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March 10, 2010
> 10:18 AM
from st. bernard > fear and self-interest Neither fear nor self-interest can convert the soul. They may change the appearance, perhaps even the conduct, but never the object of supreme desire... Fear is the motive which constrains the slave; greed binds the selfish man, by which he is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed (James 1:14). But neither fear nor self-interest is undefiled, nor can they convert the soul. Only charity can convert the soul, freeing it from unworthy motives.Can we see or hear or read something like this over and over again and still not quite get it? I'm pretty sure we can. Fear doesn't change people. It will not, it cannot transform the inner person into the Image of Christ! "Don't do this or you'll go to hell" DOESN'T WORK! Oh, as St. Bernard says, it may well change the conduct, the behavior of a person, at least temporarily, but it cannot effect real, permanent change. We make a very grave error when we depend on that kind of thing to control others or ourselves. Not even "self-interest" can work real transformative change in us. Not even doing it because we want to improve ourselves so that we are "the best" we can be. That doesn't sound right to someone, but I think it's true. These kinds of motivations are ultimately about the self - me, me, me. They have at their root, pride. Can we want to grow further into Christ and it not be pride? Oh, I think certainly we can. But of course, as we go along in this life, all our motives are somewhat broken. We rarely have a perfect desire. But we have to at least understand that at its core, basically this whole thing is about love - Love. God has Loved and does Love us and that effects change in us. It elicits a response from us - a deep one, a real one. And the truest response to that deep drawing is also love - love responding to Love. That's where transformation happens, in the relational interaction of love between us and God. It's the only place it happens. If we keep that in mind, even in the midst of our broken mess of twisted desires and motives, God will see that and that loving relationship will continue to happen and we will truly be changed. Labels: saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 18, 2010 > 12:39 PM our spiritual attitude Our spiritual attitude, our way of seeking peace and perfection, depends entirely on our concept of God. If we are able to believe he is truly our loving Father, if we can really accept the truth of his infinite and compassionate concern for us, if we believe that he loves us not because we are worthy but because we need his love, then we can advance with confidence. We will not be discouraged by our inevitable weakness and failures. We can do anything he asks of us. But if we believe he is a stern, cold lawgiver who has no real interest in us, who is merely a ruler, a lord, a judge and not a father, we will have great difficulty in living the Christian life. We must therefore begin by believing God is our Father: otherwise we cannot face the difficulties of the Christian way of perfection. Without faith, the "narrow way" is utterly impossible.Underlying attitudes are huge. The way we think about things will "rule" how we are able to live in certain areas. If we believe God is a "stern, cold lawgiver," we will act accordingly. We will have a very hard time indeed being able to live in the Love that Jesus came to bring us. If we have the kind of faith that sees God as loving Father, then we will be working with Him in His own reality - see how that works? Working "against" Him or working "with" Him - which is it? What's unfortunate is that many of us have learned the poor lesson of "God as lawgiver" and lawgiver and judge alone. We have been crippled from the get-go. The Holy Spirit, though, is still able to come in and warm our hearts - to enlighten us as to His real identity - to lift us out of our prison into the freedom of His Love and Mercy. Come Holy Spirit! Come and set Your people free! Labels: merton, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 11, 2010 > 4:10 PM a body of broken bones 1 Just wanted to share this amazing quote from Thomas Merton about hatred and love - about this Body of broken bones of which we are a part as Christians. Put your heavy listening headphones on here folks... Strong hate, the hate that takes joy in hating, is strong because it does not believe itself to be unworthy and alone. It feels the support of a justifying God, of an idol of war, an avenging and destroying spirit. From such blood-drinking gods the human race was once liberated, with great toil and terrible sorrow, by the death of a God Who delivered Himself to the Cross and suffered the pathological cruelty of His own creatures out of pity for them. In conquering death He opened their eyes to the reality of a love which asks no questions about worthiness, a love which overcomes hatred and destroys death. But men have now come to reject this divine revelation of pardon, and they are consequently returning to the old war gods, the gods that insatiably drink blood and eat the flesh of men. It is easier to serve the hate-gods because they thrive on the worship of collective fanaticism. To serve the hate-gods, one has only to be blinded by collective passion. To serve the God of Love one must be free, one must face the terrible responsibility of the decision to love in spite of all unworthiness whether of oneself or in one's neighbor.Not much I can add to that. Hear it and know that this is true, to some degree, of all of us. We're broken - broken more than we like to admit. But we will never be "fixed" if we take our brokenness to heart and own it as if it were goodness. God's Grace be with us all. Labels: merton, spiritual formation 1 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | January 08, 2010 > 10:50 AM though the yield of the olive fail For though the fig tree blossom notThese two bits from Morning Prayer sort of shined through to me as I prayed them. They are kind of "light in the darkness" sections. This happens to me often, even when I've allowed my habit to break of praying the Office for a bit - I step back in and God is waiting there for me. He always knows where I am, where my mind and heart are open, where they are closed. Even then, He holds the keys to every door. We know this - He is faithful even when we are unfaithful. If this were not true, even what hope we had would be in vain. But it is not in vain. Often, I believe, we think of "those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death" as "someone else." Those poor people. Really, it's all of us, to one degree or another. Progressively, hopefully, we are being shown and we see more of His Light. He shines in our darkness and we are transformed, healed, made whole. And His Peace awaits us - and I'm not talking about "heaven" here - rather, the Peace of God which can and will fill and take hold of us right now. The fullness of God's Life is not for the sweet by and by. It may end up there, but that fullness is His will for us now, that our lives would be transformed now - not for a special few, but for all of us. May the tender compassion of our God continue to shine on our darkness. Labels: liturgical prayer, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | December 06, 2009 > 12:33 AM favorite spiritual thinkers/writers I don't read nearly as much as some of my friends. I read slowly - that's part of the reason. I also, only read things that really, for a number of reasons, catch my attention - that draw me in, that connect with me in some way and say to me: "this is going to be some really good, solid stuff that will build you up in a real and serious way." And if I latch onto something I read, I latch on and keep on going. Anyway, here is a list of the Christian thinkers/writers who's thoughts and insights I have most latched onto. Not sure what this will tell you about me - depends on who you are I guess.
