everything. To encounter deeply this insider God, we must center down to the core of our personhood where God’s Spirit dwells. We must connect with our Center!

Another term for the spiritual life is the “interior life,” and rightly so. If we are committed to living the spiritual life, we will practice centering many times during our day to prepare ourselves for spiritual activities—before spiritual reading, before we pray, before we celebrate Mass, before we attempt to encounter God’s presence in the divine gift of creation, before we encounter people. And on and on.

If we are not practicing centering, we may be living pious, faithful, church-going lives, but we are not living the spiritual life—a life of union with our insider God. We must connect with our Center!

Centering. What is centering? Centering is the conscious gathering of our mind, heart and will to surrender our self to the Divine Center within us and within all created reality.
Why is this psychological gathering so necessary? We are wounded people—alienated from God, ourselves, others and creation. Ordinarily, we get stuck in our heads or our hearts. Or we act as automatons, being controlled by habit. Despite even good intentions, there will be times when we will not succeed in pulling ourselves together. Only with the Spirit’s help do we experience our own spiritual unity—if we intentionally collect our faculties to create inner unity.
Centering is the way we form our intention that drives our spiritual activities. It helps us to achieve wholeness, inner spiritual union within ourselves. It is by first experiencing this inner spiritual union that we prepare ourselves to experience union with our inner God. Centering, as the term is used here, is not just a technique for concentrating the full energies of our mind and heart. It does that, but it does more than that. It is the way to spiritual union—first with ourselves and then with God.

Centering and Compassion. I have shared with you my discovery of the practice of compassion at the Louvre Museum in Paris. That is the practice of being fully present to the object of our encounter with a caring heart and attentive mind. In other words, we must make a self-gift of ourselves to receive the gift of the other, whether it is the arts, the beauty of creation, other persons or our insider God.

What I now realize is that this practice of compassion is actually the practice of centering, helping us to form our intention for spiritual union. For example, to prepare ourselves for union with God, we must be fully present to the Divine Presence within us with a caring heart and attentive mind. We must gift ourselves, we must surrender ourselves to our insider God. That is the practice of compassion and the practice of centering.

Centering and Perceiving. Spiritual writers and poets voice the human problem of perceiving the depths of things—God, creation, people. We tend to perceive without perceiving. They say we must see with the eyes of our hearts. Or they say we must see with the eyes of love. E.e.cummings writes of revelation: “The eyes of my eyes are opened.” Teihard Chardin prayed, “Lord, grant that I may see, that I may see You, that I may see and feel You present in all things and animating all things.” Our powers of perception are at their best when we are centered and compassionately united with ourselves and with the object or person or God we are attempting to encounter.

Centering Method. Whatever helps you to fire up your heart, focus your attention and bring you fully present into the present moment is your best method for centering. Remember too that your heart’s desire is your most creative force. No matter what method you use, you must experience ardent desire for spiritual union. Here is how the practice of compassion works for centering:

Become fully present. Enter the present moment—the entrance to inner spiritual unity. As bodied persons, you need to use your body to become fully present to yourself. Our minds may be in the past or future, but our bodies are in the present moment. Take time to become conscious of your breathing. Breathe deeply from the gut, inhaling and exhaling rhythmically for a period of time. Make your body attentive by the way you hold yourself. If that fails, use Sadhana prayer. Fr. Anthony DeMello, SJ popularized this method which uses the body to awaken the mind and heart to being fully present in an energized way. It consists of becoming conscious of your body through the body awareness exercise of ritually experiencing your body parts from head to foot for a period of time. Note: Doing both the breathing exercise described above and the body awareness exercise at the same time enhances the experience.

Seek a caring heart and an attentive mind. Lead with your emotional center to achieve a caring heart and an attentive mind. When you experience strong feelings, they register themselves in your body, either in your stomach or chest. If you want to enter into total centeredness to encounter God or created reality compassionately, mind and heart, you must consciously enlist your body’s emotional center to generate a caring, attentive attitude. And you will deepen your sense of being fully present in the present moment.

Attempt to experience union. Arouse desire for union with God. Pray that the Risen Christ will pour Jesus’ life energies, present and available here and now, into your heart that you might encounter the Divine Presence within you, as he experienced when he went into the mountains to pray. Express acts of will to encounter God while admitting that your will is powerless to command love, relationship, encounter. For spiritual union is the Spirit’s gift to give or not to give. Give yourself as self-gift to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to connect you with your Divine Love Center. Then begin your spiritual exercise.

The practice of discernment should be viewed as another essential spiritual practice that flows, like the centering practice, from the theology of the insider God. For our insider God carries on dialogue with us through his Spirit taking initiatives within our hearts’ movements, inviting and inspiring us. But why is centering essential for discernment? Because we want to center our mind and heart and will on the issue under discernment for our deepest perceptions and spiritual insights, and that in the presence of our Divine Center.

