Catholic Hermit: Distractions

Ah, here we have another jewel from The Catechism of the Catholic Church, regarding distraction in prayer.  Once more, I consider this to be pertinent--analogous--to distractions for a consecrated Catholic hermit in the eremitic vocation, since I found such profound linkages in prayer in its height, depth, and breadth to be rather synonymous with a hermit's striving to union with Christ, to living his or her vocation for Christ and His Church.  Veritably, this vocation is that of prayer.

So it is with this next selection found in The Catechism, we can find that the very distractions so astutely pointed out in prayer, can also be the aspects of distraction that can keep the hermit from his or her primary, prodigious purpose--temporally and spiritually.

(And also as a Christian, as a Catholic, I find this selection on the problem of distraction in prayer, to be pertinent to anyone no matter the vocational calling--single, married, any of us in the consecrated life, and ordained.  While the hermit's main focus and work is a life of prayer, distractions can hinder all of us who are seeking holiness and union in following Christ.)

For ease of noting the main points, I am going to segment the selection, 2729:

The habitual difficulty in prayer is distraction.  

It can affect words and their meaning in vocal prayer; 

it can concern, more profoundly, Him to Whom we are praying, 

in vocal prayer (liturgical or personal), meditation, and contemplative prayer.  

To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, 

when all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart:  

for a distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, 

and this humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for him 

and lead us resolutely to offer him our heart to be purified.  

Therein lies the battle, the choice of which master to serve.

While in our Christian journey, distraction, as we have just read, is a disrupter, an obstacle, a deal-breaker for our abide-in-Christ desire and goal.  Prayer is that intimate communication with His Real Presence (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) of which without, we cannot begin to enter into relationship with the Divine.  If distracted from prayer and its fruits, we will not learn nor grow in faith, hope, and love of Christ.  

Can there be salvation without communicating with God?  Can we truly know His Real Presence without communicating with Him whether it be verbally, mentally, or contemplatively?  Will there be a relationship with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit without prayer?

Thus, ridding out distractions, avoiding distractions, is all the more crucial.  For a hermit, with prayer being a main focus of a hermit's vocation, a hermit's day-and-night "work," the advice to not try to identify and sort out the distractions is something I'd not considered to be a trap.  Yet it is!  Quickly I see this now!

All that is needed to remove ourselves from distractions is to turn again to our heart wherein we find His Real Presence in residence.  He is within us; it is us who leave for quick trips or long vacations-- conceivably for years not finding our way back. 

Simply being aware of having left, of having chosen this or that distraction, is humbling.  Humility has been said to be the threshold of the faith.  To have humility firmly underfoot--or under our knees--helps us remain meek and humble of heart in presenting ourselves repeatedly before the Lord until that point in which we never depart for this or that distraction, temporal or spiritual in nature. 

Our love for His Real Presence is our preference.  We prefer to love Him than any or all else.  This is true with whatever vows we have professed, be it a simple, heartfelt giving our lives to Jesus Christ, or in vows of marriage, consecrated life, ordination, or by Sacraments of our Baptism and Confirmation.  And consider all the times daily, informally and formally, that we have given ourselves to Christ, that we have confessed our sins, begged forgiveness, and told Him we love Him and to keep us in His Heart always.

Over and over, repeatedly, we then offer ourselves to be purified by and in Christ.  Turn from the distractions we've knowingly or unknowingly chosen.  Return to Jesus, return to our hearts that are secure in His Heart.  This is the prayer of conversion, for deeper conversions.  It is a prayer that God will always answer for ourselves and for others.  When we pray with love for Christ, we pray with love of Christ.

Yes, it is true that when we wander off into distractions, we actually are choosing distractions.  It is either a conscious or subconscious choice.  Prayer keeps us centered, safely so, in the deepest love within His Real Presence.  In prayer, we are united with His Body, the Church.  In prayer, we are secured in His Sacred Heart, in His Mind, in His Soul.  

For any Christian, prayer is paramount in the spiritual journey and in maintaining our presence within His Real Presence.  For a consecrated Catholic hermit, prayer is our responsibility to the Church, it is our work, our life, our joy.  For a consecrated Catholic hermit, each moment may have that crucial choice presenting itself to us consciously or not:  What master do we choose?  To what--or to Whom--are we attached?  Whom do we serve?

I had not considered for quite some time, the truth in that we must NOT try to figure out our distractions or hunt them down; we are to simply keep turning back to Jesus, and in this we turn away from our other attachments that are our distractions.  It is a matter of choice, moment by moment.

This reality makes me quake; I'm uneasy; I know I lack discipline, inner strength.  I need to return to my heart all the more.  I must make far better choices in the Order of the Present Moment which presents itself moment by moment.  And while, yes, I must tend to temporal responsibilities and labor, with what--with Whom--is my mind, heart, and spirit?  Which is good, better, or best?  What choice in word or deed is a step toward heaven or a step toward hell?  There is no standing still for the body, mind, heart, and soul!

God bless His Real Presence in us!

Catholic Hermit: Claiming Victories for the Lord

Today's first reading for Holy Mass continues the First Letter of the Apostle John.  How I love this "beloved disciple" and the writings credited to him.  Remain in Him.  

"As for you,
 the anointing that you received from Him remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you.
But His anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false;
just as it taught you, remain in Him."

Here in my temporary "cell", I continue to claim victories for the Lord!

I briefly explained in the previous post, some of why and of what good is learning to see the positives in each present moment, of which the Lord gives us victories and to which we can claim for Him, as God Is All.

