Living Prayerfully: Insights from Silence, Sobriety, Solidarity
The Little Sisters of Jesus and Mary describe their way of life as being active-contemplatives.
What does that mean? Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling, the community’s founder, wanted the Little Sisters to be “people of deep prayer and silence,” and then bring this contemplative spirit to their work with the poor.
It’s a way of life that’s intent on approaching each day with a centered heart, ready to perceive the presence of God in all situations.
Living this way is not just for nuns and monks, however, but for everyone. Being prayerfully grounded can help people from all walks of life do what they do each day with a little more grace and serenity. The rush and turmoil of the modern world give ample evidence of what happens otherwise.
But the question remains, how does one do this? How does one live in the world — as glorious and troubled as it is — in a spirit of prayer? Simply reciting daily prayers and going to church on Sunday are not enough.
A book by Michael Downey entitled Silence, Sobriety, Solidarity: Living with a Contemplative Heart is a good place to start in the search for answers.
Downey frames the topic of “living prayerfully” as being more than just “chattering into God’s ear” our needs and wants. It involves “paying attention, being alert, to God’s constant coming in the ordinary events and encounters of our days.”
Downey goes on to describe prayer as a movement of the human heart and what that means to him. He then shares his observations of modern life and the factors that work against living prayerfully. His remedies are blunt but undoubtedly effective.
As indicated by the book’s title, his approach to living prayerfully is centered around silence, sobriety, and solidarity (sobriety in this case is in the biblical sense, of living with a single-minded focus). These ideas originated with Bernardus Peeters, Abbot General for the Trappists, with whom Downey met.
Each chapter is prefaced by a personal experience of the author, illustrating how people, places, and events have impacted him in a prayerful way.
It is a brief book, only 56 pages, and it will encourage the reader to live in a way that is more present, more centered, and less oblivious to the subtle approach of God in daily life.
In fact, reading an actual book, “that we hold gently in our hands, quietly turning the pages,” is a step in the right direction. Recovering a true sense of leisure develops our ability to look deeply and pay attention. This is at the core of cultivating a contemplative heart.
For Downey, growth in the art of prayerful living requires taking a break from the “magnificent distractions” of the Internet. It is one of his main themes:
“Living prayerfully requires that our priority is paying attention, being alert. This is a tall order when we live in a ‘heads down’ culture, a lifeworld in which most eyes are glued to smartphones.”
Silence, Sobriety, Solidarity presents the reflections of someone who has lived a prayerful life on the need to live prayerfully. It won’t take long to read, but there is plenty of food for thought. The book also contains a list of suggested readings, which is always helpful for continued study.
Endorsements:
Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle (Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization) says Downey’s “theological depth enriches, his poetic prose inspires, his prayer pulses through these pages.”
Richard Gaillardetz (Boston College) calls Downey an “acute cultural observer” and also makes note of his “poetic sensibility.”
Little Sister Kathleen of Jesus (author of The Universal Brother: Charles de Foucauld Speaks to Us Today) describes this book as “A guidebook on how to live the Trappist charism outside a monastic enclosure. It was in many ways Charles de Foucauld’s own calling.”
About the Author:
Dr. Michael Downey has served as professor of theology and spirituality at universities and seminaries in North America and abroad. Author or editor of more than twenty books over the course of an academic career spanning more than forty years, he has remained active in working with enclosed contemplative monks and nuns. He is recipient of three honorary doctorates and was awarded the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice by Pope John Paul II.
Publisher: Paulist Press (paulistpress.com)
ISBN: 978-08091-5690-0
Retail: $14.95 (paperback)
For many years (1977-2011), we operated Joseph House by the Sea, a book and gift store in Ocean City, Maryland. Our founder, Sr. Mary Elizabeth Gintling, believed it was important “to have a place in the marketplace where people can come to get spiritual direction and guidance in their reading.” In that spirit, we continue to offer recommendations for worthwhile books and other items.
Consider ordering directly from the publisher or from an independent bookstore — they are worth supporting.
P.S. See also Be At Leisure, And Know That I Am God.