by Richard Rohr
6. Praise: A Litany Invoking the Holy Spirit
Seventy Evocative Names for God (if you let them be):
Pure Gift of God
Indwelling Presence
Promise of the Father
Life of Jesus
Pledge and Guarantee
Eternal Praise
Defense Attorney
Inner Anointing
Reminder of the Mystery
Homing Device
Knower of All Things
Stable Witness
Implanted Pacemaker
Overcomer of the Gap
Always Already Awareness
Compassionate Observer
Magnetic Center
God Compass
Inner Breath
Divine DNA
Mutual Yearning Place
Given Glory
Hidden Love of God
Choiceless Awareness
Implanted Hope
Seething Desire
Fire of Life and Love
Sacred Peacemaker
Non-Violence of God
Seal of the Incarnation
First Fruit of Everything
Planted Law
Nowhere because Everywhere
The Secret Shape of God
The One Eternal Flow
Relationship Itself
The Goodness Glue
Father and Mother of Orphans
Truth Speaker
God’s Secret Plan
Great Bridge-Builder
Warmer of Hearts
Space Between Everything
Flowing Stream
Wind of Change
Descended Dove
Cloud of Unknowing
Uncreated Grace
Filled Emptiness
Through-Seer
Deepest Level of Our Longing
Attentive Heart
Sacred Wounding
Holy Healing
Softener of Our Spirit
Will of God
Great Compassion
Generosity of the Creator
Inherent Victory
The One Sadness
Our Shared Joy
God’s Tears
God’s Happiness
The Welcoming Within
Eternal Lasting Covenant
Contract Written on Our Hearts
Jealous Lover
Desiring of God
You who pray in us, through us, with us, for us, and in spite of us.
Amen! Alleluia!
7. Wisdom Sparks301
In the history of spiritual practice, both East and West, the inner work we do tends to be individually-focused. Sure, we might all be in a room together while doing so—kneeling for the liturgy as Catholics, sitting in silence as Quakers, meditating as Buddhists in the sangha—but these are essentially exercises that can also be done individually; they don’t need another person present to be practiced!
In exploring what a truly Trinitarian spirituality looks like, we’re looking to develop practices utterly reliant on “when two or more are gathered.” This isn’t to diminish the value or importance of solo practices, but rather to also give us a more immediate taste of the flow, vulnerability, and radical interdependence that we see showing up in the One Life of Father, Son, and Spirit.
In this spirit, I’m offering a sample “circle practice” right here—in fact, practice feels a bit dry considering its nature. In light of the joy and mutual giving modeled in Trinity, I prefer to call this a game!
You might first facilitate this exercise for a small group of friends. Then you can ask that one of them facilitate it for a group you participate in.
Round One
The Setup: Three or more participants are needed. Have everyone sit in a circle and invite them to close their eyes and consider…
The Framing: you—or the facilitator—can read aloud the sections in the shaded areas:
So often in life, there’s something we are longing to hear—from a friend, from someone in our family, or even from God.
We may even find ourselves doing things that will elicit praise from others, or praying and listening intently for that still, small voice to offer wisdom, peace, and insight.
So let us take a moment to recognize that Creator God is the Originator of all—that we are living members of the body of Christ—that the Spirit sounds-through and connects all humanity—and that God’s vital and communicative Being must include any community or group we may find ourselves in at any given time. Even right here, in this circle.
What if you were able to hear something you’ve been longing to—from the person sitting right here, beside you?
So—is there something you are longing to hear from someone in your life? Maybe a friend or a loved one?
If the circle needs further encouragement, ask them:
Is there a word of wisdom, acknowledgment, or encouragement that you’d like to hear from someone you care about?
Maybe this is something you have needed to hear since you were a child.
Or maybe it’s something related to a current relationship or struggle.
After everyone has taken a few breaths, ask those in the circle to open their eyes. Check to see if everyone has an answer. If not, allow a few more moments for them to ponder.
Once everyone has something they realize they’re longing to hear, say…
Do you have it? Good. Now I want you to speak what you most long to hear. But instead of us just saying it right now, I want you to turn to the person next to you and tell them what you’ve received—what you most long to hear.
Share it with your partner in just the way you’d like to hear it spoken to you.
Before you share, take a moment to connect to the spirit or intention of your words. What you’re about to speak is a gift.
It’s often good for whoever is leading the exercise to start first and model this intention.
Now, turn to the person next to you and share what you are longing to hear.
If you’re being shared with, take a moment to let this sink in.
Then, turn to the person next to you, and share what you most long to hear with them.
Do this, with the participants going all around the circle.
Often we find that those things any one of us is longing to hear are the same as—or quite similar to—something someone else is longing to hear. It’s not uncommon for there to be some uncanny coincidences that can seem to point to a higher intelligence that is at work within the group.
Examples of things that people sometimes say:
You are enough exactly as you are.
You are loved.
You are doing the best you can, and that’s all that you’ll ever need to do.
You are exactly where you need to be in your life right now.
Round Two:
Once again, invite participants to close their eyes and ask them to consider this new question:
Is there some advice or insight that your True Self already knows, and that would be good for you to hear right now?