Labels: spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | December 01, 2009 > 12:21 PM advent 2 We're getting off to a slow start in our observation of Advent in the Creech household this year - too slow for me anyway. We have our new candles for the wreath. We have our new devotional book - Advent and Christmas with the Saints. This series of books has been good so far, no reason not to keep going with another one. They're sitting there together in the living room - not one candle yet lit, not one devotion yet read. We'll get to it - hopefully before Christmas Eve. The other day I got to e-talking with someone about what we're awaiting in Adent - liturgically, His first coming, or His second coming, at the end. The comment discussion got around to saying it was both, and it is. But I'm wondering now if there's another "coming" we don't anticipate enough. It's a little more esoteric than the first and the last, although integrally connected to both. It's His continual and progressive coming now, into our world and into our lives. This, I believe, is the most important coming of Jesus that we are to be awaiting, and working to cooperate with. It is the Kingdom of God now among us and within us. I've talked about this before, but the whole concept of "Kingdom" is really only an analogy used by God to communicate something bigger and deeper to us in our own language. It's not merely about the coming of an attitude in which we recognize God as a crowned "King" of some kind of bounded "kingdom." That's too small. It's a fine analogy, but I really believe He was/is getting to something much bigger there. Advent is really all about the Incarnation, as is Christmas. These are liturgical ways we have developed as the Church to help us navigate and appreciate the coming of God, of the fullness of His Life, into our world. The Incarnation is also not merely about God appearing among us as a man for 33 years and then returning on a cloud to heaven - so that now, in effect, the Incarnation went away with Him. Jesus was the first-born of many siblings, not the only-born. The Incarnation continues in us! The Life of God has entered us as we have come into union with Christ - through Him, with Him, in Him. So we continue to see it's effects in our own lives and in the world around us as we are being transformed into His very Image by the Lord, as we gaze on Him with unveiled faces (2 Cor. 3:18). So, we should anticipate and pray: Come now, Lord Jesus - not to end it all vindicate us, not to burn the sinful world up and lift us on high, but continually come, expand Your Presence in me. Fill us with Your Life and change us, and with us, everything and everyone we touch. Labels: advent, spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 22, 2009 > 11:30 PM dark night 1:5:3  One more quote from St. John of the Cross - Book 1, Ch. 5 of Dark Night of the Soul - verse 3 - getting into how we view our own journey of spiritual growth."There are others who are vexed with themselves when they observe their own imperfectness, and display an impatience that is not humility; so impatient are they about this that they would fain be saints in a day. Many of these persons purpose to accomplish a great deal and make grand resolutions; yet, as they are not humble and have no misgivings about themselves, the more resolutions they make, the greater is their fall and the greater their annoyance, since they have not the patience to wait for that which God will give them when it pleases Him; this likewise is contrary to the spiritual meekness aforementioned, which cannot be wholly remedied save by the purgation of the dark night. Some souls, on the other hand, are so patient as regards the progress which they desire that God would gladly see them less so."This is not exactly the same as scrupulosity, but it's similar and I'd say, related. Those of us who beat ourselves up over every tiny little "infraction" are dealing with the far end of the pride stick. The expectation of quick perfection in the spiritual life is a disastrous thing. First of all, it's a sure-fire recipe for being miserable - ALL the time. And it may even get to the point of rooting us right out of any kind of faith life. I guess that means we can actually beat ourselves to death - sort of. "...so impatient are they about this that they would fain be saints in a day." I'll not go into different ideas of what a "saint" is. I think we're talking about a perfected human person here, re-made into the Image of Christ. So, if someone has the idea, for example, that once you know all the right beliefs, have studied all the right doctrine, etc., that you then "have no excuse" and are immediately able to always make the right decisions - uuuhh, you're in for a ride folks. This is not to understand the concept of spiritual development, formation - not understanding that simply because one is now a Christian, that one has (in a Catholic context for instance) gone through RCIA or CCD classes, any other Confirmation classes - this doesn't mean that one's insides have been transformed into the kind of "insides" that see as God sees, think as God thinks and act as God acts. None of that means that you are able to fully participate in your sharing of the Divine Nature as a Child of God. It's not just about making your mind up and deciding something. Many young Christians (not just "young" chronologically) are done the disservice of being taught in this way. We simply do not seem to be telling people that this whole Christian "thing" is about being transformed into fully Human Beings (capitals on purpose) - into the kind of people He created us to be in the beginning. We do not seem to be telling people that simply because you know the "rules" doesn't mean you have the constitutional ability to follow them - oh, and that it's really not about following rules - Lord God have mercy. Tell people this, those who have a place to tell them. Please tell them that knowledge is not growth. Tell them that believing right things is not equal to being a right person. Tell them. Labels: saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 15, 2009 > 11:25 PM st. theresa of avila > prepare your will  Today is the feast day of St. Theresa of Avila. I've admired her writing and insights for a while. Mostly in Interior Castle. The concept she develops there of our lives as Christians being like being invited into the great castle of our King - our trip from the outer entry rooms, through to the inner rooms, and finally into the central chamber where the King Himself dwells - this has helped to form my own ideas of what the spiritual life is, how it works. Very helpful.I can look back on several things I've written and see the influence very clearly. I hear it in how I talk about these things sometimes. God most definitely uses the other members of the Body of Christ to build us up, to teach us, inspire us. He gives us pieces of Himself through our siblings, and to them through us. He is slowly weaving us all into one unified cloth. In order for this to work properly, though, we have to be listening, paying attention. Here are a couple or three good quotes that I have underlined in the past in Interior Castle - have fun... "All that the beginner in prayer has to do - and you must not forget this, prepare himself with all possible diligence to bring his will into conformity with the will of God."Speaking of our union with God in that last small quote. The others, and the last quote, speak of our cooperative part in the process, which is not as we sometimes suppose. I've thought and said before, that really, all we are able to do, is to will to will the Will of God. I say "will to will" because we can't even grunt up the basic will to be in union with God on our own, without His Grace. But from the general, or prevenient (it is sometimes called) Grace given to all men, we are able to sense the Grace of God and, on a very base level, react to it - we can will to will His Will... and He moves... and the journey continues to it's completion. So, we ourselves, don't do the actual work of transformation in our own selves. We cannot. He alone can do this work. We can do things to prepare for His working, though, and we should. We are doing that which helps to open our wills. We are stepping into the flow of the Great River, as it were. Thank you, St. Theresa, for listening in order to hear as clearly as you did - for passing those things onto us, your siblings in Christ. Pray for us, that we would hear and see and be even more. Labels: saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 14, 2009 > 3:47 PM dark night 1:5:2 More from St. John of the Cross - Book 1, Ch. 5 of Dark Night of the Soul, today, verse 