Lent Retreat Week 3, Day 2: Renewing

To breathe deeply and gently is to draw near this Spirit,

to feel oneself inhaled and exhaled by God.

(Jean-Yves Leloup)

We live in a breathless world.

Poet Mary Oliver asks "Listen -- are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?" Her words challenge us to breathe deeply and live more fully. Our very act of breathing brings us into a beautiful synchrony with creation: we breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and trees do the opposite. Teilhard de Chardin calls it the "breathing together of all things." In the book of John, Jesus breathes on his disciples and tells them, "Receive the Holy Spirit." equipping them for the ministry ahead.

In her book, An Interrupted Life, Etty Hillesum, a young Dutch writer, and victim of the Auschwitz concentration camp, writes:

“Life may be brimming over with experiences, but somewhere, deep inside, all of us carry a vast and fruitful loneliness wherever we go. And sometimes the most important thing in the whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths, or the turning inward in prayer for five short minutes.”

Music: Breathe In, Peter Mayer https://youtu.be/JJ0horvBHWc

PRAYER PRACTICE: Our prayer practice for this third week of Lent is Breath Prayer.

I am suggesting two ways of praying with the breath.

1) The first is simple: take 3 deep breaths...

During the day, perhaps whenever you change position or move from room to room, take 3 deep breaths. You can choose when to take the breaths, and what meaning this will have for you. At the simplest, it can be a way of being more mindful of the gift of breath you are given. It can encourage you to pause in your rushing ahead to the next thing... before you have fully left the last thing.

2) The second is to create a breath prayer.

Below is a description of breath prayer adapted from the website “Gravity” (https://gravitycenter.com/practice/breath-prayer)

Breath prayer is an ancient Christian prayer practice dating back to at least the sixth century. Historically, it is associated with the Eastern Church, particularly Greek and Russian Orthodox churches.

Known as the “Jesus Prayer” or “Prayer of the Heart,” early practitioners would repeat the phrase, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner" to the rhythm of their breath. In time, the prayer was shortened to, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy” or simply, “Jesus, mercy.”

Breath prayer is way of “praying without ceasing” as St. Paul admonishes us, and has the potential to become as natural as breathing. It is intended to be a very short prayer of just six to eight syllables. The words of the prayer can be adjusted to your heart’s desire...

Simply repeat the prayer with your breath, keeping your attention on the prayer. If your attention wanders, gently return to the prayer. Start with 5 minutes, extending to 15-20 minutes. Setting a timer will free you from having to keep track of time.

Suggestions:

1. Close your eyes and recall the line “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Be still, calm, peaceful, open to the presence of God.

2. With your eyes closed, imagine that God is calling you by name. Imagine that God is actually asking, “(Your name) what do you want? Like the blind man on the road to Jericho, Jesus kindly looks you in the eyes and asks, “What do you want from me?”

3. Give God a simple and direct answer that comes honestly from your heart. Write down the answer. If you have more than one answer, write them down. Your answer may be one word such as peace or love or help. It may be several words or a phrase such as “feel your presence” or “lead me into life.” Whatever your answers, they are the foundation of your breath prayer.

4. Select the name that you are most comfortable using to speak with God. Combine it with your written answer to the question God asked you. This is your prayer.

5. Breathe in the first phrase/word (generally your invocation of God’s name) and breathe out the second phrase/word (request or need).

You may compose several prayers before you find one which truly arises from your deepest desire. Look carefully at your prayer. Does it reflect the heart of your desire?

There’s no limit really to developing your breath prayer. It may be the same from day to day or it may change.

Sometimes you may want to reverse the practice a bit by sitting in silence and letting the Spirit pray through you. Ask for God to reveal your name, and God’s desire for you. This can be a profound experience. Wait on God and see how you may be renewed.

Sample Breath Prayers

• Jesus, let me feel your love.

• O Lord Show me your way.

• Holy one, heal me.

• Jesus Alleluia, have mercy.

• Holy Wisdom, Guide me.

• Father/Mother (Abba/Amma), let me feel your presence.

---

Breath

This

breathing

in is a miracle,

this breathing out, release,

the unseen gifts which sustain me each

moment, this breathing out a sweet sigh,

a bow to my mortality, this breathing in

a holy yes to life, this breathing out

a sacred no to all that causes

me to clench and gasp,

this breathing in is a

revelation, this

breathing out,

freedom.

(Christine Valters Paintner, Dreaming of Stones)

(Please feel free to share your breath prayer or your experience with creating a breath prayer in the comments below.)

Sources:

Jean-Yves Leloup, Being Still: Reflections on an Ancient Mystical Tradition (New York: Paulist Press, 2003), 75.

Mary Oliver, "Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?" in West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1997), 62.

Teilhard de Chardin, quoted by Esther de Waal, The Celtic Way of Prayer (New York: Image Books, 1997), xv.

Etty Hillesum, An Interrupted Life (New York: Henry Holt, 1996)