Wilfrid Stinissen (1927–2013)
There is a strange reproach that arises whenever we start to talk about experiencing the present moment. We often say, “I can’t live in the present moment because I will quickly forget it. For the first few minutes, it’s manageable, but then it’s over.” Yet, these very words reveal that we have not grasped the essence of the matter. We think that in the future we will not be able to live in the present moment. But this is about now – when I am writing and you are reading.
If we fill this moment completely with presence, more and more opportunities will begin to arise throughout the day, inviting and urging us to fully enter them. If we respond with “yes” each time, they will start to grow geometrically. Let us allow ourselves the luxury of not thinking about the future when we talk about living in the present. What is being asked of us now is not to live the present moment for the rest of our lives. It is enough to do it right now. (...)
Every moment is a message that must be taken seriously. Many people do not achieve anything in life because they constantly allow various opportunities to pass them by unused. However, an opportunity must be “grabbed by the horns,” a moment must be embraced when it knocks at the door. “Yes,” such a “yes” that contains our entire being and expresses our openness to new incoming things. Thank you! Anger and irritation are infallible signs of unpreparedness to open oneself to the message of the given moment.
In a moment of leisure, I open the New Testament and read: “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light” (Col 1:12). If we live the present moment, we do not wait until we forget the call of St. Paul, but immediately begin to thank the Father.
Someone asks us, “Pray for me.” The correct response is to pray for them immediately. Here we need to seek a solution to the problem that many face. They are constantly troubled by a guilty conscience for promising to pray for someone and then forgetting their promise. If we promise someone that we will pray for them, the wisest thing to do is to do it right away. Those who live like this – watchfully and soberly – are likely to experience moments in which that person will come to mind: in any case, it will be a new challenge to pray. Our intercession for others should never become a systematic matter. Rather, it should be a grateful acceptance of challenges coming from outside and within.
Excerpt from the book: Christian Deep Meditation
Author: Wilfrid Stinissen OCD
Published by: KNA