I am finding this rather revolutionary for me, just at this time of transition from one location to another and seeking a permanent hermitage--permanent as the Lord wills and desires.  I do not know the day nor the hour; God's will be done.  But to realize what an amazing opportunity the difficulties have become, in staying with family who are unused to someone else in their space, particularly the pre-teen.

Another misunderstanding arose this morning after last evening's several victories in communicating, in dining together, in my joy at doing the dishes as a means of added thanksgiving for the inclusion and lovely dinner.  It is all progress.  However, this morning as I rose and greeted with a cheerful, "Good morning, sweetheart," we had digressed to no responses once more.  However, I claimed a victory for the Lord in that I was not discouraged but simply returned to my cell with a cup of coffee and remained in the cell until the mother returned from teaching some lessons.

But then I heard my being accused of breaking a toilet in the parents' bathroom.  What?  I was not the culprit.  I decided to speak up and say that I'd not been in that bathroom but would be happy to fix the toilet or at least check to see what is needed in the repair.  However, the lad declared that I had indeed used that bathroom, that he heard me walk into the parents' bedroom and also their bathroom and used it.  

I said I had not.  The boy went to his room, angry; the mother said to let it go, and I knew she did not believe me.  I said I simply appreciate honesty.  I offered again to check the toilet and offered to do the repair, whatever it might be.  She thought the chain.  Simple enough, although my offer was declined.

A few minutes later after the mother conferred with the son, trying to calm his anger, she then came to me and said he insisted I had used that bathroom.  Oh, then I remembered!  Yes, I had used that bathroom several evenings before--first time in the three months, as the boy was for a long time in the other bathroom.  

Ah!  How tricky it can be!  How deceptive the devil can manipulate!  Yes, I had used that bathroom but obviously whatever is wrong with that toilet would have occurred this morning.  However, honesty is honesty, and in all honesty my mind was not at all thinking of any time in the past that I used that bathroom, since it had been once and not something I ponder much.

So I have claimed more victories for the Lord!  It is a victory to see how clever is the devil, and how the deception can be so devious.  Also, I claimed a victory for the Lord for my own attempt to defend myself over something so ridiculous.  I claim a victory for the Lord now and on-going to realize that the young man will be inclined to blame me, as he continues to wish I were not here.  I claim victory in seeing how positively persevering he is, and pray that this excellent quality will be put to much good.

I claim a victory for the Lord in how the mother continued to make effort to converse whereas until yesterday there was little effort made.  I did tell her after I realized there was some truth in the bathroom use--albeit several days ago and admittedly my mind had forgotten in the present moment.  I said I am continuing to strive to build bridges and make in-roads with the boy, as best I can.

These are quite simplistic and perhaps seemingly ridiculous events for which I claim victories for the Lord.  Yet it is in the miniscule details of daily life that we find our opportunities to turn darkness to light, to turn negative to positive, to indeed and joyfully claim victories for the Lord!

There was another major victory to claim for the Lord last night!  I received an email from a woman who had received the notification from the tertiary Dominican leader in the area, inquiring of his group if anyone knew of someone willing to rent a room on temporary basis while I continued to seek a place of my own.  This woman has a friend in need of companionship, to do some driving for her.  She does not have an extra room, but could I sleep on a pullout sofa?  

A bed or sofa is not a problem; my back is so treacherous at this phase of life I must sleep on the floor.  However, the woman lives a distance out in another town, and driving and sitting are the worst for my back pain.  Also, when the pain sieges come, I simply need a room to be off by myself to suffer it out, which can take 3-5 days and sometimes much longer, depending upon the severity.  And, given my vocation, while hospitality part of a hermit's calling, and charity ever the top theological virtue, a lot of conversing is not only exhausting with my pain issues, but over a longer time period really not included in the silence of solitude.

I claimed a victory for the Lord in that a fish was put in the nets cast.  I claimed a victory for the Lord in the discernment of why this particular fish--realizing that He has given me a woman in great need to pray for, as she has had some sort of break down in which the treatments caused her some amnesia; two others have been helping her off and on to make sure she does not "over-schedule herself," of which the person responding said was what caused the woman to need treatments to begin with.

I am learning to claim victories for the Lord in so many aspects of daily and nightly life, that the essence of my temporal dilemma has shifted much like the fog lifting from dank mornings or seaside evenings in which the fog also rolls toward shore.  The claiming of victories for the Lord is a permeating type exercise which challenges the body, mind, heart, and soul in delightful ways--seeking the victory always no matter if the situation seems repugnant or easily pleasant. 

When I cannot seem to locate a victory to claim, I always know there is yet one.  I am not yet adept at locating the victories and know when I do find one or more, there are others yet that I am probably missing. At those times I ask the Lord to find the victories, for I know He has proffered them for me to find and embrace and claim for the "praise of His Glory!"

So now I've shared a bit more about claiming victories for the Lord and the power of doing so.  There is much positive and holiness in this exercise, for it develops an attitude of loving, hopeful, faith-filled expectation that never disappoints one and always pleases God.  It is a simple, practical learning of giving all praise and glory to His Real Presence.

On a practical and realistic note, in my current situation which was unexpected in the unfolding, claiming victories for the Lord has altered at least my perspective and somehow is shifting the tension, and is providing a peace and stability at least within myself.  And that is quite something, indeed.  Stability is one of my Hermit Nine S', and I am contemplating facets of "stability" with also consideration of the noun: stable--including the humble stable in which Jesus was born.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Remain in Him; remain in His Love.  Now, that, too, is a call to stability.  Remain in Christ.