There must be a way to be truly relevant

14. When I first thought of myself as a contemplative, rather mystical-oriented person of prayer, I sought to attach myself to a group or order of people who distinguished themselves as contemplatives.

 

When we Catholics go through the confirmation process nowadays, we are allowed to choose the name of a saint with whom we associate ourselves. Having been influenced greatly by the writings of John of the Cross, it was a no-brainer for me to choose him as my confirmation name, and to designate him especially as a saint who would pray for me while I journeyed out my faith on this side of our divide.

 

I eventually severed ties with the contemplative order because, it seemed to me, it was merely a way to draw attention to myself; to set myself apart and a little above the others who were not so much contemplative.

 

Now, having journeyed still further with John of the Cross, as well as Thomas Merton, Henri Nouwen and a few other solid teachers on this rather ethereal subject, I am leaning toward the idea that contemplation is, first of all, no longer the best word to use, and, secondly, that it is for every believer.

 

To describe Thomas Merton as a contemplative, for example, does nothing to help us understand his actual bearing as a Christian. I prefer to think of Merton as “integrated.” His life of solitude and silence, as Henri Nouwen points out, led Merton to a life of compassionate involvement in the lives of others, and a poignant critic of the world around him, and an expression of the love of Christ to the world in a singularly relevant way. This is a life for all Christians, despite our circumstances and despite our absolutely inescapable need to be personally comfortable about everything our faith demands of us. (Those looking on from centuries past must surely refer to us as “those unbearable lightweights.”)

 

Merton lived as a Trappist monk in Gethsemani Abbey in Kentucky. It would be easy to misunderstand and accuse him of hiding. Few outside the monastery realize what a social and cultural, as well as spiritual center an abbey becomes by virtue of the prayer that takes place within.

 

It is this immersion in prayer that will shake us loose from our superficiality and drown us in an integrated faith that will make us radical and relevant, as was Christ.

 

Until then, we are doomed to be cartoons or sketches of believers who add a smidgeon of the Christian faith to a comfortable life and call it good.