Yoga session at sunrise in Joshua Tree National Park - Warrior I pose, 2008, copyright � Jarek Tuszynski, Wikimedia Commons.   

Richard Rohr's Daily Meditation

Open Heart, Open Mind,
Open Body

Mary, Model of Openness

Sunday, August 3, 2014

The soul needs living models to grow and, quite precisely, we need exemplars with the expansive energies of love. People who are eager to love change us at the deeper levels; they alone seem able to open the field of both mind and heart at the same time. When we are in this different state, and that is what it is, we find ourselves open to directions or possibilities we would never allow or imagine before or after.

When you are fully there, you will know. When you are fully present, the banquet will begin. When all three inner spaces (heart, mind, and body) are open and listening together, you are present. To be present is to know what you need to know in the moment. To be present to something is to allow the moment, the person, the idea, or the situation to influence you and even change you.

Jesus’ mother, Mary, is a model of such presence. Her kind of yes (Luke 1:38) does not come easily to us. It always requires that we let down some of our boundaries, and none of us like to do that. What I mean by Mary’s kind of yes is an assent that comes from the deep self. (Note that no preconditions or worthiness are required.) Mary somehow is able to calmly, wonderfully trust that Someone Else is in charge. All she asks is one simple clarifying question (Luke 1:34). Not if but how, and then she trusts the how even though it would seem quite unlikely. Her yes is pure and simple in its motivation, open-ended in intent, and calm in confidence. Only grace and calm presence can achieve such perfect freedom in the body, heart, and mind at the same time.

Adapted from Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi, p. 248;
and Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, p. 10;
and Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer, p. 67

Gateway to Silence:
Open me to Presence.

 
 

Are you ready to conspire for change?

Embark on a journey of discernment
through the Living School application process.

 

Admissions to the 2015-2017 Living School program
are open through September 30, 2014.

 

Learn more and apply at cac.org/rohr-inst

Did you get this message forwarded from someone else? Wish to sign up for CAC's email lists yourself? Subscribe to CAC email lists here.

You are receiving this message because you subscribed to the CAC’s “Daily Meditations and CAC Updates ” email list. You can unsubscribe or change your email preferences at any time. If you would like to change your email address, please email a request to techassist@cac.org with your current and new email addresses.

Please do not reply to this email. For more info about:

•  Living School, visit cac.org/rohr-inst.

•  CAC Events, visit cac.org/events.

•  CAC Bookstore, visit store.cac.org.

•  Supporting CAC, visit cac.org/support-cac.

•  Technical Help, email techassist@cac.org.