Why Are We Here ? (Laurence Freeman)

Why Are We Here?

Laurence Freeman, OSB

In this work Freeman examines the radical question of our being in the wolrd.  We are here, he reflects, to come to continuous prayer, to a constant openness to the prayer of Christ in our hearts.  Continuous prayer, he says, must not be understood as saying prayers all the time but as the living in a childlike state of simplicity, in which our ego concern are left behind, opening the way to interior silence, communion with God, and greater power of attention to others.  Freeman examines the teachings of John Cassian to show that meditation, with the aid of the ancient Christian tradition of the continuous saying of a mantra, is a path and discipline to reach this state of simplicity and poverty of spirit of pure prayer called for by the Lord.

Along these lines, Freeman also examines the contemplative awakening that is taking place throughout the church fostered in great part by the works of Merton and, especially, Fr. John Main, who gave a specific teaching on how to enter the contemplative dimension of prayer and planted the seed for today's growing community of Christian meditators in the world.