Further, the practice of centering as described here is valuable for those who practice centering prayer. It could precede centering prayer to prepare oneself psychologically and spiritually for this rich form of prayer.

Learning the practice of centering should be the first step toward a deeper spiritual life. The French have a phrase for it—the point of departure. If you have your right departure point, you will have a good journey and arrive at your destination. Generally, it happens that when people have decided to take their spiritual journey more seriously, they are directed to Bible study. Most likely, that departure point will not bring them to their destination—a deep relationship with their insider God. However, after they have made the practice of centering a habit, Bible study will contribute to their growth in the spiritual life by deepening their relationship with their insider God.

For centering is the essential, fundamental practice of our spiritual lives. And it is the essential, fundamental practice of living the fully human life. It should be the act that precedes all our spiritual and deeply human acts. Let us connect with our own center and our Divine Center!

This article will soon appear in the Spiritual Development Program on the Cursillo website: http://www.nycursillo.org/

Please send comments to frankkit@sprynet.com

John Kirschner, (Seattle, Washington) Edmund Rice Associate, husband of Kathy and father of Mac, Patrick, Evan, Alex and Nick, passed away. Please pray for the repose of his soul and for the peace and consolation of the Kirschner family.

2008 Province Chapter

Visit http://www.ercbna.org/Chapter2008/Reports.html for information on the 2008 Province Chapter being held in Cornwall, Canada from July 6th to 13th.

Chicago Chapter - Tentative Calendar of Events 2008-09

Sat. Sept. 20 Morning. Opening of New School Year gathering: Ray Mackey's home in Frankfort

Sat. Oct. 25 3:30 PM at Holy Sepulchre and Mass at St. Laurence.
Memorial Time.

(early Advent: retreat time, TBA).

Sat. Feb. 21. morning. Spring gathering.

Sat. May 2. 5 PM Edmund Rice Mass--either St. Xavier or parish.

O'Dea Chapter - Calendar of Events UPDATED 28 July

Sunday – September 21 9:30 am O’Dea Library
“Exploring Our Heritage: Giants of the Province”

Saturday – October 18 “Connecting With Our Roots”
4:00 pm Visit to St. Patrick’s Cemetery (Kent)
5:30 pm Mass @ St. James’ Cathedral
6:45 pm Social / Dinner @ Brothers’ Residence

Monday -- November 10 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
Reflection: “God is in the Ordinary”

Monday – December 15 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“Advent / Christmas Evening of Recollection”

Monday – January 5 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“A New Year with Edmund Rice”

Monday -- February 9 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
Lenten Reflection: “God is in the Ordinary”

Monday – March 9 7:00 pm Brothers’ Residence
“Ritual: Renewal & New Associates”

Wednesday – May 6 Founder’s Feast Day Celebrations
10:00 am Mass @ St. James Cathedral
7:00 pm Prayer Service @ Brothers' Residence

Sunday – May 17 9:30 – 12:00 K.of C. Hall (Seattle)
Christian Brothers’ Retirement Fund Breakfast

Pope's Message to Catholics in the U.S.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Here is Pope Benedict XVI's message, in English and Spanish, to Catholics in the United States. The pope will visit the U.S. April 15-20.

Click on the play button below to play the video.

Dear brothers and sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture toward every ecclesial community and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the apostles and the church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavors would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ Our Hope." Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfillment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including nonbelievers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.

Dirijo un cordial saludo a los catolicos de lengua espanola y les manifiesto mi cercania espiritual, en particular a los jovenes, a los enfermos, a los ancianos y a los que pasan por dificultades o se sienten mas necesitados. Les expreso mi vivo deseo de poder estar pronto con Ustedes en esa querida Nacion. Mientras tanto, les aliento a orar intensamente por los frutos pastorales de mi inminente Viaje Apostolico y a mantener en alto la llama de la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen Maria les acompane y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga.

May God bless you all.

BLESSED EDMUND RICE

By David Elebert

Edmund Ignatius Rice was born in June. He was born in the Westcourt, Callan, Co. Kilkenny. He was to be a man of heroic virtue and worthy of the title "Venerable". On 2nd of April 1993, Pope John Paul II declared the Irishman, Edmund Rice, to be a man of heroic virtue.

Two years later, Rome approved a miracle attributed to Edmund's intercession. This cleared the way for his beatification with the bestowing of the title "Blessed Edmund Rice" at a ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, on Sunday, 6th of October 1996. In recent documents issued by the Vatican Congregation of Saint Edmund was recognised as being a gift to the Church. Recalling the era in which Edmund lived, the document praises him for his strong and clear faith, his Eucharistic piety, his devotion to the Mother of God, and his constant reflection on the sacred scriptures.

