No. 12 November 2007
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John Main
(1926-1982)
" …a heart opens to the infinite mystery of God by awakening to itself"
John Main
Douglas William Victor Main was born in London on 21st January 1926. (John was the religious name assumed with the Benedictines many years later). He was the fourth child of David Main from Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry and Eileen (Hurley) Main from Co. Meath. The family had moved to London where John’s early years were spent. In 1932 at the age of six, John was in poor health and was sent to Ballinskelligs to build him up. He stayed there for part of the year, attended school and lived with his father’s older brother William and aunt Nell in the family hotel.
Although his stay was of short duration, Ballinskelligs had a lasting influence on John Main’s future life. 8 miles out in the Atlantic was the island of Skellig Michael, where Irish monks had built a monastic settlement in the sixth century and where monastic life had continued for over 700 years. It is interesting that the tradition of repeating a short, sacred phrase, or mantra, came from the desert fathers in Egypt via Gaul to Skellig Michael. Hardly a co-incidence that the young Main was at this sacred site at a defining stage of his early life! We know that he visited Skellig Michael with fellow students when he later studied at Trinity College, Dublin.
However, it would appear that he was very happy to return to his loving
family in London. There followed his schooling in London, a period in
journalism, and a military involvement in World War II in the Royal Corps
of Signals, in Belgium and France.
After a brief unhappy stay in a closed novitiate in Cornwall and studies
in Rome, John Main went to Dublin where his family had moved. He studied
law between 1950 and 1954 in Trinity College. His sister Yvonne recalled:
"he loved company, he loved people, his family and relatives.
He loved crowds of friends and he loved dancing! If we were affluent we
would go shopping on a Saturday in Grafton Street, and repair for a coffee".
After graduation in 1954 he joined the British Colonial Service and went to Malaya. It was here that he met Swami Satyananda, a Hindu monk who rekindled his interest in meditation, and which eventually led him to discover the Christian tradition of the mantra in the practice of the early desert monks.
He returned to Trinity College in Dublin where he taught International Law from 1956 to 1958. It was a happy period for him and one when his spiritual life developed. John Main himself wrote at this time: "For me personally there was all the joy and excitement of the pilgrimage of my morning and evening meditation. All the time there was a growing attraction to meditation, and the morning and evening times became the real axis on which my day was built".
In 1959, he entered the Benedictine Abbey at Ealing in London. There followed his studies in Rome and his ordination as a priest in 1963. Thereafter were periods in Ealing, Washington and Montreal where he founded the Benedictine Priory. In 1975 he founded the first Meditation Centre and lay community in London.
There were infrequent visits to Ireland. In February 1973 his mother died in Ireland at the age of 86. At the funeral, as he stood beside her coffin, he found it impossible to recite the formal prayers. The "gentle persuader" as he called her was gone and he was never to forget his indebtedness to his mother’s gentle spirit and encouragement.
Another visit was in 1975 when he called to see Monsignor Tom Fehily and influenced him in beginning the growth of Christian Meditation in Ireland. "Fr. Tom" and Yvonne Fitzgerald and a small band of committed people were key to the growth of the many groups which exist in Ireland today.
At 8.45 on the morning of December 30, 1982 surrounded by his community,
John Main’s earthly pilgrimage ended.
As Laurence Freeman so aptly put it: "Those who loved him best
in this life were those who meditated with him. Those who come to know
him in the Spirit will be those who have found the grand poverty of the
mantra."
"We have to be still.
We have to be silent.
We have to stand reverently in the cave of our heart"
John Main
The 25th anniversary of the life and death of Benedictine monk, John Main, (1926-1982) was celebrated at the John Main Seminar in Quebec in October. It brought together over 200 speakers, teachers of spirituality, meditators and the general public, from around the world to join in a three day colloquium on the influence of this extraordinary spiritual teacher and prophet.