2 - this one goes to meddlin'..."There are other of these spiritual persons, again, who fall into another kind of spiritual wrath: this happens when they become irritated at the sins of others, and keep watch on those others with a sort of uneasy zeal. At times the impulse comes to them to reprove them angrily, and occasionally they go so far as to indulge it and set themselves up as masters of virtue. All this is contrary to spiritual meekness."Oh my. "All this is contrary to spiritual meekness." Let's allow that sentence to sink in a bit. I have seen this. I've probably done it. It almost seems like there is an epidemic of this kind of thing running through the Body of Christ. It seems like some take it on as a job - being irritated by the sins of others and keeping watch on them, and of course, fixing them - never mind the fixing, punishing will do. What are we accomplishing when we do this? I'm convinced that it really stems from a desire to see one's self as good. So any "light" that can be shone on the darkness of others only serves to make whatever "light" we have seem brighter - to us - perhaps we might think, to God as well. We would be wrong. What are we doing? Many times, I notice the "sins" of others that are so irritating, so worth keeping watch on, are no sins at all. Imperfections (as St. John puts it), perhaps. Maybe not even that. And even if they are sins, how does Love act? What IS our job in the spiritual life, really, primarily? If I was pushed for a short answer, I'd say, "to love God - to love people - that is all." Let us pray: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour, have mercy on me, a sinner. Amen. Labels: saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 13, 2009 > 2:22 PM dark night 1:5:1 I thought it might be helpful to share a bit of St. John of the Cross this week. I'll go through Book 1, Ch. 5 of his Dark Night of the Soul, beginning today with verse 1...Of the imperfections into which beginners fall with respect to the sin of wrath.Now, if you can get past the flowery language that belongs to an English translation of 16th century Spanish, this is very, very good stuff. I'll say, first, that many of us, in reading this, should not dismiss ourselves so quickly because he is writing about "beginners." We may not think of ourselves as beginners in the faith. Perhaps we have been in Christ for a long time, as "time" goes, and have even fervently believed and grown in love for Him. Still there may be many ways in which we are all yet "beginners." I'll go on to sort of define terms a bit: Consolations = Feelings and sensations of God working in our minds, hearts, souls, bodies - maybe an overwhelming feeling of being loved which causes us to cry, become weak in the knees, tremble - maybe God allows us to feel as if we are gathered up in His arms, and we feel this very acutely - perhaps even on to something like an ecstatic state in which we hear and see Him and His words very clearly. Many of my charismatic brothers and sisters will understand some of this. But one need not be "a charismatic" to experience God in this more tangible way in the senses. Here's the thing though, and part of what St. John is getting at: Certainly these things may happen as we pray or at other times - God may allow them to happen in order to help us at certain times for certain reasons. As with the example of the young child being weened off it's Mother's breast, we should grow to understand that these things, themselves, are not God, and are not necessary in our spiritual life. We should grow not to depend on having these sensory feelings or experiences of God in order to believe that, for instance, He is with us, helping us, teaching us, working on us, loving us. Ideally, we will grow into a maturity that knows these things at all times, without the constant aid of consolations. More to come about how some of us (yes, maybe even YOU or ME) get really upset when we don't get us some consolations - or even worse, take it out on others. Stay tuned... Labels: prayer, saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 02, 2009 > 9:47 AM but bestows favor on the humble And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for: "God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." -1 Peter 5:5bThis was the beginning of the reading for Evening Prayer on Wednesday. These direct instruction passages make you think. This one is very important I believe. Tucked back in the back of 1st Peter - a very central thought. Relationships with others. How to "be" as a human being as you deal, as you will constantly, with other human beings. It can be taken, I suppose, as merely a command to obey, and if you don't obey it, you'll get the hard side of God on the back of your neck. That would be an unfortunate way to look at this statement (or any for that matter). One would expand such a statement and ask questions: Do you want to be close to God or far away? Would you rather be who God created you to be or some twisted other thing? Do you understand this whole thing? Do you get that it's about the utter and complete transformation of your being and not just about you doing the right thing or being right or being good? One could ask those questions of the hearer - of us all. I thought: If you're always thinking, "I am humble in this situation, he's the prideful one," and you just know that God is favoring you or your side and "opposing" the other - if that's you, you probably don't know what humility is. If you're looking for His favor as some kind of reward for your having been humble, and His active opposition to the other as some kind of punishment for their having been proud, you should see yourself as at the bottom of a very high mountain. If we have figured out "how to be humble" in order to be on God's good side - "See! See me Lord! I am a humble man! Give me your favor - you said!" You see yourself being what you believe is good and you try to shine the spotlight of yourself to heaven, so God will see you too. HE sees. He sees much deeper than our supposedly good actions. He knows the deep intentions of our hearts. We think we know them. If He exposed them to us as they really are, I think we would be destroyed by what we saw and heard. Humility. "Change me, O God. Make me into the Image of Your Son!" Let this be our prayer. Better, often, if we shut our mouths and lie down - throw dirt on our heads. Better we apologize when we feel we have no need to. Jesus had no need to die on a cross either - not for Himself. Better we forget what others have done to us and remember only what we have done, and lift that up to the Father in His great Mercy. Better we stop trying to find ways of showing how good we are, to other, to ourselves, or to God. Better we simply do as the Scripture passage continues... So humble yourselves under the might hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. -1 Peter 5And I imagine it would be best if we didn't get too excited about what the "exalt you" business means or we'll be right back where we started from. God help us. Lord have mercy on us. Fill us with Your Grace, Father. Labels: christian life, humility, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | August 30, 2009 > 9:00 PM Jesus my everything > well, not really Tonight at Mass, we sang a worship song called Jesus My Everything (by Matt Maher). It's a good song. I like it. It was our first Communion song. As we were singing, I found myself unable to sing part of it. I know the point in the song - not saying anything against it, but tonight, for me, it was very "bright" to me, that no, Jesus is not my everything - and I just couldn't sing it, not that part. I'll share part of the song here, and as I read it now, the rest of it, it kind of comes together... Oh, and let me say this: I am NOT trying to start any kind of debate about music styles in church, Catholic or otherwise and will NOT entertain any comments in that vein. Cause you are my everything,Like I said, it's good in the whole and I'm not even criticizing the song at all. I'm just talking about me and what I found that I couldn't say tonight - that He is my everything - the rest, yes, all of it. But He is still not the total focus of my vision. He does not have my full attention. And it's not like I can turn a switch in here and go to "total Jesus focus mode." A little yes here