CHILDHOOD

On 1st June a baby boy was born, he was christened a couple of weeks later with the name Edmund Rice. His mother and fathers names were Robert and Margaret Rice. He was the fourth of seven brothers. He also had two sisters from his mother's first marriage.

Ireland had just pasted through the anti - Catholic period It had more to do with politics allegiances and the for land than with adherence to Catholicism By the year that Edmund was born this had all passed.

Edmunds father Robert worked on a 180 acre farm leased from Lord Desart Other became traders, merchants and shopkeepers. Christ was the centre of his through, affections and apostate, and it was Christ whom he served when he tended the poor and needy His life was characterised by dedication, generosity and humility He truly loved God and his neighbour with all his heart.

If all this is true, Edmund would appear to be a man, not only for his own time but for our time as well. Who then was this exceptional Irishman who is being so signally honoured in the last decade of the second millennium, more than 150 years after his death?

YOUTH

Edmund Rice`s youth was unexceptional for the better off Catholics of his time. Irish was the language that people used in those days, with sufficient English o deal with legal and financial affairs. Edmunds parents were respected in the community for their generosity, fair-mindedness and humanity. The Rice children were fortunate that they had parents whose personalities balanced so well. The father's shrewdness, sturdy common sense and practicality complemented the mother's warmth, sensitivity and compassion. Like any boy growing up in the Kilkenny countryside, Edmund fished, swam, and played hurling. For Edmund life was not all fun and games. Edmund received an education denied to the majority of Catholics. He first went to "hedge school" an illegal pay-school set up by a travelling teacher for those whose parents could not afford to pay the fees. But his parents and family provided his religious education.

Later when Edmund was seventeen he attended an academy school in Kilkenny. Here he received a practical and classical education. This was to prove helpful to him, not only in his business career, but also in his future as founder of schools for poor boys.

For boys of families that were well off Catholic farmers there would have been two choices of jobs. They could stay at home and work on the farm, or they could go overseas and study for the priesthood, or even enter the world of business. Edmunds brother John became a priest in the Augustinian order later becoming Assistant General and died in Malta. Edmund was mostly interested in the business world.

THE YOUNG BUSINESS MAN

When Edmund was seventeen he got a job as an apprentice at his uncles business. Michael Rice was well established in victualling and ship chandelling in the thriving port of Waterford. Although Michael ran a business his sons did not follow in his footsteps. That's how Edmund was given the opportunity of training in the business.

Waterford at that time was both an ancient walled city and a bustling modern port from which a thousand ships sailed each year to Britain and the Continent, as well as to places as far away as Newfoundland. Soon Edmund became a familiar figure in his uncle's stores in Barrowstrand Street. He quickly won his uncle's confidence and a deep affection grew up between them. The business thrived on the two of them. Edmund loved dancing, singing, boating and horse riding, and he dressed in the style for every occasion. Sometimes he would visit his home in Callan.

A man called James Phelan saw that Edmund was a bit giddy in Mass one Sunday. Afterwards the man made his disapproval clear. However he need not have worried. For the faith that Edmund had learnt at his mothers knee had deep roots as witnessed by his custom of reciting the Rosary either alone or with a companion on his travels.

When Edmund was 24 his uncle signed over the business to him. Edmund was the fourth son but his father named him as the legal head.

THE NEW COMMUNITY

Two young men, Patrick Finn and Tomas Grosvenor, heard of Edmunds dream of a new `brotherhood` to teach the poor. They had both been thinking of dedication their lives to God and early in 1802 they offered to throw in their lot with Edmund without fee or reward. Edmund was elated. The new monastery at Ballybricken, to be named Mount Sion by Bishop Hussey because of the lofty position overlooking the city of Waterford, was not yet finished. So Edmund and his companions took up temporary commendation over the stables in New Street, and immediately began a form of community life. The men rose early and prayed together. They also attended daily Mass. They ate sparingly, they taught all day, and they spent some time doing spiritual reading and prayed together again before going to bed. This became the men's daily life.

In 1803 Edmund and his friends moved to Mount Sion. The Bishop blessed the building that they were in. His name was Bishop Hussey. Near the school Edmund built a small bakehouse. He built it so that he could give students daily meals. In a loft over the bakehouse tailors were busy making clothes for the students that went to the school.

