kataphatic prayer – Jesus @ 2 am blogs and podcast

Loving God 401, Part 5: A Silent Retreat with a Good Book – or – Top 10 Signs You Might Be a Benedictine (i.e., Apophatic-Speculatives)

January 17, 2017January 17, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

St. Benedict, commissioned by St. Benedict Mission, Young, AZ

In this episode, we turn to the next of our spiritual “personality types” (i.e., attraits) – the apophatic-speculatives.

What defines an apophatic is a basic desire to escape distraction. They are the ones who love the very idea of a silent retreat or the spiritual practice of “simplicity.”

They are not anti-creation. Nor are they anti-social or anti- much of anything (other than clutter, noise and frenzy). But for them, it is easy to be over stimulated by the world and a quiet, cozy, peaceful environment is best. They love minimalism.

And as speculatives, they also love the life of the mind and have a basic need for life, faith and the universe to make sense. (Want to drive a speculative crazy? Force them to watch someone fold a map incorrectly!) You will find them near books, lectures, museums and generally, more books.

Kirk’s photo of the Bay of Naples. Benedict’s monastery – Monte Cassino – is located in the hills above where this was taken. (Lest your vision of monastic life be one of dark caves and deprivation!)

The best type of prayer for a A-S is the ancient tradition of lectio divina (described in the podcast). And their patron saint is Benedict – the early 6th century monk who established the first formal monastic order (the Benedictines) with his composition of The Rule (of St. Benedict).

Apophatic-speculatives are heirs of a very deep spiritual tradition and have many resources available to them. If you are the kind of person who’d love nothing more than a simple cup of coffee, a silent retreat and a good book, you may well have found your attrait!

Loving God 401, Part 4: Experiencing God in the World (i.e., Kataphatic-Affectives)

January 13, 2017January 13, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

Just as some people need faith to make intellectual sense, so others need to feel it – to have the emotional experience of God’s presence, to know in the manner of the heart and not the head. These are the “affectives.” (And all of us are affective to a degree, some just more so than others.)

In this episode we explore the affective side of spiritual practice, particularly for those who relate to God by means of the senses and the created world (nature, art, music, food…) – those on the “kataphatic” side of the spectrum. Indeed there are whole schools of Christian spirituality and prayer developed by and for the kataphatic-affectives.

If you’ve ever struggled to build a consistent set of spiritual practices that felt right to you, that fit your style and personality, this series is for you.

Loving God 401, Part 3: Thinky World-Affirmers (i.e., Kataphatic-Speculatives)

September 12, 2016April 6, 2017Kirk WinslowLeave a comment

A cannoli at the Pantheon. Bliss! — Me and my pal Ryan having cannoli at the Pantheon. Bliss!

We begin our study at the four basic attrait combinations (think “spiritual personality types”) with an in-depth look at the kataphatic-speculative quadrant. In short, these are people who relate to God primarily by means of connection to the created world (kataphatic) and for whom things need to “make sense” (speculative).

If you are listening to this podcast, odds are better than 50/50 you fall into this category (I do!). Indeed the very need for an orderly approach to spirituality is a very “speculative” trait. And if you’d most like to listen to this on the way to your favorite museum or with a great wine, welcome to the kataphatic-speculative club!

CLICK IMAGE TO DOWNLOAD A PDF OF ATTRAIT DIAGRAM

In this episode, we’ll look at the particular schools of spiritual formation that best fit the K-S attrait and what practices are likely to help us make progress and where we need to be disciplined lest our attrait lead us into sins of excess or arrogance.

Whether you are a kataphatic-speculative or not, you surely know many people who are, and this will help you both understand them and perhaps be able to offer some wisdom for the life of faith and the work of maturity in Christ.