"Practicing the Prayer of Presence"

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Shakuhachi

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By Adrian Van Kaam. Anyone else ls familiar Adrian Van Kaam? Prolific! But I like his more reflective stuff better than the academic. “The Transcendent Self”, " Spirituality and the Gentle Life"’ “Will Someone Please Tell Me Who I am”. Great stuff.

Anyone care to discuss “Prayer of Presence”?
 
Why don’t you tell us a bit about Adrian Van Kaam and post some links to his bio or other pertinent things so we can all get to know him?
 
I will second the motion. I have heard the name but have no clue whatsoever as to who he is, what he has done, or what he has written.

Just looking at the title you gave, I would hazard a guess that it is about or linked to contemplative prayer. Yes? No?
 
It was rather silly of me not to.

He was a psychologist who thought the human spiritual identity needed to be the foundation of the science. He created then his own framework and vocabulary for Formative Spirituality. A lot of it is mind numbing., like the seven volumes on Fundamental Formation. But he has many smaller books written almost as poetry. He died in2007 but his main collaborator, Susan Muto is still alive and active. They founded the Epiphany Association. If you are ever on retreat at a place with a library his books will most likely be there. He was pretty popular in the 70’s , 80’s.

 
Shakuhachi said:
He was a psychologist who thought the human spiritual identity needed to be the foundation of the science.
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I think it is also very pertinent that he was a Catholic priest from the Netherlands who was part of the resistance in WWII and spent a lot of time in hiding.

It’s important to state things like that because oftentimes people (I don’t mean you specifically, Shakuhachi, just people in general) post all kinds of non-Catholic and questionably Catholic psychologists and thinkers on this forum, and it can be hard to sort through who is actually likely to present views worthwhile for a Catholic to read and accept. Fr. Van Kaam clearly has some Catholic “street cred” when it comes to this subject.

I found this little biography of him as well while trying to figure out what “formative spirituality” meant.


It explains that
formative spirituality [is] the original theory of Adrian van Kaam, designed to enable us to better understand and respond to our inmost identity, formed in the image and likeness of God, and in so doing, to attune our lives with the loving, redemptive presence and activity of the Mystery of the Holy Trinity.
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Thanks to all the responses. I am a bit surprised I have not come across him; I would love to add him to my reading list but I am already looking at a collection of books purchased and not yet read.

Maybe…

Some day…
 
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I know how that is. I think the Holy Spirit brings us books when we are ready for those particular books. It is kind of a mysterious process how a book finds it’s way into my hands.
 
Ok here is something to help me with.
In a different book, “Spirituality and the Gentle Life” he writes,

“I should dwell in adoration on that mysterious stream of Divine Love flowing from the trinity into my heart; then it will swell and swell until it sweepsfrom the core of my being into all of the parched land of my life; it will become irresistible.”

Ok so how do we dwell in that adoration. It sound great but practically what does it mean? It is like the words sound right but how do we come to know, know, the love of the Trinity?

Then I read,
“A hindrance to this fullness of Divine Presence is my lack of silence.”

But silence often seems so empty and lonely. I need to go back to the other book of the OP.

I should have mentioned he was commenting on the Book of Wisdom 18:14-15
  1. For when peaceful stillness encompassed everything
    and the night in its swift course was half spent,
15 Your all-powerful word from heaven’s royal throne
Lept Into the doomed land.
 
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He writes:
“Peace of mind is the healthy and natural state God created humanity to enjoy. It is not unattainable. It is, on the contrary, a grace residing within us.”

Natural here reminded me of Eden.

“Our life begins to participate in the Risen Life of Christ. This quality of life is radiated to others and effects some change in the atmosphere around us.”

Hmm, what and I radiating and how am I changing the atmosphere around me? And that includes the cybersphere.
 
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