Quoting Silence, November 2024:
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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.
Kerrie Hide, our author for November, is a writer, spiritual director and retreat leader who uses her deep academic grounding in writings from Christian mystical tradition to engage us through meditation in the rich wisdom of their teachings.
You can read more about Kerrie Hide's book, Love’s Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (London: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd, 2022), from which this month's quotes are taken, by clicking here.
You can read more about Kerrie Hide's book, Love’s Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (London: Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd, 2022), from which this month's quotes are taken, by clicking here.
Audio resources
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For a 5 minute audio guided meditation to use with each week's short quote, click play on the image. To pause and restart click the same place.
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An audio guided Lectio Divina for the longer quotes. Click play on the image above. Allow 10-15 minutes for this. For a text version, click the button.
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Monday 4th November , 2024
Kerrie Hide, Love's Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022), 17.
Images: Woman - Danie Franco, Mexico, unsplash.com/@dani_franco
Man – Moaz Tobok, Algeria, unsplash.com/@moaztobok
Man – Moaz Tobok, Algeria, unsplash.com/@moaztobok
Kerrie Hide was born in 1954 and having first studied Spiritual Direction at Fordham University, New York, in the mid-1980s, she has offered this ministry in the Ignatian tradition for more than 35 years. She is often described as a mystical theologian. Today Kerrie offers a multitude of different online opportunities for engaging with the contemplative tradition via her website, Contemplatio, here, where you can also access a variety of her published and unpublished writings, here, lower down the page. Additionally, you can find some audio recordings of meditations written by Kerrie, here.
Kerrie completed a doctorate in theology in 2000 and for 18 years she was a lecturer in mystical theology at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra. Her academic output in books and journal articles has engaged deeply with the writings of many of Christianity's well-known mystics - from those of former centuries such as Julian of Norwich and Meister Eckhart to more contemporary mystics such as Beatrice Bruteau, who died in 2014 (you can read about her here) and, taking us write up to the present day, Ilia Delio (you can find out more about this acclaimed and well-respected scientist-theologian who works at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, here).
Reflecting her areas of interest, Kerrie's life's work has woven together both academic and practical, deep heart wisdom about contemplation from within the Christian mystical tradition. The intersection of these two strands is evident in her book, Love's Oneing: A Book about Contemplation, from which this month's quotes are taken. It is a scholarly engagement with the writings of nine different mystics, each chapter concluding with her own texts that offer a meditative engagement and reflection with ideas from the mystic that has been under discussion. You can find a review of the book by Prof Mark S. Burrows (another well-respected writer about the mystics) on WCCM's website, here. Those of you who like to find out about people from video or audio might like a YouTube recording of a dialogue between Kerrie Hide and Andrew Harvey about this book, here.
Kerrie completed a doctorate in theology in 2000 and for 18 years she was a lecturer in mystical theology at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra. Her academic output in books and journal articles has engaged deeply with the writings of many of Christianity's well-known mystics - from those of former centuries such as Julian of Norwich and Meister Eckhart to more contemporary mystics such as Beatrice Bruteau, who died in 2014 (you can read about her here) and, taking us write up to the present day, Ilia Delio (you can find out more about this acclaimed and well-respected scientist-theologian who works at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, here).
Reflecting her areas of interest, Kerrie's life's work has woven together both academic and practical, deep heart wisdom about contemplation from within the Christian mystical tradition. The intersection of these two strands is evident in her book, Love's Oneing: A Book about Contemplation, from which this month's quotes are taken. It is a scholarly engagement with the writings of nine different mystics, each chapter concluding with her own texts that offer a meditative engagement and reflection with ideas from the mystic that has been under discussion. You can find a review of the book by Prof Mark S. Burrows (another well-respected writer about the mystics) on WCCM's website, here. Those of you who like to find out about people from video or audio might like a YouTube recording of a dialogue between Kerrie Hide and Andrew Harvey about this book, here.
Monday 11th November, 2024
Kerrie Hide, Love's Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022), 27.