and a little yes there - it's a process - a long one. Help me, help us, Lord, to say yes to You and not turn our eyes away. Labels: music, spiritual formation, worship 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | July 26, 2009 > 10:36 AM we are not hateful to God > say whaat? It seems every time I run across that last section, I quote it in a blog post. I've quoted it here probably more than once before. It's powerful. It goes to the heart of so much of what we carry around with us every day. We either hate ourselves because we see ourselves and unworthy and unlovable, even by God, or we've found a way to be self-righteous asses whom God apparently approves because we've "done enough" of whatever it is we're supposed to have done to get such approval. We're a pitiful lot. Another problem is that we will tend to treat others in the same way we see ourselves being treated, or thought of, by God. If we understand that God loves because He is and so, loves us despite our unworthiness, then we will likely tend to love others in the same way. On the other hand, if we see this God who has a need to see us being good in order to approve of us, then yep, you guessed it, we will likely be the kind of people who will look at our fellow men with the same "need." We will need to see them being good before we will bestow our love on them - as if they had to deserve it from us - as if we were someone they had to impress. What sick puppies we are. How we deeply need to be fully renovated. Labels: merton, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 21, 2009 > 11:19 AM some pictures and some thoughts  There's my Father's Day breakfast. No, my children didn't wake in the early hours of the morning and make it and bring it to me in bed. Half of them aren't here at the moment - Mama's at work, Meaghan's at work, Katey just came home from spending the night at a friend's, Conor just woke up and McKenzie's at Mammaw and Pappaw's house. So, I made it myself and ate it myself. A little later, Katey, Conor and I will drive to meet my parents, probably in London, to eat together with them and pick up the Kenz. Then we'll come back home and stay out of the hot some more I guess. That'll be Father's Day for us. Oh, and I received nice cards from each of my children and a gift card to Sportsman's Warehouse - very nice. Here is the product of my labor yesterday in the garden. The tomatoes were getting a bit large, so I had to make a trip to Lowe's and get some wire fencing and stakes to cage them bad boys up. At the Garden Mother's suggestion (no, I'm not a pagan, I'm talking about Liz), I also made a climbing fence deal for the cucumbers there so they don't take over the garden. It was good, monastic work. I look forward to more of it as the crops develop. We also did a good bit of weeding, in which I took a good part, in the last couple of days. Along with the rain making what we planted go nuts, it also had fed the weeds a good bit, so we had to thin things out.As I was weeding I had a thought about the Scripture that tells us - generally speaking here - to just let the weeds and the wheat (crops) grow together, not to possibly uproot what you're trying to grow by going nuts pulling out all the weeds. Sure - make sense. Here's my thought: this is really more about not weeding in the younger, more tender years of your plants. You have possibly noticed that weeds and crop plants look a lot alike in the early days - hard to tell apart - and easy to pull up one with the other if you're too worried about it. You've got to be careful. But, when my tomatoes, for example, get more mature, larger, their identity is much more defined as something distinctly different than any weed around them. Weeding, at this point, can be important. Too many weeds can "steel" nutrients from the growing tomatoes, and water. Nice spiritual analogy there I think. And it helps to pull the pesky weeds out by the roots - otherwise they just grow back up too quickly. And mulch helps - that ground cover around and between your plants to keep in moisture and retard week growth. We use mowed grass clippings - works pretty well. Ah, the analogies keep on flowing at this point. Weeding, mulching, watering, staking and caging to guide the growth and protect them from high winds, etc. Lay that over your life and see where it fits. Peace to you. Labels: gardening, personal, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | April 16, 2009 > 10:24 AM re-post > 06-03-2002 > the Christ follower I had this thought the other day after I started this re-post party - hmmm, when an artist/singer starts putting out "greatest hits," doesn't that mean they've sort of had it, that they're fading into the twilight of their careers? A little disturbing - maybe I should look at it - aaaw, never mind, have fun. In this post, you'll notice a running theme, connected to the previous one - Transformation. I would bet this is one of the top 3 underlying subjects I deal with in all my writing/thinking. "Christ follower" - OK, that's the cool new term for a "Christian." did you not know that yet? Oh, sorry - If you were formerly known as a "Christian," you are now to be referred to as a "Follower of Christ." Interesting. It sounds sort of "faddy" to me. I think I'm going to get in trouble now.... officially, right now. I understand where this is coming from I think. It seems that quite a number of "Christians" think that all there is to being whatever it is you call it, is to hit an altar and say the "sinner's prayer" in order to go to heaven, or, more likely in many cases, in order NOT to go to Haaayyuuullll! Apparently, those who came up with the new moniker are overly familiar with this variety of (insert name)s. Those who really don't think the rest of your life matters all that much, just as long as you "get saved" and go to heaven when you die. I said, apparently "they" are familiar with these people. I am not. I may have heard of some of these creatures (like Bigfoot), so they've got to be out there I guess. I actually think Bigfoot is out there so these freaky Christians just HAVE to be. I don't really know any of them though. I know (perhaps you can relate) mostly those who, yes, think they got saved to go to heaven (I'll give you that) but who are fixated on how they live their lives - on what they do and what they don't do - how much they pray - how many things they are "believing God for" on a daily basis - how much work they do for the church - how many other people they lead to faith in Christ per month, et cetera, et cetera. Basically, it's all about them, about how they act, what they do, and on and on. This is what I see. Maybe I'm just not running in the same circles. I agree, have taught, and believe that it is absolutely not the point of being a Christian to go to heaven. I think that is merely a by-product of being a person recreated in the image of Christ. As one with the Spirit of God in you, you just will be in the realm of God's Kingdom in that other dimension just as you are now in this physical life. It's not the goal. The goal is to be what God intended us to be in the first place - God-like beings. Not merely "human" beings - people with the eternal spiritual nature of God in us (as was breathed into us in the beginning). Obviously, then, this has all to do with being transformed fully into those kind of people, of living that out holistically. BUT, it is not merely a matter of imitation, of doing what Jesus did. Without that internal spiritual connection we are not able to do that. I guess I'm saying that I understand all the rethinking and redirection, etc. But in the midst of our pendulum swinging, can we not forget the inward, spiritual, metaphysical elements please. I think we can have both. I mean, we can talk of being "born" from above as well as "growing up" from above or in the spirit. We can talk of initially becoming an adopted member of the family as well as then growing up in and learning what it means to be a member of the family. We have moved into the new house, but don't know our way around yet, etc. I hope any of that made any sense. Labels: christian life, soteriology, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | April 14, 2009 > 6:25 PM re-post > 03-08-2002 > a new kind of guts What are we? I mean, did God create a purposely faulty bunch? Did He intend for us to have a nature