I realize that reading a Highway letter is somewhat of a commitment. Rather than being a one pager or a daily devotion, it is more an attempt to communicate how a vision is being unfolded in time, through a framework of prayer and discernment. Hopefully, it also can spark something in your own journey of faith as we believe together in the One He has sent. Thank you for taking the time. Any response or feedback is a welcome dialogue.
I am focusing in this Reflection on the connection and importance of community and the ministry of presence in relation to the working out of the kingdom of heaven together. I have been ruminating on this topic for some time as we have been experiencing the value of that connection in multiple ways. One very clear expansion of the Verbena vision in the last several years has been the call to travel to communities across the country, and more recently internationally, where those who have been to Greensboro for an intensive prayer time reside and who indicate a desire to stay connected to us and our work.
As I was preparing to write on this theme, I was handed a copy of Pope Francis' March 19, 2018 Apostolic Exhortation entitled "On the Call to Holiness in Today's World". Todd Lipe, one of our intercessors and a close companion day-to-day, passed it along to me from a lifelong friend of his who ministers to folks in a strategic U.S Agency worldwide. Neither of these men are members of the Roman Catholic Church and both are Jesus people recognizing the call to unity across the whole body of Christ and the wisdom that can be shared. As the Creed expresses: One holy, catholic and apostolic church.
The Verbena conversation continues to unfold and our vision is to pray for the realized union with Christ in the individual believer, also in the marriages represented and then in the whole of the mystical body of Christ, the Church, past, present and future. In that prayer, we join Jesus in his prayer (the whole of John 17) that we may be one with the Father and the Son, even as they are one, in the unity of the Holy Spirit individually and collectively and thus witness his love to the whole world. (For more on this, see our November 3, 2015 Highway Reflection here.)
As I became quiet during the last several days of precious solitude for writing, prayer and reflection, I read the whole of Francis' exhortation, which I highly recommend to each of you as a reminder of the depth and immediacy of the Gospel reality. Particularly though, in light of the theme coming to me, and after coming off visits to Kansas City, Denver, Annapolis and Rome over several months and powerful connections in Durham, Tulsa, DC, Paris and Israel in the prior few years, I was riveted by the sections on community and prayer which are so passionately and beautifully articulated. Francis' themes are so in union with the vision for Verbena and are being practically worked out in our current experience, one by one and community by community. In recognition of that union, and wisdom beyond my own, I am going to share selections of Francis' thoughts and claim them also as an inspiration for a growing vision to be lived out among us. As Francis outlines, our commitment to be with others is a witness of Jesus' commitment to be with us always and in everything. Our willingness to listen and to go and be with; the invitation for people to come into space for healing and the commitment to community and family are all distinct calls to the disciples of Jesus throughout the Scriptures.
The opposite, the negative or shadow side, living in selfish isolation, as expressed by Francis, is dangerous in the extreme to ourselves and others: "When we live apart from others, it is very difficult to fight against concupiscence (lust, greed, sensuality), the snares of temptations of the devil and the selfishness of the world. Bombarded by so many enticements, we can grow too isolated, lose our sense of reality and inner clarity, and easily succumb." (para. 140)
The path in light includes this: "Growth in holiness is a journey in community, side by side with others." This living alongside is witnessed in holy matrimony as well as in the broader communal life. "In many holy marriages too, each spouse becomes a means used by Christ for the sanctification of the other. Living and working alongside others is surely a path to spiritual growth. St. John Of the Cross told one of his followers: 'You are living with others to be fashioned and tried.' " (para. 141).
Creating space for others permits the sharing of realties invited by Jesus that reveal himself in our midst. "Each community (whether with one other or many) is called to create a 'God-enlightened space in which to experience the hidden presence of the risen Lord'. Sharing the word and the Eucharist together fosters fraternity and makes us a holy and missionary community." (para. 142). "The common life whether in family, the parish, the religious community or any other, is made up of small everyday things. This was true of the holy community formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph, which reflected in a beautiful way the beauty of the Trinitarian Community. It was also true of the life Jesus shared with his disciples and with ordinary people." (para. 143).
The ministry of presence then is sharing the life Jesus shares and bringing that life to each encounter with another. There is also the ministry of presence to be received in the mutuality of encounter. We experience this mutuality in each community we enter and with each person who comes to Greensboro, no matter the depth of their pain. In the communities, we stand in the midst of families, the children all around, and in the midst of generations, in the gathering of friends sharing the Eucharist and song and in the neighborhoods. The warm and gracious hospitality of our hosts and the friends they invite, the children that play are all the expression of this mutuality.
The ministry of presence also opens up the ministry of absence. When one leaves to go, the absence is felt and real -- particularly in the care of children and other responsibilities. This where there is the opportunity for the Lord in his mercy to fill that space and for loving members of the family and community to step in. There is always a cost to going. And, of course, in coming and going, and in receiving others, we have to mindful and committed to stay connected to our families, local communities, friends, parishes and churches. It is always good and a more solid witness to come from a real place and back again, a place – home, which has an authenticity in intimacy at every level.
Francis then turns to the subject and practice of prayer in its many forms. Each one, and its atmosphere, we seek to practice and to grow in in our own journey of faith. I will only mention a couple in closing that we find vital. First and emphatically he emphasizes that the call to community is not a call away from solitude and silence. It is not selfish isolation but an entering in soul, alone to God in communion. It is to be with God in community, to listen, to stay connected vertically first. Apart from it can we really know when and where to go, when to stay and when to play and whom to receive? In silence, we listen to one voice. In contemplation, we fellowship with the one who occupies our inmost part and invites us there. In quiet discernment, we come to know the way rather than make our own haphazard plans, which may actually work against community, unity and love.
Francis says it this way: "In that silence, we can discern in light of the spirit, the paths of holiness to which the Lord is calling us. Otherwise, any decisions we make may only be window-dressing that, rather than exalting the Gospel in our lives, will mask or submerge it. For each disciple, it essential to spend time with the Master, to listen to his words, and to learn from him always. Unless we listen all our words (and actions) will be nothing but chatter." (para. 150).
So vital in the journey of an intensive – and in our own – is where the gaze has been and where it becomes fixed through prayer. We find in every case as the eyes of the heart are opening, as Francis says that "contemplation of the face of Jesus, died and risen, restores our humanity, even when it has been broken by the troubles of this life or marred by sin. We must not domesticate the power of the face of Christ." The "abode of divine mercy," the place of healing and transformation is "to enter into the Lord's heart, into his wounds." From the gaze into that reality, Francis promises, and we have seen it fulfilled, that your words and witness will catch fire. (para. 151).
Finally, then, on the power and necessity of intercessory prayer, I leave with each of you and especially our team of intercessors in deep gratitude, this encouragement by Francis: "Intercessory prayer is an expansion of our fraternal concern for others, since we are able to embrace their lives, their deepest troubles and their loftiest dreams. Of those who commit themselves generously to intercessory prayer we can apply these words of Scripture: 'This is a man (this is a woman) who loves the brethren and prays much for the people'. " 2 Mac. 15:14. (para 154).
This is a powerful reminder to us all that every intensive is an intercession, undergirded by the prayers of the saints, including our team, and joining Jesus in his intercession for us.
Much love and blessings,
Trip and Laurie
P.S. - To read the full Apostolic Exhortation "On the Call to Holiness in Today's World" click here.