SOCIETY OF THE PRESENTATION

Other people began to join Edmunds movements. By 1808 two other people had joined. Edmunds monks had round towers at Carrick-on-Suir and Dungarvan. Edmunds priest friend, John Power, was now the Bishop of Waterford. Together Edmund and himself drew up a rule of life based on the constitutions of the Presentation Sisters. On August 15th 1808, Edmund and eight companions were clothed in a simple black habit (it was to be worn indoors only). They made vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. An official diocesan congregation of brothers known as the "Society of the Presentation" was formed under the authority of the Bishop. The ordinary people among whom they worked called them simply " the gentlemen of the Presentation" or more simply " the monks". Edmund soon after received the name Brother Ignatius after Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits.

Discipline was maintained by a system of small rewards and as often as not by the personality of the teacher. An early report informs us that "The Brothers seem in a wonderful way to have won the affection of the boys under them, and in a very large measure to have dispensed with anything in the nature of corporal punishment. "

In the way that good news was spread men from different counties in Ireland heard about Edmunds work. Some went to join him at Mount Sion. It was said that the people of Callan, his hometown, were the first to come. Soon others joined them from different places and a wide variety of backgrounds. There was a man called Francis Manifold. He was a major in the Wicklow Militia, who became a Catholic and joined Edmund in his party. Then came Joseph McClelland, a former Presbyterian, and son of a minister in the Church. There was Joseph Watson (Dublin) and Tomas Brien (Waterford). Some young men who wanted to be Brothers had to go through training of two and a half years. Soon they would be Brothers. There were new foundations built in Cork, Dublin, Thurles, and Limerick. All members adhered to Edmunds rule and looked to him as their leader and guide, although technically their local bishop was their Superior.

There were some problems between the Bishop of Waterford and Dr. Murray the former Bishop of Dublin. He was pressing for more Brothers schools for the capital of Ireland. Dr. Murray told Edmund to try and amalgamate all of his institutes under a Superior General on the same lines as the Jesuits. This would allow Edmund to transfer his men from diocese to diocese. Whether the majority of the bishops were ready to accept such a structure for a group of lay religious remained to be tested. Bishop Murphy of Cork, for one, did not approve of 'foreign domination' and made no secret of it.

The rector of the Irish Jesuits, Peter Kenny, a close friend of Edmund's, was a generous man. He gave Edmund advice and encouragement. Edmund in return is credited with helping to purchase Clongowes for the Jesuits. Dr. Murphy gave Edmund a copy of the brief approval of the De La Salle Brothers from their Superior General in Paris. He was then restoring the order on the Continent after its suppression during the Revolutionary period. Here was a model of the kind of central government the new institute needed for free expansion wherever the Brothers were needed.

CONGREGATION OF THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS

Edmund consulted the superiors assembled at Mount Sion in August 1817 for their views. They were unanimous in adopting a style of government similar to that outlined in the De La Salle brief, although individual Brothers were strongly attached to their own diocese.
The Bishops were divided. For all the work that the Brothers did, they were still not happy that lay religious should be placed outside their immediate jurisdiction. The Bishop of Cork, looked to the North Monastery as his own foundation. When the Papal brief for the new centralised Congregation of Christian Brothers arrived from Rome in late 1821, the Cork Brothers, at the request of their own Bishop, did not attend the meeting for its acceptance. Edmund was sad because of all these divisions among the ranks.

On the feast of the Holy Name (20th January 1822) the majority of the Brothers voted for Edmund Rice as their Superior General and made their vows as Christian Brothers. A committee, run by Edmund was to work out new rules for the Brotherhood. They studied the rules and constitutions of the Jesuits and De La Salle Brothers and the Presentation sisters and finally compiled a rule " best suited to the peculiar nature of these countries and the genius of the people". After a trial period and some amendments the rule was printed in 1832.

After the hiccups of the 1820s, the schools of the Presentation and Christian Brothers continued to spread across Ireland and, soon, overseas. As early as 1810, Edmund had written to the Archbishop of Cashel that he prayed that his society would spread "to all parts of the Kingdom". In 1825 a foundation was made by the Christian Brothers in Preston, Lancashire, thus opening up a whole new field of labour to the Brothers on the English mission. Further schools were opened in Manchester and London in 1826, and shortly afterwards in Liverpool which was to become the centre of the Brothers greatest involvement in education in England. The Presentation Brothers also would soon spread to England.

The Christian Brothers were transferred to Dublin. Daniel O'Connell the great lawyer and Irish patriot laid the foundation stone of 'Connell Schools, North Richmond Street, Dublin in June 1828. O'Connell was then at the peak of his popularity in his campaign for Catholic Emancipation, drawing huge crowds wherever he went. The newspapers reported that 100,000 people crowded the streets around the new foundation, where O'Connell referred to his old friend Edmund Rice as the "Patriarch of the Monks of the West". The new buildings were to house the Generalate and Novitiate of the Brothers, a large school, and a training college for teachers.

Email: aidancbs@iol.ie

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Last modified: February 22, 1999