that had a propensity to move against Him? Silly God. He would indeed be silly - eternally silly I guess - if He would have done such a thing. But I don’t believe that He did that. I don’t think we were created to be separated from Him. In fact, I believe when He “breathed life into us” that pile of dirt became a being like unto Himself - that that breath was His very life essence. What a noble thing. “Let us make one like us” God said to Himself, and then He did. That is what we’re supposed to be. To be called a human being was not supposed to be an insult to an Angel but something which garnered a response like “I wish it was so.” But we are not that. And as I remember, a few of the Angels quite left their created order as well. What is the Jesus thing all about? Did He simply come to be an example (WWJD)? Are we supposed to look at His life and emulate it? It IS written “be imitators of God...” you know. Well, I think its a bit more involved than that isn’t it. If we were simply able to look at that life and make the choice to do what He did, ironically, we wouldn’t need Him at all really. That all takes place on the outside. We look at something, we imitate it. Ask my friends, I can imitate with great skill just about anybody I pay enough attention to - but that doesn’t make me Hank Hill does it? Or anyone else - because that’s an external thing. It doesn’t change who I am. Too many Christians have ignored the mystical aspects of what we’re all about for too long. Its all in our heads I’m afraid - even with those who talk about the “heart” alot. The Jesus thing is about internal transformation. Its about metaphysics. Its about unseen eternal reality. And no, I’m not a gnostic! He came and did what He did, became what and whom He became so that we could become something and someone else too. Our eternal insides change when we become Christians, and then we begin a journey toward full and holistic transformation. The behavior part follows. We’re waaay too concerned about what we do or don’t do. This concern, again ironically (lots of irony going on here), keeps us in that realm - in the realm where everything is about behavior - about doing and not being. Wow! How did we get here? I know, too long an answer. Being “born again” or better yet “born from above” is not about joining a new club or a new religion. Its about getting our spiritual guts ripped out and then replaced with a new plumbing system. What does that mean for us? It means our new system works differently than the old one. Its not just a shiny new set of guts that are the same kind as the old ones - they’re a NEW KIND OF GUTS ALTOGETHER! Is that gross enough for you? What!? A 6 chamber heart? What’s that? No Liver!? What do you mean no Liver!? I don’t like Liver anyway - good! Obviously I’m speaking in metaphor here, but do you see what I’m saying? Its all different now - when we’ve stepped into His Life on the other side of Jesus. Its not just thinking different thoughts, its thinking in a whole different way. Its not just eating different foods, its that we process food in an entirely new and different way. I think until we begin to understand these things, we will stay cramped up where we are - trying to be good and being frustrated because we always fail at it so miserably. Its not about being good! I mean its not about doing good - doing good things - thinking good thoughts. Its about discovering that at the core of our being, by the Grace of Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, we have been recreated as good people - God kind of people - and letting that radiate outward through our whole selves, letting it transform us in totality. Whhheeeew - I just had a kind of e-mail exchange with someone that sparked all that. I wonder sometimes about whether we really know what it means to be a Christian. Not that I have it all figured out. If I think I have a clue though, I’ll at least be confident about what I think I know until I figure out I’m wrong. Stranger things have happened. Labels: re-post, soteriology, spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | March 30, 2009 > 9:16 AM the new man > one I've been re-reading The New Man by Thomas Merton lately. You don't see this one on people's lists often for some reason. It's one of my favorites - this and New Seeds of Contemplation, top two. Very good stuff, getting into the deep realities of what our salvation is. I thought I'd share a few quotes with you... ...life is more than the reward for him who correctly guesses a secret and spiritual "answer" to which he smilingly remains committed. Labels: merton, soteriology, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | March 17, 2009 > 3:41 PM a few words on patrick's day  Here's a prayer I have always clipped in the back on my prayer book - on St. Patrick's Day...St. Patrick's Breastplate I bind unto myself today the power of God to hold and lead, his eye to watch, his might to stay, his ear to harken to my need: the wisdom of my God to teach, his hand to guide, his shield to ward; the word of God to give me speech, his heavenly host to be my guard. Christ be with me, Christ before me. Christ behind me, Christ deep within me, Christ below me, Christ above me, Christ at my right hand, Christ at my left hand, Christ as I lie down, Christ as I arise, Christ as I stand, Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks to me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me. So, it seems that Patrick was a Christian - Christ this, Christ that, Christ everywhere - holding him, protecting him, teaching him, guarding him, being all up in every kind of relationship he has or could have, even inside of any contact with any person. Yes, I believe this is about being fully Christian. It brings to mind the Scripture we did Lectio Divina with last night at our parish mission, or this part of it... "I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me." –Galatians 2:19b-20Christ in us. He lives IN US. We do not always act as if this is true. Sometimes we act as if this only means that "Christ the Judge" lives in us, and behave accordingly. Sometimes we forget our new identity and live as merely human beings. Let us try to embrace the whole Christ, all around us and inside us, for the whole us, as St. Patrick seemed to have done. Peace be with you. Patrick, pray for us. ALSO: Check out my rosary site for some highlighted Celtic-inspired pieces. Labels: saints, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 25, 2009 > 6:16 PM ashes The day of ashes. The beginning of Lent. I feel nothing. I have nothing great welling up inside me. I don't have any great attitude of sorrow or anything like that. I ate my one meal today like a good boy. I prayed the Office, Morning and Mid-afternoon prayer so far. Not much else. We will go to Mass tonight at 7:30 - that means we won't be able to parade around with dirty heads all day - oh well. I read something today about "freely chosen detachment from the pleasure of food and other material goods" being helpful for us as Christians in dealing with our brokenness, helping us focus on God, on our being fixed. I certainly agree. I can't help - I can't help it now I'm telling you - can't help but think - well, then, what help are canonically enforced detachments to our spiritual development? Freely chosen - hmmm. I will do my duty, but I will be sad that it's a duty. And I will do (or not do as the case may be) more - freely chosen! So, I start out like this - looks like we're in for a ride. Labels: catholic, lent, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 08, 2009 > 10:20 AM in the quiet This morning it is definitely like early Spring outside here. The back door is open. I went outside on the deck and sat quietly on one of the benches for a little while. I made myself do that - sit in the silence - the only sounds were of nature. The birds are going on like Spring has sprung. Oh, and the chatter inside my head - it's good to sit and allow yourself to interact with that sometimes. I must tell you, I am addicted to noise. It is very difficult for me to enter silence. I have to make it a discipline. My brain, my ears strain against it. I am still presently making myself not turn anything on in the house. Liz has gone to work. The kids are still asleep. No TV, no radio, no music. That's the hardest - "how about just some