Macrina Wiederkehr - The Song of the Seed: The Monastic Way of Tending the Soul

The Song

of the Seed

A Monastic Way of Tending the Soul

Macrina Wiederkehr, O.S.B.

For when all things
were in quiet silence
and the night
was in the midst of her course
your almighty Word
leapt down from heaven
from your royal throne.

Wisdom 18:145, Douay

Contents

Group Service. Bending to the Mystery Within:
The Dance of the Indwelling Presence

Group Service. Mending Your Reluctance to Own the Mystery Within:
The Feast of the Indwelling Presence

Group Service. Tending the Mystery Within:
The Gift of the Indwelling Presence

My grateful appreciation goes to the women and men who, because of their steadfast search for the sacred in their lives, have inspired me to write this book. I am especially grateful for my readers and the participants in my retreats who have opened up the doors of their souls to me, thus enriching my life.

A sincere thank you to those who have had a unique part in the shaping of this book: Kandace Hawkinson, my editor, for her gracious assistance and extremely helpful suggestions; and Rachel Dietz, who used many of my Scripture themes for her prayer and shared much of her journaling with me.

Special thanks to those colleagues who read my manuscript in whole or in part and offered valuable advice and encouragement: Consuella Bauer, Norbert Hoelting, Judy Hoelzeman, Joyce Rupp, and Jan Ord.

Thank you to Ron Meyers, who so willingly rescues me from my foibles with the computer.

Finally, I owe much to my community support group: Audrey, Gertie, Rosalie, and Stephanie, who pull me out of my office and on toward greater things. And to Kay, who works behind the scenes.

A Word of power leapt from the heavens. It was the same Word that was in the beginning with God. This Word became Gods enfleshed presence on the earth. It will be your guide during this retreat.

There is a renewed interest in retreats today. Perhaps it is because many of us lead such busy lives. There is an intense desire in peoples hearts to connect with the spiritual self. We are looking for ways to nourish the soul.

Sometimes all that we yearn forbeauty, courage, love, hope, faithlies hidden. God seems to be absent from our lives. We are unable to truly see the people with whom we live. The goodness and worth of our own lives elude us. At times like this we may feel called to take a step back and look at the mystery of life anew. Thats what the word retreat meansto go back.

Can you recall a time when you came upon something of exquisite beauty? It may have been the silhouette of a tree in the sunset, the artistic design of a spider web in the morning sunlight, or a mother duck with her ducklings. Quite naturally you found yourself stepping back a little so that you could have a better look. You were too close to the object of beauty. Your step backward enabled you to see it all from another perspective, and so to see it more truly. Sometimes we miss things because we are standing too close to them.

A retreat is a time to step back and take a new look at our lives. It is not so much a time to learn new things as to remember and feel again some of the things we have forgotten. It is a time to be lovingly attentive to the needs of the soul.

What simple truths and values in our lives have been lost because of the busyness of our days? Has our intimacy with God and others suffered because we have too readily embraced the distractions and noise surrounding us? Has the simplicity of earlier days been crowded out by our drive to possess or control? What sacred stories from the past are buried in our souls? What are we missing? What are we forgetting? What needs to be remembered and cherished? What needs to be forgiven? What needs to be healed? What are the treasures hidden in our fields? What is waiting to be discovered?

There is an old story circling round that goes like this: Every time a child is born, an angel takes it under its wing and whispers divine secrets to it. The angel hints of its divine origin and fills its soul with mysteries from heaven. As the child grows, the angels message remains buried in the depths of its being, evoking an infinite yearning in its soul. And so the child moves through life with a haunting memory of some hallowed truth once known but now forgotten.

The poet William Wordsworth speaks this same truth using different words:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:
The Soul that rises with us, our lifes Star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar:
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home:
Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

You are the child of this story and of this poem. A retreat is a time to remember those sacred truths buried in your soul. Do not try to force the remembering. Rather, quieten your soul that God may teach you this ancient wisdom. There are some things we can learn only in silence.

The human heart longs for the divine! Now is the time to recognize this longing for what it isan invitation to spiritual growth. More and more people are beginning to pay attention to this invitation and are searching out spiritual centers for retreats.

Frequently retreatants will say at the end of a retreat Im leading, Oh, this has been so nourishingand now, back to real life! This is said in a tone that suggests real life isnt very nourishing. By real life, of course, they are talking about life with all its daily struggles. Pondering this dreaded dailiness, I am reminded of something a retreat guide once said to me, What you do daily, you do dully, unless you do it deeply, which you seldom do!

This book will support your longing to do the daily things deeply. It is a book for spiritual maintenanceto help you integrate the fruits of your retreat into daily life.