From his small Benedictine monastery in Montreal in the years 1977 to 1982, John Main gave birth to a spiritual renaissance that is today bearing fruit around the world. In 250 recorded talks, now digitally available, he revealed the depths and importance of a deeper understanding of the need for silence, stillness and simplicity in the daily practice of contemplative prayer. He also gave it a new name in contemporary language, calling it "Christian Meditation". These talks have become a unique resource for introducing newcomers to meditation.
Today the seeds planted in Montreal have grown to embrace meditators in over 100 countries, with 2000 Christian Meditation groups meeting on a weekly basis. In addition a flood of books on his life and teaching have been published this year including works by John Main. These books are: Word into silence; A manual for Christian Meditation; Monastery without walls: The spiritual letters of John Main; Door to Silence: An anthology for Christian Meditation by John Main, and a book with memories and tributes from meditators and friends around the world entitled: John Main by those who knew him. In addition a new book was launched at the October John Main Seminar entitled: Coming Home: Teaching Christian Meditation to Children.
John Main believed the practice of Christian Meditation creates community
and felt this was of great significance for peace in a divided world.
The World Community For Christian Meditation (WCCM), founded in 1991 and
located in London, England, coordinates the world wide growth of groups.
Most recently the WCCM has been invited to teach meditation in countries
such as Poland, Latvia, and next year in Russia.
The WCCM sponsors an International website at www.wccm.org,
and has recently started a new website for young spiritual seekers at
www.thespiritualsolution.com.
Laurence Freeman, Benedictine, teacher and author, is the Director
of the World
Community For Christian Meditation.
From around the world tributes have poured in over the years on John
Main’s contribution to contemporary spirituality. Before his death,
the famous author of The Golden String, Benedictine, Bede Griffiths, wrote
from India: "In my experience John Main is the most important spiritual
guide in the Church today. Fr. John has opened the way to the direct experience
of God, of truth, of reality, from within the Christian tradition. He
was a man of great wisdom, and above all of great love.
I do not know of any other method of meditation leading to the experience
of the love of God in Christ than that of John Main".
Rowan Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, has stated: "John Main effectively put the desert tradition of prayer to work in our day. The roots of his distinctive spirituality lie deep in the fourth and fifth centuries, especially in the works of that great expositor of the desert world, John Cassian. The World Community of Christian Meditation which continues his mission is for me, as for many throughout the world, a taste of what a committed contemplative Church might look and feel like".
Franciscan Richard Rohr OFM, an American spiritual teacher and author, recently said: "John Main by going to the roots of spirituality laid a solid and radical foundation for social critique and social involvement. John Main teaches us to move beyond all images for the sake of powerlessness. I have personally been gifted by the wisdom of this man".
According to many observers John Main had grasped the meaning of Bob Dylan's great song "The times they are a changing" and saw silence in prayer as an antidote to the noise and excessive activity of our contemporary world. Today the increasing return to the daily discipline of John Main's teaching on meditation would seem to have much to do with our cybernetic age of speed, and frenetic activity.
In response to this clamour John Main once said: "Silence gives our spirit room to breathe, room to be". And he added, "You discover in the silence that you are loved and that you are loveable. It is this discovery that everyone must make in their lives if they are going to become fully themselves, fully human". Nor is this meditative silence a value only in Christianity. It is found in the spiritual paths and traditions of all the world's major religions.
"By stillness in the spirit we move in the ocean of God."
John Main
What surprises most newcomers to Christian Meditation is its simplicity. John Main always emphasized how simple it is to enter into the experience of this way of prayer. Regarding the how-to of meditation he says: "Sit down, sit still and upright. Close your eyes lightly. Sit relaxed but alert. Silently, interiorly begin to say a single word. We recommend the prayer- phrase, "maranatha". Recite it as four syllables of equal length, ma-ra-na-tha. In Aramaic it means . . . come Lord Jesus. Listen to it as you say it, gently but continuously. Do not think or imagine anything-spiritual or otherwise. If thoughts and images come, these are distractions at the time of meditation, so keep returning to simply saying the word. Meditate each morning and evening for between twenty and thirty minutes".
