Church

Old Practices for the Human Condition

by Phileena Heuertz

The human condition clings to the broad path of power, esteem, and security; but, the Bible calls us down the narrow way that leads to abundant life. Do our current spiritual practices guide us down the right path? Phileena Heuertz, co-director of Word Made Flesh, says that the secret to more abundant life with God is found in contemplative prayer. This very old practice is an internal posture of surrender and is exactly what the human condition calls for.

Comments

sandie bacon

I will be 65 years of age in a few days and have been asking myself similiar questions..."who am I"..."how can I best use my God-given gifts", i.e. 'personality' to serve the Living God. I am struggling to "listen in the silence". I believe I have an ADD glitch that can drive me to several activities at once while the radio of TV provide background noise. Silence is an alien language to me. I don't want to continue walking on a directionless path with random acts of kindness to fuel my pride!

I respect and appreciate the heart of this message: the age old Christian practices of waiting on the Lord and listening to His voice through scripture and prayer, and shutting out the noise of worldly messages competing for our hearts and minds. But I am increasingly concerned by the terms used in this discussion and elsewhere to describe this process. Prayer is inherently contemplative, and we don't need terms, methods or packages... Jesus said, "Come." and gave us a model prayer. Scripture gives us model prayers as well. Also the term,"our divine center" can be confusing and potentially dangerous. The Holy Spirit indwells, but we are wholly other than God. We are the created. God is the Divine Creator. Just some thoughts... And I wish you God's blessings...

Janice Kraus

I am trying to learn more about "Who I am" and starting to use Mediation for purpose of changing my ways of thinking : Do you have any links for this and How can I find out who am I ?

Phileena

thanks sandie for your comment. glad the content is encouraging and inspiring for your journey

Phileena

thanks hs for your feedback. i agree with your perspective in the distinct and separate identities of God and humanity. Would you like to expand on what you find dangerous and confusing about the terminology "divine center"? I use the term to express that place within us where the Holy Spirit dwells--where it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me, as St. Paul writes in Scripture.

Phileena

dear janice, thanks for your honesty. i think we will all spend the rest of our life learning more about who we are. if you like to read, i recommend books by Henri Nouwen, Thomas Keating, Richard Rohr to support your journey. you can also check out my website at www.phileena.com for a list of recommended books and various blog posts that may assist you.

~be well. breath deep.

Keith Jones

I'd agree with the comments on 'Divine Center'. I understand exactly you mean, Phileena, but I think that it does sound a bit new-agey. It reminds me of the term 'Supreme Being'. For me it is no other than God revealed in Jesus Christ, but for many it's simply a way to talk generally about a god or higher power.

Leslie Nambo

Phileena !

How refreshing! Thank you for sharing who you through a very heart-felt and provocative message!

A feast for the mind, heart and soul! ~ Thank you!

allegra

Excellent message about overcoming tough fundamentalist paradigms with spirituality in tact. Your work at the margins of the world's society for 17 years infuses the message with authenticity. Thank you for your important message.

Jeelan Syed

Dear Phileena,

That was a wonderful session! I'm so proud that I know you and part of your family.

The best thing is I have known you right from the period when you met Chris and joined WMF and from that stage till now I think you have come a long way, you have learnt so many valuable lessons in life, you have crossed many intersections of diversified culture, you have starved for the hunger & you have felt the pain of the sick. So when you speak about contemplative spirituality it makes more sense to me and I'm all ears to it.

"How do you connect with God?", well they say God is everywhere but to me If you don't have God in your heart you won't find him anywhere. All your actions are started and ends with heart, with God being in your heart your actions will reflect that and that way we make this world a better place to live.

Btw, you look very good in the video :-)

Love,

jEEl

Cristina

Dear Phileena,

As always, your words bring a new encouragement to those who listen to you or read what you write. Like you, I have been walking on a path of rediscovering who I am, of discovering the path I am on or I should be on, and most importantly, of who God really is. I am grateful for people like you, people who God uses as examples, people who speak up so that other people may partake in this beautiful yet hard thing we call "life".

Thank you!

Danielle Powell

Phileena,

It's always exciting to hear you talk about the passion and enlightenment God has brought into your life. The realization during your physical pilgrimage when you were, “Not offered the constant distraction of digital static that can keep us from the pain of being human," was a huge wake-up call for me. It's so easy to get lost within the business and distractions of our false selves. However, I am so encouraged to know that even when this happens we remain grounded in our true self, or divine center. This term has the distinct ability to force the mind to differentiate between the parts of our lives that have been surrendered, and ones that have not. I love the coinage of this term because it is succinct, yet accurate. I think it would be a shame for us as Christians to be so afraid of others associations and connotations, that we limit all ambiguous language. Thank you again for your courage in challenging and reawakening various components of spirituality.

prsangie

This short but poignant message is a wake up call to realize how narrow the path truly is. As a person who is quick to act but slow to listen, I am eager to respond to God's call to love him and my neighbors, but as a human I am bound to have ulterior motives, wrong intentions, and self-congratulatory thoughts. Phileena is encouraging us to a deeper act of listening to God and shedding our false selves so that we may better understand God's view of things. It's easy to say that we just need to focus on God and act. But we can only go so far without surrendering every part of ourselves to God - which can actually lead to destruction. This simple message is truly a life-saver. Thank you!

alexis carter

Absolutely beautiful and well said.

Bryan

If you want to know who you are why not just believe what the bible says?

http://www.hublot-replica.biz

reat article quite useful post. I must for certain get back once more to your site in a bit to read some of the other posts. Ta!

Deborah Douglass

After researching contemplative spirituality (also called "Christian mysticism") extensively, I concluded that the "ancient practices" or disciplines (including contemplative prayer) are counterfeits and can be traced back to pagan practices. Contemplative prayer is not merely "an internal posture of surrender" as is stated above. Of course God wants our complete surrender, but Jesus never told His disciples to practice contemplative prayer or any other ancient pagan ritual.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "...Mysticism considers as the end of philosophy the direct union of the human soul with the Divinity through contemplation and love, and attempts to determine the processes and the means of realizing this end." This unbiblical concept is at the heart of contemplative spirituality and is very dangerous. There is no "direct union" with God through processes or practices or disciplines. The human soul can only be reconciled to God (i.e. brought into a right relationship with God) through the blood of Jesus Christ. We are saved by grace through faith in what Jesus has done for us.

If you are seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus through contemplative practices, they will only lead you down the wrong path. What you need to do is spend time with Him in His word. The Gospel of John is a good place to start. Study His words, dream His words, live His words, obey His words through the power of the Holy Spirit and you will not be led astray.

Comments are now closed

ALSO BY PHILEENA HEUERTZ

ALSO IN CHURCH

by Matthew Nickoloff

by Richard Stearns

by Erwin McManus