Out of Practice

Spiritual practices are plentiful. In a wired age we have more choices of methods than we can comprehend, master or even use. The plenitude and variety are a joy to behold, because clearly each one of us is unique and shaped by the location in which we were nurtured and in which we live out our calls to do acts of justice and mercy in the name of Christ.

I have been reading two books on spiritual practice this past week, each representing a differing tradition of prayer and faithfulness. Both have been articulate and winsome. Each has opened a window on what happens when we seek to follow the Spirit. Both are compelling. And both authors are sure that their tradition, practice and world view are just THE thing for the spiritual seeker, for the Church and for the world.

Yet part of me has been in dis-ease as I have been reading these offerings. I am grateful for new ways of seeing, a deeper explanation of the dynamics of prayer and action. However, I must own that I read these books as a participant in the Culture of Consumption. The questions that this culture raises are constant drum beats that accompany any new THING :

• Is it not true that MORE spiritual practices under my belt make me MORE spiritual?
• Is it not true that I want the BEST, so I need to keep up with competing spiritual claims?
• What is the PAY-OFF for this practice? Will I be holier, wiser, more Christ-like, more peaceful, practically perfect-in-every-way?

Those are all familiar consumer questions for me. And I am sure they are not at all helpful when seeking to follow Jesus, pay attention, move out to God’s worlds with compassion and justice.

So in humility I need to come back to Square One for assessment: what spiritual practices lead me to Holy Presence? to deeper knowledge of the Mystery? of myself? am I actually practicing them or do I just know how? in this season of my life, what am I being invited to do daily, weekly, seasonally, in order to be faithful to the One whose Love for me never ceases? what keeps from showing up for those practices?

I am happy to learn about spiritual practices that support, sustain, enlighten and give beauty to my journey. I am amazed and glad for the teachers who have shown me that God is manifest in multiple modes and media, and that God embraces our human offerings of love and faithfulness in ways I never knew–art, music, nature, silence and more. But more important than amassing more books, more practices, more “points,” is my attentive execution of my “Rule” that grounds me in God’s presence, that reminds me of Christ’s love, and that opens the very pores of my soul to the plangent music of the Spirit as She gives me a tune to carry into the world.

So for me this week it is less consuming of Spiritual Resources, more practicing what I already know, followed by resting in the Grace of the One who knows me by name, whose intentions for me are good, not evil, and who will never let me go.