Michael F Conrad

Ways to Approach the Mystery of Faith Without Frying Your Neurons Michael F Conrad

A Lay Cistercian reflects how to approach the Mystery of Faith for those who wait before the Blessed Sacrament. I am a Lay Cistercian, committed to practicing silence, solitude, prayer, work, in the context of community, while I live in the World and not a monastery. Some colleagues have asked me how I can sit before the Blessed Sacrament for an hour or more and just think about God. Isn't that boring? Looking back five years ago, when I began my Lay Cistercian journey of discernment, I can see that, what I have become because of contact with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, is totally unexpected and unanticipated. It is like looking at LeBron James, Kevin Durand, and Tom Brady, all at the peak of their skill, and thinking that they were always like this. It took lots of work and still does, to maintain their remarkable skill sets. Sitting before the Blessed Sacrament is a lot like that, too. It takes time to grow into someone who can "see" Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Fortunately, there are some tools to keep us novices occupied. All of us must learn the art of spiritual conversion from self to God. This book is about some ways I have learned to stand watch before the Blessed Sacrament and thrive. I have included Internet sites with URLs so that you may access the resources I use to "have in me the mind of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 2:5) Inside are some examples of people who approached the Mystery of Faith There are also some insights about what he core of God's energy is.