Quoting Silence, July 2023:
|
|
|
A post throughout each week of the month, offering quotes and resources linked to one contemporary author who writes about silence and its role as a spiritual discipline. |
The first week of each month has a short, image-backed quote with links to associated resources in the text below it. In other weeks, the short quote is taken from a longer one by the month's author, found below the image. The last week of the month has a short quote and questions to encourage reflection on all the month's quotations and images.
Beverly Lanzetta, our author for July, is an American feminist theologian and contemplative scholar who advocates for engagement in a new monastic way of life by all people of faith, lived out within the communities to which we belong and in the cloister of our hearts.
|
Guided Meditation for all quotes:
For a 5 minute audio guided meditation to use with each week's quote, click the play button on the image. To pause, and restart, click in the same place. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
|
Lectio Divina with longer quotes:
For an audio guided Lectio Divina to use with this week's longer quote, click the play button on the image. Allow 10-15 minutes for this practice. To pause, and restart, click in the same place. For a text version of the Lectio Divina meditation, click the button. |
|
Monday 3rd July, 2023
Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 92.
Image: tonywardfurniture.co.uk/blog
This short image-backed quote is from Beverly Lanzetta's Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 92. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
Born in the USA in 1947, Beverly Lanzetta has been committed to a contemplative way of living since she was graced with an encounter with God in her late 20s, in which she experiences mystical revelations of divine love and suffering. Her account of these life-changing visions is recorded in her first book, Path of the Heart : A Spiritual Guide to Divine Union (Paragon, 1985), which was hailed as 'a modern spiritual classic': for info about the most recent, expanded commentary edition, see here, and for a short review see here.
Since then, Lanzetta has become a renowned theologian, spiritual teacher and author. Dedicated to following a path of spiritual openness that promotes non-violence, she has written many groundbreaking books, particularly exploring mysticism, new monasticism, feminine spirituality and the feminine divine. Her PhD research explored the theology and mysticism of the Rhineland mystic, Meister Ekhart (c.1260-c.1328), and was published as The Other Side of Nothingness : Towards a Theology of Radical Openness (Albany Press, 2001) - see here. 'Radical' is a word often associated with Beverly Lanzetta, featuring again in our book for this month: Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005) - see here. You can find links to all her other books here, but of particular interest may be A New Silence: Spiritual Practices and Formation for the Monk Within (Blue Sapphire Books, 2020). You can find an interesting excerpt that details Beverly's 10-point 'Rule of Life', here.
A former theologian at Villanova University (also the academic home of Martin Laird, our author in June 2022 - see here), Beverly has now retired from full-time academic work to focus on broader areas of spiritual living, and spends much of her time teaching and mentoring across the world. Since Covid-times and online zoom conferences, she is now often a keynote speaker at many large gatherings. You can find a 20 minute recording of her teaching at 'Engage 2022', here. For multiple recordings of various lengths with teaching and interviews with Beverly, see her website, here. An interfaith chaplain and spiritual director, she founded the Desert Interfaith Church, the Interfaith Theological Seminary, the Hesychia School for Spiritual Direction and the Community of a New Monastic Way. If you'd like to explore teaching from Beverly Lanzetta about new monasticism in a self-guided study program, based around her recent book, The Monk Within (Blue Sapphire Books, 2018), see here.
Monday 10th July, 2023
Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 29.
Image: Stefano Pollio, Pescana, Italy, unsplash.com/@stefanopollio
This short image-backed quote, above, is taken from this week's longer quote, below, in Beverly Lanzetta's Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 29. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
|
Listen to this week's longer quote:
To listen to the longer quote, below, being read, click the play button on the small version of the image next to or below this text. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
'Too often in history, spirituality has taken on an unfortunate connotation that suggests an extreme form of otherworldliness, interiority, and opposition to the body. Certainly, spirituality requires inner focus, silence, and even, at times, solitude to hear one’s God speak.
Yet, … all authentic spirituality strives towards holiness in this world, however perfectly or imperfectly, and yearns to remember the divine mystery in all one does. The richness of the term is found in the role spirituality plays in unifying the tension between mind and heart, body and soul, and inner and outer life. Spirituality is the awareness of the oneness that underlies duality and difference, as each outward action reveals the interconnected presence of the holy. It is neither partial nor selective, filling each and all. A person may be more or less conscious of the sacred in every day; she or he may even deny or reject it. But spirituality is the primordial stuff of existence and therefore is always present. A feeling of oneness with life, deep empathy and compassion, genuine selfless love, and an abiding trust in the unfolding of reality are marks of a spiritually aware temperament.'
Monday 17th July, 2023
Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 169.
Image: Arun Anoop, Kerala, India, unsplash.com/@arunanoop
This short image-backed quote is taken from this week's longer quote, below, in Beverly Lanzetta's Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 169. Read more about this book by clicking here.
|
Listen to this week's longer quote:
To listen to the longer quote, below, being read, click the play button on the small version of the image next to or below this text. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
'Solitude is solace; silence is food. They are necessary for the nourishment of the whole person, and for the actualization of the deepest possibility of a spiritual life. To live at the centre of one’s being requires practicing life in our inner monastery where we are undisturbed by the noise, demands, and busyness of the world. Silence allows no other speech to enter the enclosure where God and self are one. It washes away the harsh, violated, lashing speech that humiliates and shames. Silence is a balm that soothes whatever has falsely named and blamed … it flows out of an untarnished beauty into the beauty of every … face and presence. … Silence recharges and restores the powerful yet fragile awareness of life’s radical awe. It is the electrical current that ignites the divine spark at the centre of our being.
