WCCM has developed the practice of choosing a theme for each calendar year and the theme for 2024 Is ‘Beholding Divine Beauty: And God Saw That It Was Good.’ To support individuals and national communities to reflect on the theme and its relationship with our daily practice of meditation, WCCM offers an online series of talks which will explore the theme across a range of disciplines including theology, social justice and the arts.
The sessions have proven popular with many as a way of unifying the year by developing very different aspects of an essential central theme which challenges of our world at this time. As we struggle with ecological as well as political and economic emergencies, a deeper understanding of beauty, goodness, and creativity may release both the joy and wisdom we need to stay centred and draw on the most life-giving aspects of our shared humanity.
You may subscribe to individual sessions or avail of the discount for signing up for the full series. All sessions will be recorded – if you are not available on the day of any presentation you can watch it later online. Click the image to the right to find out more or to register.
Bernard McGinn observes that ‘the mystics convey to us that it is possible to live within the presence of God and to have an immediate sense of God’s presence that can guide us.’
You may recall that Bernard, who is the world’s foremost authority on the Christian mystics, gave a series of talks some years ago in Trinity College, Dublin at a conference organised jointly by Christian Meditation Ireland and Trinity College.
WCCM now presents a new online series by Bernard McGinn called ‘Into the Mystics’. The full list of mystics he will speak about includes: Augustine of Hippo (23 Jan), Bernard of Clairvaux (21 Feb), Francis and Clare of Assissi (19 March), Mesiter Eckhart (23 April), Teresa of Avila (28 May), Francis de Sales (25 June), Teilhard de Chardin (24 September), Edith Stein (23 October), Etty Hillesum (26 November) and John Main (17 December). To find out more, click on the image to the left.
Christian Meditation Ireland participated in the World Meeting of Families at the RDS in 2018. Noel Keating designed a 2m x 2m stand for the occasion which is now on permanent display in Balally Parish Centre in Dublin.
Sceillig Mhichil has always been seen as symbolic by Christian Meditation Ireland because it is the site of a well-preserved isolated monastic settlement dating to between the sixth and eighth centuries whose monks followed in the tradition of the Desert Fathers. It is made up of six ‘beehive’ huts, two oratories, small terraces and a number of grave slabs and early sculptured crosses. Standing at some 200 metres (700 feet) above sea level the site is reached by a climb of over six hundred stone steps. Each step was carved by hand from the solid rock. The front of the large stand is shown on the right and bears the words of John Main: ‘The Spirit of God dwells in our hearts in silence.’ Noel designed a timeline of Christian mystics for the rear of the stand and this is shown above.
When the Song of the Angels is Stilled by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
from The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations (Friends United Press, 1985)
Reflection by Noel Keating: The theme of this poem is very clear – when Christmas is over, it is then that the real work of Christmas begins. And this is the work we are called to: to be of service to one another, most especially those in greatest need: To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among brothers, to make music in the heart.
Meditation and service are two sides of the same coin. Meditation without service becomes merely a form of spiritual self-indulgence. And service without meditation can often be informed by anger or the desires of the ego. Our daily practice of meditation awakens the heart to our true-self so that we discover who we are in God and who God is in us. And that changes our way of seeing, and hence our way of being in the world. We are drawn to discern how we can be of service in meaningful ways in our daily lives. The fruit of meditation is contemplative action in the world. May our daily practice, through grace, produce this fruit in us. And may part of that fruit be music in our heart which inspires us to bring music to the hearts of all we meet.
