Father Laurence in Portugal
Father Laurence returned to Portugal after an absence of seven years. His visit reinforced the practice of meditation in some and sowed new seeds in others. Accompanied by Liz King and Alexandre de Andrade Silva, he was welcomed at the airport by the two Maria José’s (Salema and Melo Antunes), joint coordinators for his four-day visit.
The focal point of his trip was the weekend retreat near a beach just outside Lisbon, with the talk, “Questions to Live By,” taped by Alexandre. The retreat was attended by over fifty people, including a Franciscan friar. Some learned about meditation for the first time. We listened with complete attention to Father Laurence’s finale on the different stages of meditation: saying the mantra, sounding (resonare) the mantra, meeting the naked awareness of our being, and going through grace beyond the ego and entering into union. This clear exposé, with the use of drawings on the board – the swirls, the cross, the brick wall, the funnel – all helped many to understand how perseverance in meditation can bring us close to God.
Among the audience was a university student, a new meditator, who has since set up for the Portuguese community, a blog-site (www.wccmportugal.blogspot.com). From Madeira, he hopes to start a new group on his island when he returns home. Another participant, who had meditated before, but joined our community as a result of Father Laurence’s visit, is initiating a program to teach meditation to children catechists in Lisbon. Other meditators are also exploring meditation for children, so we hope this effort will spread in Portugal!
Father Laurence gave an introductory talk at a parish church the evening of his arrival. At this talk, we met people who had read John Main’s and Father Laurence’s books, but were unaware of the presence of the WCCM in Portugal. Others had never heard of Christian meditation and were happily surprised by the teaching. Some came after an introduction to meditation via Buddhist or zen practice and were delighted to discover this as a form of Christian prayer. As in many other countries, some learned about Christian meditation through reading The Good Heart.
We were able to spread news of his visit through the joint effort of meditators of our different groups (seven prior to his visit and nine today). Meditators announced his visit at parishes and Christian associations, and informed friends.
Prior to his arrival, the two Maria José’s called on Dom Manuel Clemente, the Auxiliary Bishop of the community of Lisbon, to present the Community and to extend an invitation to Father Laurence’s talks. A jovial and compassionate man, he regretted not being able to attend, due to prior commitments. However, he was highly interested and commented that “meditation is the most natural course for children,” when he heard of the WCCM’s work with children. He agreed to give a talk (“A Contemplative Reading of the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est”) at our gathering of March 4, 2006. Following his talk, he stayed on to meditate with us for half an hour.
The Catholic Church in Lisbon showed interest in our meditative practice and posted an announcement of the various talks on their web-site (www.ecclesia.pt), as well as an interview with Father Laurence. Father António Rego, in charge of media for the Church in Portugal, filmed an interview with Father Laurence, as well as testimonies of different meditators. He put together an excellent half-hour program, including the story of how John Main learned about meditation and reinforced it as a form of Christian prayer. This was shown on the Sunday program of one of the TV channels on April 23, and Father Rego gave us a copy of the DVD for our use, as long as it is not for commercial purposes. We have shared this DVD with meditators in Brazil and East Timor.
Father Laurence also participated in a debate, “In Praise of Beauty: A Way to Peace,” along with a painter, an economist, and a neurologist. A journalist/TV presenter moderated. All participated on a pro bono basis. The Gulbenkian Foundation provided the space, simultaneous interpretation, and filming of the session free of charge, through the intermediation of the Foundation “Caring for the Future.” The hall, which could seat 130, overflowed and some people had to sit on the floor or stand throughout the conference, which lasted for 3 ½ hours. Father Laurence opened with a talk on divine beauty, and summed up the intervention of the other panellists finely, when he thanked each consecutively for teaching the beauty of beauty (art), that of goodness (a just and balanced economy), and that of discovery (science). There was great interest in this talk, and highlights were shown subsequently both on television (1/2-hour program) and on classical radio (1-hour program). This helped propagate in Portugal the awareness of Father Laurence and of his teachings. The Gulbenkian Foundation gave us a DVD of the conference, and we have also shared this with Brazil and East Timor.
Father Laurence’s presence remained in Portugal when an interview with him by the journalist, Maria João Seixas (moderator at the panel on Beauty), was published in the Sunday magazine of the leading newspaper, O Público, on April 23. This led to further inquiries regarding meditation. We hope to have an English version of this excellent interview for sharing soon.
