Week Six: Contemplative Life & Practice. February 5: Find the Ancient Path and Walk in it
God asks only that you get out of God’s way and let God be God in you. Meister Eckhart
Gregg’s Reflection
This week we wade into the contemplative life that unfolds from contemplative practice. We will explore a few of those practices. If you are seeking a deeper walk, look here.
There is so much broken in American Christianity today. Brian McLaren captures it well in his book Do I Stay Christian? Yet the way of Jesus still brings us into the presence of God in powerful ways. When we wade into the wisdom of the saints and mystics—especially the early desert fathers and mothers—the path slowly becomes clear: God loves us, pursues us, and seeks to open us to our deepest selves.
In my own journey, I’ve discovered that walking the ancient path means letting go of striving, letting God lead, and trusting that the Spirit is already at work within me. This has been a slow awakening, nurtured through silence, Scripture, and the example of those who have gone before.
It is only in the last few years that I came to believe a spark of God is within each of us, and that we are Beloved. My practice of meditation—sitting in silence, seeking God’s presence—helped me connect with that spark. That discovery has reshaped how I see God, myself, others, and the world around me.
Scripture
Stand by the roads and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16
This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; you shall meditate on it day and night.
Joshua 1:8
Ancient Quotes
God asks only that you get out of God’s way and let God be God in you.
Meister Eckhart, Sermon on 1 John 4:9
Modern Quotes
The message of hope the contemplative offers you is… that whether you understand or not, God loves you, is present in you, lives in you, dwells in you, calls you, saves you, and offers you an understanding and light… too close to be explained: it is the intimate union in the depths of your own heart, of God’s Spirit and your own secret most self, so that you and He are in all truth One Spirit.
Thomas Merton, Letter to Dom Francis Decroix, August 21, 1967, Hidden Ground of Love, p. 15
Journaling Prompts
- What spiritual practices have stood the test of time in your life?
- How do ancient paths—Scripture, liturgy, prayer—ground you today?
- What one ancient practice could you recommit to this week?
- What spiritual practices let you experience the presence of God?
- Can you see God in the mundane of daily life?
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 6 Reflection: Contemplative Life & Practice