quiet, instrumental John Michael Talbot?" Well, nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, for me, even that is dipping into the addiction. I put it on so it's not quiet. The silence is too loud. Silence is foreign too many of us, culturally speaking. We are raised with noise of all kinds all around us. Noise is natural to our ears. Quiet is only an in-between thing, while we wait or search for more noise to fill the air around us. What is drowned out in all this noise, I wonder? We are. God is. Again, you realize, I write this as one for whom it is supremely difficult to deal with "un-noise." I must sit in the silence, though. I have to. I need to hear HIS Voice, even if that is simply sensing His Voice with no specifics. We generally want specifics, but He is not always speaking specifics. Even to hear and know myself - I need that. I need to know where to open myself to Him. I need to be formed by silence. Labels: spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | January 20, 2009 > 5:41 PM unwearied The Antiphon for the Psalm of Monday night's Compline (Night Prayer) is as follows... O Lord, our God, unwearied is your love for us. Each time Monday rolls around and I'm praying this before I got to sleep at night, I linger at the Antiphon for just a bit, and sometimes repeat it. Unwearied, it says. God is not worn out by us. He is not impatient with us. The love of our Lord for us does not grow tired - ever. That's hard for us to comprehend. Some of us just flat cannot comprehend it. I believe it. I "see" it - not fully, of course, but I do, and my heart is grateful. I am a pretty decent Father, I think. But, I get weary of it sometimes. It wears me out sometimes. I'm a pretty good husband most of the time. I love my wife very much. But my love for her is sometimes weary, sometimes it's just not what it could be. As a friend, I don't know what I am. That's hard for me to say. I feel out of practice lately. But I know I am not unwearied by it, by people, even those I love dearly - maybe tired of being what I'm supposed to be to them. It's probably good that I realize that, though - that I am not yet perfect - that I am still a failure sometimes - that I am not what I was created to be yet. If I were to have the attitude that I had nowhere to go, then perhaps I would stop traveling. I have a long way to go and therefore, I am very thankful that He who deals with me has an unwearied love for me. Labels: liturgical prayer, personal, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 29, 2008 > 12:23 PM proto advent thoughts  Yeah, yeah, I know she already has the Baby and they're on their way back from Bethlehem, but I like the image. You may buy Christmas cards with this image at Printery House. They have lots of very nice cards. We usually get ours there. This year we ordered these. And we don't order many so don't everybody be expecting to get one, especially if you live close to me - we don't do in-town cards. We're lucky if we even get the ones we bought out for family and people who live away from here. I have to make myself sit down and do that in the next week.OK, now for a few things here and there...
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permalink | e-mail me | November 24, 2008 > 8:56 AM gangsta  I'm a gangsta! Well, sort of. My friend Michael Spencer over at Internet Monk has started a new series on his blog called Liturgical Gangstas, and he's asked me to be on that team. Every so often he's going to pose a question to us and we'll all answer from our own spiritual perspectives, backgrounds and ecclesial traditions - very cool. I'm the Roman Catholic on the panel, and the only member thus far with no "Fr., Rev., etc." in front of his name. I'm either honored or having inferiority/identity issues, one or the other. One of the other panelists is my good friend Peter Matthews, Anglican Priest from here in Lexington as well. There are also, at present, an Orthodox Priest, a Baptist Pastor and a Methodist Pastor. The first question Michael has posed to us is as follows: “A person comes to you and says 'I want to grow significantly as a Christian in the next year.' Using the resources we all share and the specific resources of your tradition, what kind of guidance would you give this person? Be as specific as possible.” You can read all our responses and comment here.Labels: blogging, liturgical gangstas, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 08, 2008 > 9:52 AM mccabe on forgiveness  I've been reading a little Herbert McCabe for a while now, here and there. He's fast becoming one of those guys - the ones you read and nearly everything makes sense, you know the ones. He was an English Dominican Priest/Philosopher/Theologian who died in 2001. Here's a snippet from the back of the book jacket I have... "The major influence on McCabe was the Bible, but he was also a devoted admirer of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose ideas saturated his public speaking." A little more from Wikipedia here. Anyway, I like him - the way he writes and thinks. Very helpful.I think one of the first bits I read from him was about forgiveness, somewhere. I bought the book I have now not long after - God, Christ and Us - which had in it the whole context. The book is a collection of previously unpublished sermons and talks. The chapter called The Forgiveness of God is a very good one from start to finish. He talks about our forgiveness of others, what injuries cause to need to forgive, and leads into how that helps us to understand God and His forgiveness of us and how that works. ... God, of course, is not injured or insulted or threatened by our sin. So, when we speak of him forgiving, we are using the word 'forgiving' in a rather stretched way, a rather far-fetched way. We speak of God forgiving not because he is really offended but accepts our apology or agrees to overlook the insult. What God is doing is life forgiveness not because of anything that happens in God, but because of what happens in us, because of the re-creative and redemptive side of forgiveness. All the insult and injury we do in sinning is to ourselves alone, not to God. We speak of God forgiving us because he comes to us to save us from ourselves, to restore us after we have injured ourselves, to redeem and re-create us.Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is a nice little meal for us to digest. This is a Catholic theologian getting down underneath and past the legal and technical talk of sin and forgiveness - down into the core of what's going on. What I read here is something about God's Heart, in His infinite immutability, reaching out in His nature of Love, to a broken mess of a humanity who couldn't do anything to fix itself if it tried. He reaches out to us, into us, when the inward barriers are put aside - when somehow we respond to His Grace and perhaps say "yes" without even consciously knowing we have done so - and fills us with His forgiveness, which transforms us from the inside-out. Sure, there are Sacraments and signs that we experience to help concretize His forgiveness to us, but in a very real way, it's already there. Our sorrow for our sin, our repentance, is only a reflective sign of what's already happened in our deepest selves. This is why our deep, growing and dynamic relationship with God in Christ, through the working of the Holy Spirit is the really important thing. If this is not real and actually happening, Sacraments won't really do us any good. That's not to say they're not real in themselves, just that any effectiveness they would have in and for us is only to be had when they are mixed with a real and living faith. OK, that's good for a Saturday when nobody's reading this. Pax vobiscum. Labels: herbert mccabe, spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 15, 2008 > 1:53 PM verbum today  Today I went to Mass at Noon. I do that sometimes - not every week, but here and there. I'm starting to think it would be good if I made it a regular practice, at least one daily Mass per week. Anyway, I went to St. Peter's, as usual, and as I was praying/sitting quietly before the Mass started, I was looking at the old Latin inscription that goes around the half-spherical cover that is over the high altar in the back of the Sanctuary there. I've cropped it out in the photo to the left. It's not very clear. I