Solitude is more than a withdrawal from other people, just as silence is more than the absence of speech. It is an interior state of consciousness in which [we] protect and preserve the integrity of self from unwanted intrusion. Far from being escape from the world, solitude establishes [us] in the world in a new way. It provides an inner resiliency and power that grows form the core of [our] self-integrity. … Solitude provides the freedom to stand alone and not to succumb to the crowd.'
Monday 24th July, 2023
Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 213.
Image: Pavel Lozovikov, unsplash.com/@photolozovikov
This short image-backed quote is taken from this week's longer quote, below, in Beverly Lanzetta's Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 212-213. To read more about this book click here.
|
Listen to this week's longer quote:
To listen to the longer quote, below, being read, click the play button on the small version of the image next to or below this text. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
'Holy Wisdom, everything we are and everything we have you gave us. The very air we breathe and the eyes with which we see, you fashioned. The mind that draws these words out of silence and etches them into the tablet of time, you made. … Life is nothing more than a longful dialogue with you. Our words are offerings to you; our thoughts are but passing sails on a silent sea, our emotions caught up in the solace of your intimacy. … It is you, Holy Wisdom, who peer into our hearts—you hear our deepest longings and know the triumphs of our souls. Your whole creation is a poem of desire: some days we are a verb; on others, an immovable noun. The syntax of our pilgrimage etches traces across life’s pages and often we do not know how to speak. But we are intoxicated with the beauty of our world …
Take our breath. … May each inhalation and exhalation be a tribute to your glory. May our hearts burn with the passion of your fire and your holiness. Take our souls and use them to assuage the wounds; may they grow stronger to hold more of your love. Take [our] bodies and make them an instrument of your peace; may our actions be worthy of your mercy. Take us and use us, for we long to give our false selves away. You come upon us so silently and in such deep interiority that often we do not recognize your call. And this is no wonder, since the sound of your words is so holy and the wisdom of your words is so profound that even the purest soul struggles to hold them and bear them in memory. In silence, all that is clamouring and jarring is stilled and we are led to the door of your own solitude. Let us offer ourselves so that our words reflect your Word. … You emerge out of us and we dwell within you.'
Monday 31st July, 2023
Beverly Lanzetta, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology (Fortress Press, 2005), 32.
Image: Daniel Seßler, Munich, unsplash.com/@danielsessler
The last week of each month offers some questions to help you reflect further on its quotations and images, and how they resonate with your own spiritual journey and relationship with God.
You can engage with these using the written text or the audio version of the questions, below.
|
Listen to the reflection questions:
To listen to the reflection questions, below, being read, click the play button on the REFLECT image next to or below this text. To see the image full screen as you listen, click the expand screen icon in the corner. |
|
Before reflecting on this month's quotes and images, take time to re-ground yourself in your body.
Perhaps take a few slow breaths, feel your feet on the floor and be aware of how your body feels in this moment.
1) Read back over or listen again to this month's quotes and spend time looking at their associated images. As you do so, note a phrase or image that draws your attention. If this is a phrase, you might like to write this out in a journal or on a piece of paper where you will see it regularly. Consider reading aloud several times what you have written to help the words sink more deeply into your heart. If an image resonates with you, let your gaze rest lightly on it for a couple of minutes, allowing it to speak to your heart. Consider using it as a screensaver for a while, or perhaps print it out and place it somewhere that you will see it often.
2) What emerges as you sit with the phrase or image that attracted your attention? Does a new insight or a question, emotion or sensation arise? Take some time to write down and ponder on whatever you notice.
3) Where can you see hope in the midst of what is emerging in you, for yourself, your neighbour, your community, or the planet? How might this impact your daily life and those with whom you share it?
4) In the days and weeks to come, how can you stay open to what you have discovered from your reflections?
Take some time to give thanks for the hope that you have found in this month's quotes and images.
Perhaps take a few slow breaths, feel your feet on the floor and be aware of how your body feels in this moment.
1) Read back over or listen again to this month's quotes and spend time looking at their associated images. As you do so, note a phrase or image that draws your attention. If this is a phrase, you might like to write this out in a journal or on a piece of paper where you will see it regularly. Consider reading aloud several times what you have written to help the words sink more deeply into your heart. If an image resonates with you, let your gaze rest lightly on it for a couple of minutes, allowing it to speak to your heart. Consider using it as a screensaver for a while, or perhaps print it out and place it somewhere that you will see it often.
2) What emerges as you sit with the phrase or image that attracted your attention? Does a new insight or a question, emotion or sensation arise? Take some time to write down and ponder on whatever you notice.
3) Where can you see hope in the midst of what is emerging in you, for yourself, your neighbour, your community, or the planet? How might this impact your daily life and those with whom you share it?
4) In the days and weeks to come, how can you stay open to what you have discovered from your reflections?
Take some time to give thanks for the hope that you have found in this month's quotes and images.