Image: Michael Milverton, Esperance, Western Australia, unsplash.com/@milverton
The short, image-backed quote, above, is taken from this week's longer quote, below, on pages 27-28 of Kerrie Hide's book. To read more about her book, from which this month's quotes are taken, click here.
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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. |
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'Julian [of Norwich] says so simply “prayer ones the soul to God.” She invites you to beseek, to come to prayer, yearning to be oned into the sight and the beholding of your Beloved, enjoying with loving wonder and such great sweetness and delight that you can only pray as Love stirs you at this time. Find a quite place then, where the silence that is the ground of your heart can flow through you effortlessly. Settle, still and become sensitive to the music of silence, feeling yourself open into a loving beholding. Become attentive to this soft, luminous seeing with the eye of your heart, the gentle beholding of beholding.
As silence ripples, calms and sooths your body, your mind, your soul, listen to Love’s words whispered in the depths of your heart, “I am the ground.” Arising from the ground of Silence, resounding with primordial creativity, Love’s silent words, “I am the ground,” resound with sonic presence, like a mantra, ringing in the universe.
“It is my desire,” the Beloved murmurs, softly, gently, invitingly; “that you turn into me, into the depths of my heart, enjoying.” Tenderly turn within into the ground of silence, knitting and oneing every particle of your being into the point of pure presence into the ground of your heart, into the oneing of silence.
In the oneing, in the being and holding, in beholding, yield into a lingering, soft enfolding, closing and enclosing. Feel yourself one in this enfolding, closing and enclosing, oneing love. Enjoy soaking in the infusing oneness. Allow as much time as Love invites, to abide in the silence of this enfolding, closing, enclosing, oneing love.
Thanking is an inner knowing filled with wonder. As you feel the Beloved draw you to finish, give thanks for this loving presence, remaining centred in the ground of your heart enjoying the presence of Love in all things.'
Monday 18th November, 2024
Kerrie Hide, Love's Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022), 225.
Image: Fernando Captu,Verancuz, Mexico, unsplash.com/@fernandocaptu
The short, image-backed quote, above, is taken from this week's longer quote, below, on pages 225-226 of Kerrie Hide's book. To read more about her book, from which this month's quotes are taken, click here.
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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. |
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'After finding a place of solitude and coming to stillness, I invite you to enter into the depths of your heart and recline with Jesus at the last supper. Awaken the senses of your heart and feel yourself, reclining, more and more as you lean back into the kolpon, heart-womb of the one you love. Sense the intensely fertile silence of this kolpon-heart-womb receiving you. Repose in the silence.
As you feel the tranquillity of repose, sense into the magnetic yearning of the heart of Jesus drawing you deeper into his heart. Feel yourself yielding, seeping beyond your bounded self, back and down and in, towards your centre, where your heart infuses into the heart of Jesus, until you become absorbed in Jesus.
Softly, abide in the oneing, becoming more and more inside each other, as your consciousness and the consciousness of Jesus one. Feel the love energy of this sacred heart ground as your inside coincides with his inside and his heart becomes the heart of your heart. As you gently abide, one in each other, feel all descriptions of yourself melt and evaporate. You are one in the burning radiance of the one heart.
Gently, continue to release into this oneing love energy. Sense your heart and the heart of Jesus oneing in this one heart awareness. Feel yourself coinciding in the intimacy of the divine kolpon, in the Silence speaking the Word, as the Word infusing your consciousness ones. Dissolve into the silent love of Love’s Trinity, into the communion of all hearts one in the Trinity. Flow with the inflow-outflow of agape.
Remain loving in this intimacy of Silence and Word oneing with this agape for as long as you feel drawn.'
Monday 25th November, 2024
Kerrie Hide, Love's Oneing: A Book About Contemplation (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2022), 196.
Image: John Peters, unsplash.com/@johnphiker
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 or audio versions of the questions, below.
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 or audio versions of the questions, below.
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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. |
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Reflection questions:
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.