This is week 5 of our study using the book Pilgrimage into the Last Third of Life by Jane Marie Thibault and Richard L. Morgan
Pray without ceasing. – I Thessalonians 5:17
Thoughts and questions for reflection.
We make journeys. We take journeys. Sometimes journeys take us. Geographical journeys move us from one address to another – across the city or across the world. Life journeys take us from one season to another – we grow up and leave home, get married and unmarried, start a career and end a career.
Now in this last third of our lives we embark on another journey – we are pilgrims. It is the journey of coming to ourselves – stripped down, unencumbered, gently guided by God’s spirit through the blessings and challenges of this time of life.
Poet Mark Nepo reminds us that:
To journey without being changed is to be a nomad.
To change without journeying is to be a chameleon.
To journey and be transformed by the journey is to be a pilgrim.
As we explore this gateway, we question our souls: “How shall we spend these years?” One of the great temptations of our elder years is to be constantly busy to prove to ourselves that we are still capable of all we used to be able to do. At the other extreme, we give up and spend our days in remorse and regret. What is needed is a balance that can only be sustained by drawing ever closer to God.
Writing about meditation practices in the gateway about prayer and contemplation, Richard Morgan notes that he needs a place and a time for prayer and meditation. He has created a “cell” that is his quiet space that is marked by mementoes of pilgrimages he has taken (Pg 87).
Do you have a specific time and place set aside where you meet God in prayer and meditation? If you do not, what items would you put in such a space to draw you into the presence of God?
Richard recalls the moving story of Elijah who, in fear and desparation, ran to Mount Horeb to find God. There on the mountain Elijah heard God not in an earthquake, not in a fire, not in the wind, but in a “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:11-12) (Pg 88).
How do you hear God? When do you best feel God’s presence?
Richard introduces us to the practice of lectio divina using the biblical story of Mary and Martha. In it, Martha bustles about making household preparations while Mary sits at the feet of Jesus listening to what he has to say (Luke 10:38-42). Christians often use the story to explain their actions. “Oh, I’m just a Martha,” we say when we are in a frenzy. Or, “Well I am a Mary,” to explain what others see as religiosity. Richard guides us to not only remain active in these elder years, like Martha, but also to be like Mary in her single-hearted devotion to God (pg 93).
How can you plan your life to include staying active in these years but also make time to sit quietly and listen for God’s voice?
(For more on lectio divina, read How to Practice Lectio Divina, Pray with Scripture.
Reflecting on accepting uncertainty, Jane Thibault writes about our need for control and our frustration when we are out of control. She describes her own reaction that often turns into an “adult tantrum” (pg 95).
What do you do when you are forced to do something you don’t want to do even if it is for your own good? What does your “adult tantrum” look like?
In a very strange dream, Jane is turned away from heaven because she has not learned to savor her earthy life. She doesn’t understand this because all her life she has tried to do the “right thing” so that she will get into heaven someday (pg 98-99).
Do you savor your life? Can you list at least five things that are life-giving for you?
Jane describes four distinct “prayer seasons” that she encounters. In one of them that she calls “winter,” she finds she cannot pray at all. During one of these seasons, a friend suggested she write a letter to God and wait for a reply.
What do you do when you cannot pray? Have you ever thought about writing a letter to God? Have you received a reply?
Back to introduction to the study where you will find links to each gateway.
The Wisdom Years 