need to get a closer, more focused photo of that sometimes. It's a beautiful piece in itself - gold reflective under with the symbol of the Holy Spirit coming down as a dove, on the outside the Chi Rho at the top with vines and branches with grapes coming down, that inscription - it's a feast for meditative eyes. So, here is the inscription...ET VERBUM CARO FACTUM EST ET HABITAVIT IN NOBIS Today as I sat there, I was determined to figure out what that meant. So, eventually, with what knowledge of Latin I have, I did. It was very cool to be able to do that, first. And the translation was wonderful. I read it to myself several times again. And today - today, when thoughts of a conversation I've been involved in recently about the Word, how it's used, and to a degree how it's seen in Catholic circles, was rolling around in my head. AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US And so HE did. Jesus, the Word of God. And I saw multiple meanings there - that inscription just above the tabernacle, and the Word read and spoken into our ears and hearts in the community of faith constantly, and Christ in us who now share in His Divine Nature. And at the Table of the Word today - the readings: Romans 8:22-27 and John 15:1-8 - even the Response - "Your Words, O Lord, are light and life." One more thing to tip things over - the old priest, at the end of the Gospel reading says, "please remain standing" - no homily. So, the Word was doing it's own work in our hearts. The Word, the Word, the Word everywhere - making His dwelling among us, in us. He is the Vine and we are the branches. As He lives in His Father, so we live in Him, and share their Life - that's the Gospel folks - the center and core. Labels: catholic, liturgy, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 08, 2008 > 9:38 AM wisdom of the desert > three > what to do  Time to share another "saying" from one of the Desert Fathers. I'm not trying to systematically go through every saying recorded in Merton's book - just the ones that jump out to me. This one did. I'm sure it will connect with some of you as well.A brother asked one of the elders: What good thing shall I do, and have life thereby? The old man replied: God alone knows what is good. However, I have heard it said that someone inquired of Father Abbot Nisteros the great, the friend of Abbot Anthony, asking: What good work shall I do? and that he replied: Not all works are alike. For Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. Elias loved solitary prayer, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. Therefore, whatever you see your soul to desire according to God, do that thing, and you shall keep your heart safe. (bold emphasis mine)That last statement there, which is the kicker, rang in my heart like a bell at the Abbey. This speaks to all of us and the deep desires we have in our hearts to do something. What do I do? we ask. Well, look into your heart - what does your soul desire according to God? Do that. Sounds simple, doesn't it? I'm thinking - well, I'm knowing, it's not that simple. Nobody would trek out to the middle of the desert to ask an old hermit the question if it was something we could all come to just that simply. Then we have to figure out what "according to God" means. Is it good? Is our desire something good? He doesn't explicitly say, "look to Scripture," but he mentioned some things our examples in Scripture have done, citing them as just that, examples. If we are formed by the Holy Spirit in us with the help of Scripture, Tradition and real live person-to-person contact, we can perhaps understand our desires better. But even if it's not 100% "simple," the answer the Abbot gave is simple, not complicated. We too often ignore the simple. We think it's nothing. It can't be anything worth listening to - gardening? wood carving? being quiet in the woods? a house or two in the country with a garden and chickens? How could these things be anything? How indeed. We need to listen - to keep our hearts safe. technorati tags > desert fathers, thomas merton Labels: christian life, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 01, 2008 > 9:35 AM wisdom of the desert > two There are several other Merton quotes from the book that I'll share, but today I thought I'd give you one of the sayings from a Desert Father himself. This is the first one in the book. I read it two or three times and it hit me as gigantically profound. It felt as if it was directed at me personally. Perhaps you'll feel the same. Here you go... Abbot Pambo questioned Abbot Anthony saying: What ought I to do? And the elder replied: Have no confidence in your own virtuousness. Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Control your tongue and your belly.Holy moley! Each one of the three short sentence statements that Abbot Anthony replied with has a scope far beyond the length of the words. Distilled wisdom. It's just straight to the core. I keep, for some odd reason, returning to the middle statement: Do not worry about a thing once it has been done. Oh my - that one is hitting me right where I live. technorati tags > desert fathers, thomas merton Labels: christian life, merton, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | September 30, 2008 > 8:48 AM wisdom of the desert > one > quies I picked up a little book a week or so ago - Thomas Merton's Wisdom of the Desert. It's one I've seen quotes from here and there but have never owned. I'm already glad I found it. It's not very big at all but nuggets abound. Here's the first among several quotes that I'll share with you. He's speaking of the Desert Fathers of Christian monasticism, mostly hermits, and why they went into the desert... ...the proximate end of all this striving was "purity of heart" – a clear unobstructed vision of the true state of affairs, an intuitive grasp of one's own inner reality as anchored, or rather lost, in God through Christ. The fruit of this was quies: "rest." Not rest of the body, nor even fixation of the exalted spirit upon some point or summit of light. The Desert Fathers were not, for the most part, ecstatics. Those who were have left some strange and misleading stories behind them to confuse the true issue. The "rest" which these men sought was simply the sanity and poise of a being that no longer has to look at itself because it is carried away by the perfection of freedom that is in it. And caried where? Wherever Love itself, or the Divine Spirit, sees fit to go. Rest, then, was a kind of simple nowhereness and no-mindedness that had lost all preoccupation with a false or limited "self." At peace in the possession of a sublime "Nothing" the spirit laid hold, in secret, upon the "All" – without trying to know what it possessed.Quies - I like that. Rest - think Sabbath - THE Sabbath. This is the fullness of the experience of our Salvation. Resting inside our identity in Him. And it's not just a chosen mindset. I mean, this "rest" is not simply our choosing to say to ourselves that we are resting in Christ. I think it's much more than that. Perhaps we should start that way, but also realize that what we're doing in saying that is beginning a path of real and substantive change that will end (this is our hope) in true quies, true rest. I've said things like this before, about how unnatural our state is now, having been cut off from God's Life - having to follow a way back into a union that we were created for to begin with. It sort of requires a bit of preoccupation, of "anxious concern" or "fear and trembling." We know this. What I'm afraid we have forgotten to some degree is that this is not the ideal state, this striving preoccupation. This is not intended to be our ongoing way, as if that were the goal. We treat it that way, though. We get to this point of watching ourselves, what we do and don't do, how we act, making sure that this and that are in order, all the while glancing back and forth up to God to make sure He's watching us too - "see, see, I'm doing it, you see me - watch me Daddy!" That's fine for a child, but if we get to be 30 years old and we're still constantly glancing back and yelling, "watch me Daddy, watch!" - we generally go to therapy. It would be good if, fairly early on, we came to at least the realization that we are on a journey in a direction - that we are headed somewhere and as we go, things change and grow. If