Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood [God], praying only for knowledge of [God’s] will for us and the power to carry that out.
—Step 11 of the Twelve Steps
Father Richard connects prayer and meditation to a deepening acceptance of the will of God:
The word prayer, which Bill W. used in Step 11, juxtaposed with the word meditation, is a code word for an entirely different way of processing life. When we “pray,” we are hopefully moving from an egocentric perspective to a soul-centric perspective. It’s the prayer of quiet and self-surrender that best allows us to follow Step 11, which Bill W. must have recognized by also using the word meditation—at a time when that word was not at all common in Christian circles. He was right, because only contemplative prayer or meditation invades, touches, and heals the unconscious! This is where all the woundedness lies—but also where God hides and reveals, “in that secret place” (Matthew 6:6). [1]
Mindfulness teacher Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart visited the Missionaries of Charity Motherhouse in India, where Mother Teresa spoke of prayer:
[Mother Teresa] said daily prayer and meditation helped to keep the nuns from getting disheartened.…
“You should pray and meditate every day, so you know that you are loved, so you feel the presence of God’s love in your life. This is the only way you can truly help others and serve the poorest of the poor. We have to give from a full heart, one that is saturated with love, overflowing to others. Before we can give freely, we have to know that we are loved. This is why you should pray and meditate every day. So you can remember you are loved, letting it fill your heart and your body. Let it fill every cell of your being. Then give it all away.” She smiled. “Do you see?”…
In my early years of working Step 11, all that seeking through prayer and meditation seemed like a lot of effort. I realize now that I was striving, applying my usual style of managing and controlling to my spiritual practice…. Now, thirty-some years later, I think that conscious contact simply takes time on the cushion. [2]
Richard continues:
The Twelve Step Program was deeply inspired in recognizing that we need forms of prayer and meditation that would lead us to “conscious contact with God.” Prayer and meditation can bring us to real inner “knowledge of God’s will for us” and the “power to carry it out” (actual inner empowerment and new motivation from a deeper Source).
People’s willingness to find God in their own struggle with life—and let it change them—is their deepest and truest obedience to God’s eternal will. Remember, always remember, that the heartfelt desire to do the will of God is, in fact, the truest will of God. At that point, God has won, the ego has lost, and our prayers have already been answered. [3]
References:
[1] Selected from Richard Rohr, Breathing under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps, 10th anniv. ed. (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2011, 2021), 91, 95.
[2] Thérèse Jacobs-Stewart, Mindfulness and the 12 Steps (Center City, MN: Hazelden Publishing, 2010), 151, 152–153.
[3] Rohr, Breathing under Water, 97, 98–99.
Image credit and inspiration: Jenna Keiper, bubble detail (detail), 2020, photo, Albuquerque. Click here to enlarge image. Air is released as bubbles when water hits water. Where do we find oxygen when we’re underwater?
Story from Our Community:
I am a seasoned nurse and empath. I discovered the CAC about two years ago and since then, my life has been in constant transformation. When I was looking for new spiritual direction, I read this from Richard Rohr: “Next time resentment, negativity, or irritation comes into your mind, and you want to play it out or attach to it, move that thought or person into your heart space.” There it was! The wisdom my mind and heart had been searching for. Thank you, CAC. You have directed my mind and my heart to where it needs to be.
—Kathy M