John Main's teaching on prayer today is being handed down primarily in small groups of meditators meeting on a weekly basis in homes, churches, schools hospitals, work places and a variety of other locations. In the weekly meetings "newcomers" can learn how to meditate, and on-going meditators receive the support and encouragement to continue the daily practice of meditation in their own lives each morning and evening. Christian Meditation is not just a middle class or first world interest. In many countries such as Brazil, Indonesia and India, meditation bridges the gap between rich and poor. There are also groups meeting in maximum security prisons in many countries.
Since his death on December 30, 1982, John Main's influence has coincided
with a remarkable world wide renewal and return to the practice of contemplative
prayer. John Main tells us that to be with God does not require words,
thoughts or images, but the silent consciousness of a Presence. He reminds
us that the spiritual pilgrimage invites us to have the courage to become
more and more silent. The journey starts, says John Main, when we accept
the daily discipline of silence, stillness and simplicity.
" I must confess to all created things, to the sky, the flowers,
the birds and the trees. I need to apologize to them and let them know
that for years I took them for granted. Now I know that we are all at
one and being aware of that oneness with all creation is all that matters"
.
These are the words of Maire Gavan Duffy who remained faithful to meditation
till the end of her life. Maire died at home on the evening of the 12th
of June 2007. The above words express the person of Maire, her gentleness,
simplicity, her capacity for admiration and her appreciation of all things.
Maire’s insightfulness and her altruistic nature knew no bounds
and she was dearly loved by all who knew her. Our wish is that her words
and spirit continue to live on in all of us who remain united with the
‘Word.’
‘Ar dheis Dé go raibh a h-anam dílis.’
The Irish Council for Christian Meditation has been invited to meet
President Mary McAleese at Áras an Uachtarain on 13th December
as part of our John Main 25th anniversary commemorations.
Saturday 29th December (2.30pm)
Westminster Cathedral Memorial Eucharistto celebrate the life and work of John Main on the eve of his 25th anniversary with Fr Laurence Freeman OSB, director of The World Community for Christian Meditation as celebrant and Margaret Rizza as music director.
A reception follows in the Cathedral Hall to share memories of John
Main and illustrate the growth of the Community he continues to inspire.
All are welcome.
A reminder from Fr. Pat Murray, Ireland that the simplest and best way to commemorate John Main’s anniversary is the faithful practice of your daily meditation, morning and evening.
" Our life does not achieve full unity until it transcends itself and all limitations by passing through death"
John Main
Full details of Christian Meditation events, including courses led by Fr Pat Murray, S.C.A. can be seen on www.wccmireland.org
For a copy of Fr. Pat Murray’s 2008 Course List
please send an SAE to:
Mary Garry,
223, Seapark,
Malahide,
Co. Dublin.
Tel: 086-8111942
The way the breath moves in us is an indicator of how we are. Breath and spirit are intimately connected, like two sides of one coin.
Saturday, November 24, 2007, at The Sanctuary, Stanhope St., Dublin 7.
Tel: 01-6705419;
email: enquiries@sanctuary.ie;
website: http://sanctuary.ie
Saturday, December 1, 2007 at St. Dominic’s Retreat Centre, Montenotte,
Cork;
Tel: 021-4502520; fax: -502712;
e-mail: ennismore@eircom.net
Saturday, February 1, 2008 at Integritas, Ennisnag, Stoneyford, Co. Kilkenny.
Tel 056-7728902; Fax 056-7728903;
email: patrickrtreacy@eircom.net;
http://www.integritas.ie
Saturday, February 16, 2008 at Emmaus Retreat and Conference Centre,
Lissenhall, Swords,
Co. Dublin. Tel 01-8700050; fax: 01-8408248; email: reservations@emmauscentre.ie
Saturday, April 5, 2008 at The Sanctuary,
Stanhope St., Dublin 7.
Tel: 01-6705419;
email: enquiries@sanctuary.ie;
website: http://sanctuary.ie
Fr Louis Hughes OP can be contacted at:
Dominican Community, Black Abbey, Kilkenny; Tel: 056-7753616.
e-mail: relax@bodymindmeditation.iefor
latest programme information or to go on his mailing list. Website: www.bodymindmeditation.ie
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