Entering the 'Secret Place' of the Heart...

Dear All,

We are only a few days in, but I hope you are having a good Lent. It was great to see some of you at our Ash Wednesday services.

I listened to this first thing this morning and thought I would share.

Fr Boniface Hicks is one of the people I am learning from at the moment. As well as having the most spectacular beard I've ever seen (!) he's an American Benedictine monk at St Vincent's Abbey in Pennsylvania. It's currently the largest Benedictine Monastery in the world with over 150 monks.

Fr Boniface is a spiritual director who is very conversant with many of the therapeutic models I studied as a counsellor. He often bridges the gap between human psychology and Christian spirituality in his talks and writings. That's how, and why, I originally came across him, and continue to be interested in his ministry. 

The following talk is wonderful for Lent. 

If you have a spare 20 minutes this weekend take a mini retreat with Fr Boniface; dim the lights, ask the Holy Spirit to come and have a watch - that's what I did. 

Alternatively, I will often put the earplugs in and listen to something similar as I walk my Staffies...

There are lots of ways to enter the solitude of the 'secret place' and spend time with God.

Fr Boniface quotes from the Catechism in his talk. I repoduce the section below because it's a beautiful description of what the Bible means when it talks about 'the heart'.

The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or Biblical expression, the heart is the place "to which I withdraw." The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant. 2563