If your True Self—in communion with the Helper, your Inner Observer, the Holy Spirit within you—could speak one word clearly, free from the noise and entanglements of ego, what would it be?
Call for a few silent breaths that allow time for participants to consider this word, and once again offer these “shares” around the circle, from person to person, with the instruction to connect to the sincerity and importance of the words.
Examples of things that people sometimes say:
Take more time to play; you don’t have to be so serious all the time.
Enjoy the people who are in your life right now�
�they may not be perfect, but one day you’ll realize how precious these relationships are.
Everything belongs in this journey.
You are exactly where you should be.
Round Three
For the final round, invite participants to close their eyes and consider this question:
If there is something you imagine that God wants you to know or learn, what would that be?
If there were some piece of wisdom or insight that God was inviting you to discover through your current circumstances, blessings, and challenges, what would that be?
If God were to speak to you and offer you a single sentence—one that you most need to hear in your life right now—what might God say?
Allow a few breaths for participants to consider, and once again offer these shares around the circle from person to person, with the instruction to connect to the significance of the message. And be sure to instruct people to take a moment to receive what they heard before sharing with the next person.
Examples of things that people sometimes say:
I have always loved you, and I will always love you.
You are home.
You are loved.
I created you in my image; you are perfect as you are.
You are whole.
Life is an opportunity to love and be loved.
You deserve to be here.
After this last round, take some time to check with the participants to see what this was like for them. Allow some space for people to share with the group.
Explore:
What it was like to tell these things to someone?
What was it like to hear these things offered from someone else?
Where there any surprises?
What felt good?
Was there anything that was challenging to offer or to hear?
Time and again, this exercise reveals that a profound depth of wisdom, love, and connection is available to us by simply looking to our neighbor; surely, if the universe mirrors Trinity’s interconnectedness, this is what we can expect!
We may find that the still, small voice of God is being whispered to us more often than we may think, as it’s offered through those around us.
Consistently, this simple experience is profoundly moving and nourishing for everyone who participates. Participants often experience feelings of joy, gratitude, and relief. Laughter and tears within the circle are common and welcome.
* * *
283. See Acts 17:28.
284. See 2 Corinthians 3:18 (jb).
285. Exodus 20:7 (kjv).
286. Exodus 20:21 (niv).
287. T. S. Eliot, “East Coker,” Four Quartets (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1943), 14.
288. 2 Samuel 22:10–14 (niv).
289. Psalm 97:2 (esv).
290. 1 Kings 8:10–12 (esv).
291. Isaiah 45:3 (nkjv).
292. Henry Vaughan, “The Night,” http://www.bartleby.com/105/112.html. Vaughan was a seventeenth-century Welsh poet.
293. Acts 9:8.
294. Merton, New Seeds of Contemplation, 141, 134–135.
295. Dionysius the Areopagite, in The Mystical Theology and The Divine Names, trans. C. (Clarence) E. (Edwin) Rolt (Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2004), 191. This is an unabridged republication of Dionysius the Areopagite on the Divine Names and the Mystical Theology (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and New York: Macmillan Company, 1920). Language updated for this exercise.
296. Anonymous, The Cloud of Unknowing: and The Book of Privy Counseling, trans. and ed. William Johnston (New York: Image Books, 1996), 46.
297. Dionysius, Mystical Theology, 192. Language updated for this exercise.
298. Peter Rollins, How (Not) to Speak of God (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2006), 87.
299. 1 Timothy 6:16 (isv).
300. Mark 8:22–26 (niv).
301. This game was developed by David Bollt and Mike Morrell as part of something they offer annually at the justice, arts, and spirituality Wild Goose Festival. It’s part of an entire afternoon (or evening) of “games” they call practicing the presence of people. To learn more about these games, and even to potentially invite David and Mike to facilitate them in your community, go to David’s website at RelationalYoga.life.
About the Authors
Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC.org) in Albuquerque. His teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and self-emptying—expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.
Fr. Richard is the author of numerous books, including Everything Belongs, Adam’s Return, The Naked Now, Breathing Under Water, Falling Upward, Immortal Diamond, and Eager to Love: The Alternative Way of Francis of Assisi. He is also Academic Dean of the Living School for Action and Contemplation. Drawing upon Christianity’s place within the Perennial Tradition, the mission of the Living School is to produce compassionate and powerfully learned individuals who will work for positive change in the world based on awareness of our common union with God and all beings.
Mike Morrell is the Communications Director for the Integral Theology think tank Presence International, cofounder of The Buzz Seminar, and a founding organizer of the justice, arts, and spirituality Wild Goose Festival. He is an avid writer, freelance journalist for publications including Conspire and RELEVANT, publishing consultant, author coach, and the curator of the book-reviewing community at TheSpeakeasy.info. A self-titled “opti-mystic” and leading teacher and facilitator in emerging faith spaces, Morrell explores Spirit, Culture, and Permaculture on his blog at MikeMorrell.org.
Mike also curates contemplative and community experiences via Authentic World, Relational Yoga, the ManKind Project, and (H) Opp, taking joy in holding space for the extraordinary transformation that can take place at the intersection of anticipation, imagination, and radical acceptance. Mike lives with his wife and two daughters in North Carolina.