Maria José Melo Antunes.May 23, 2006
The focal point of his trip was the weekend retreat near a beach just outside Lisbon, with the talk, “Questions to Live By,” taped by Alexandre. The retreat was attended by over fifty people, including a Franciscan friar. Some learned about meditation for the first time. We listened with complete attention to Father Laurence’s finale on the different stages of meditation: saying the mantra, sounding (resonare) the mantra, meeting the naked awareness of our being, and going through grace beyond the ego and entering into union. This clear exposé, with the use of drawings on the board – the swirls, the cross, the brick wall, the funnel – all helped many to understand how perseverance in meditation can bring us close to God.
Among the audience was a university student, a new meditator, who has since set up for the Portuguese community, a blog-site (www.wccmportugal.blogspot.com). From Madeira, he hopes to start a new group on his island when he returns home. Another participant, who had meditated before, but joined our community as a result of Father Laurence’s visit, is initiating a program to teach meditation to children catechists in Lisbon. Other meditators are also exploring meditation for children, so we hope this effort will spread in Portugal!
Father Laurence gave an introductory talk at a parish church the evening of his arrival. At this talk, we met people who had read John Main’s and Father Laurence’s books, but were unaware of the presence of the WCCM in Portugal. Others had never heard of Christian meditation and were happily surprised by the teaching. Some came after an introduction to meditation via Buddhist or zen practice and were delighted to discover this as a form of Christian prayer. As in many other countries, some learned about Christian meditation through reading The Good Heart.
We were able to spread news of his visit through the joint effort of meditators of our different groups (seven prior to his visit and nine today). Meditators announced his visit at parishes and Christian associations, and informed friends.
Prior to his arrival, the two Maria José’s called on Dom Manuel Clemente, the Auxiliary Bishop of the community of Lisbon, to present the Community and to extend an invitation to Father Laurence’s talks. A jovial and compassionate man, he regretted not being able to attend, due to prior commitments. However, he was highly interested and commented that “meditation is the most natural course for children,” when he heard of the WCCM’s work with children. He agreed to give a talk (“A Contemplative Reading of the Encyclical Deus Caritas Est”) at our gathering of March 4, 2006. Following his talk, he stayed on to meditate with us for half an hour.
The Catholic Church in Lisbon showed interest in our meditative practice and posted an announcement of the various talks on their web-site (www.ecclesia.pt), as well as an interview with Father Laurence. Father António Rego, in charge of media for the Church in Portugal, filmed an interview with Father Laurence, as well as testimonies of different meditators. He put together an excellent half-hour program, including the story of how John Main learned about meditation and reinforced it as a form of Christian prayer. This was shown on the Sunday program of one of the TV channels on April 23, and Father Rego gave us a copy of the DVD for our use, as long as it is not for commercial purposes. We have shared this DVD with meditators in Brazil and East Timor.
Father Laurence also participated in a debate, “In Praise of Beauty: A Way to Peace,” along with a painter, an economist, and a neurologist. A journalist/TV presenter moderated. All participated on a pro bono basis. The Gulbenkian Foundation provided the space, simultaneous interpretation, and filming of the session free of charge, through the intermediation of the Foundation “Caring for the Future.” The hall, which could seat 130, overflowed and some people had to sit on the floor or stand throughout the conference, which lasted for 3 ½ hours. Father Laurence opened with a talk on divine beauty, and summed up the intervention of the other panellists finely, when he thanked each consecutively for teaching the beauty of beauty (art), that of goodness (a just and balanced economy), and that of discovery (science). There was great interest in this talk, and highlights were shown subsequently both on television (1/2-hour program) and on classical radio (1-hour program). This helped propagate in Portugal the awareness of Father Laurence and of his teachings. The Gulbenkian Foundation gave us a DVD of the conference, and we have also shared this with Brazil and East Timor.
Father Laurence’s presence remained in Portugal when an interview with him by the journalist, Maria João Seixas (moderator at the panel on Beauty), was published in the Sunday magazine of the leading newspaper, O Público, on April 23. This led to further inquiries regarding meditation. We hope to have an English version of this excellent interview for sharing soon.
Maria José Melo Antunes.May 23, 2006
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