Love Matters are wisdom words from Fr. Thomas Keating spoken during the filming of the new series God is Love: The Heart of All Creation. Some are included in the series; others are from footage published here for the first time. A new word will be posted every Monday throughout the year. May they serve to inspire hope and lift your heart.
English Transcript
So, to have it as a stable habit of sitting no matter what happens, kneeling if you want to, or lying down - the position doesn't matter, but some positions are maybe more conducive than others - but the essence is to do the opening to the presence of God in silence. Then, whatever other practices you want to add as a preparation, or to extend those dispositions into daily life, that's up to you. To help us do this, a companion - I don't say a spiritual director since you can't always find one adequately or, if you do, they may not have the right personality for oneself - but to choose someone to share or to remind us of the resolutions that we've made or to warn us when we seem to be overdoing something, this is an enormous help.
But you can get along without anything, it seems to me.
Fr. Carl: As long as you're doing the practice.
As long as you're doing the practice.
Por eso, hay que tener un hábito establecido no importa lo que suceda, arrodillados si así lo quieren, o acostados - la posición no importa, aunque algunas son más conducentes que otras. Lo esencial es abrirse a la presencia de Dios en silencio. Luego depende de nosotros si queremos agregar cualquier otra práctica como preparación, o extender esa disposición a nuestra vida diaria.
Para hacerlo es de enorme ayuda tener un compañero, no digo un director espiritual porque no siempre podemos encontrar uno adecuado o, si lo encontramos, puede que no tenga la personalidad adecuada para nosotros, sino tener a alguien con quién compartir, o que nos recuerde las decisiones que hemos tomado, o que nos advierta cuando parece que nos estamos extralimitando en algo.
Pero nos las podemos arreglar aún sin nada más, me parece.
Padre Carl: Mientras hagamos la práctica
Padre Thomas: Mientras hagamos la práctica.