we knew this from the get-go, maybe we wouldn't despise the change so much. We would less likely think that where we happen to be at any point along the way is the destination. There are unfortunate consequences to believing that you're "there" when you're not. What's this go to do with Desert monks and quies? Good question - here's the answer: They were about getting to that "place" where God could transform them. Their search was to find out how to tap into His ever-flowing Stream of Life and be carried away by it, into the great, deep ocean of union with Him. That quies business is about getting to a point where you're not having to watch yourself so closely because you've been changed into the kind of person who's nature guides your steps as naturally as it always did, but now in the Way of God. Imagine not having to strive to be or do good, but just doing it because that's how and what you are. This is what God wants for us. Of course that takes a while, so we should settle in for the trip. technorati tags > desert fathers, thomas merton Labels: christian life, merton, spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | September 08, 2008 > 8:47 AM i will never forget your precepts An observation from this morning's Mid Morning prayer: As I read/prayed the Psalm, I found myself thinking, "is that it?" Here's a sample, from Psalm 119... I will never forget your preceptsOf course I know the context, when and where this Psalm was written. Still, we pray it now, as Christians, as those on the other side of the torn veil, and it causes a little pause. If all we have is seeking precepts, we are in bad shape. You'd think, by listening to and watching the lives of some of our Christian siblings, that, indeed, this is all we have - seeking and knowing His precepts, and keeping them. Therefore, we have life. As is also in the Office each day... O God, come to our assistance! What is the deep reality of our Christianity? What is it? Seeing laws and keeping them?? O Lord, make haste to help us! Certainly there are those things that we must and must not do - but why? Because of fear of punishment? St. Augustine said, and rightly I believe, many years ago, that if we do good for fear of punishment, we are not sons but slaves, but at least we should do this until Love comes and shows us the real way. The answer to why should be to consider the second reading from yesterday's Mass in the lectionary, which ends, "Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law." In essence, Love is our only precept. And Love is only truly possessed through our union with Him in Christ. Again, our cooperation is in order at all times, internally and externally saying "yes" to His Love, to His transforming presence in us. But that IS what it's all about, His Love, which is really Himself, making us like Him. God please forbid our faith remain or become a mere keeping of precepts. Labels: mysticism, spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | August 31, 2008 > 11:45 AM dark night revisited Listening to Michael Spencer talk about what he's calling "spiritual depression" this morning has made me think of some things that have gone on in my own life for a long time and especially fairly recently. This kind of thing has also been called a dark night of the soul experience. It feels down. It feels bad, really bad. Sure, there are absolutely depressions which are a result of chemical imbalances as well as very dysfunctional life-experiences that damage our insides. These things are real and I've dealt with some of this as well. Sometimes it can be hard to distinguish one from the other - a spiritual depression from a mental or physiological depression. They often feel the same and we're so used to not talking about the dark nights in our day and time, we may dismiss this without even considering that how we're feeling may be a direct result of God being at work in our souls. I'm interweaving with the Internet Monk today - connecting these thoughts with another post of his about finding spiritual direction, the need for it, etc. The connection I'm seeing here is that it is very difficult to discern what's going on in our own spiritual insides by ourselves. Sometimes we're so punch-drunk because of it, we aren't able to see or hear properly. We need help. We need the help of someone who's been through what we're going through, who's more mature. We need the other members of the Body of Christ. We need community. God did not design us to be alone and to have to figure all this out on our own. Unfortunately, we don't all have ideal access to available, mature brothers and sisters, or to any sort of what one might call "real community." We may be "in Church" but have no real community relationships to speak of. That's too many of us to talk about and if God weeps, He's probably weeping over that. I should have put this quote at the beginning, but now is good enough. This is my favorite quote, I think, of St. John of the Cross's Dark Night of the Soul. It speaks directly, albeit allegorically, to all of our spiritual lives. We DO go through this, whether we realize it or not. Not realizing it is sometimes a part of our problem. This is partly due to our closed hearts as well as to our imperfect and broken circumstances. So, read this and meditate on it. Think about how this fits in with what you may be going through, or have gone through. Think about it now because you WILL go through it. "...even as is the tender child by its loving mother, who warms it with the heat of her bosom and nurtures it with sweet milk and soft and pleasant food, and carries it and caresses it in her arms; but, as the child grows bigger, the mother gradually ceases caressing it, and, hiding her tender love, puts bitter aloes upon her sweet breast, sets down the child from her arms and makes it walk upon its feet, so that it may lose the habits of a child and betake itself to more important and substantial occupations." Labels: spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 12, 2008 > 9:30 PM God told me Sounds like it's going to be a big 'ole thought out post doesn't it? Ah well, sorry to disappoint. Just thinking - thoughts rolling around in my head and I came up with this. Here's an interesting list of people who had a bad case of the "God told me's":
So, of course! But of course (also), not everything you think you hear is God. Not every leading you believe is from Him, is indeed, from Him. Be about having a relationship with Him, with and in His People. Be about the business of being formed by Him. Don't sit around being about the business of "hearing" this or that all the time. We hear Him best as mature believers, as well-formed spiritual adults. So, don't be crazy about the thing, but also, don't be overly rational and skeptical about it either. I'm pretty certain He's always talking. Our "job" is to get in the way of what turns us into the kind of people who can always be hearing. Labels: spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 30, 2008 > 10:33 AM most sacred heart  This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will place my law within them, and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. –Jeremiah 31:33 Today is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. I like it. I like that particular icon of the Sacred Heart a lot. You can find it here. A detailed description of the icon with all it's symbolism explained can be found here. Very interesting. Here is a little piece of that description, about the image of the Sacred Heart itself, in the center... The Sacred Heart in the center of the image is topped with a flame signifying God’s passionate love for humankind. The heart bears within it the symbols of Christ’s Passion; the cross, the crown of thorns, the nails, the spear that pierced His side, and the reed with a sponge. The heart shows a slash on the side from the spear, symbolizing the Lord’s anguish caused by the rejection of His Word by His people. The chalice is positioned to catch the Blood of Christ, brought to us in the Eucharist.Great image - just a very helpful devotion to the deep, loving heart of Jesus - a great way of meditating on how much He loves us and what that love did/does for us. The small Latin phrase at the bottom, which you can't see in this image well enough, says cor ad cor loquitor - hearts speaks to heart. It would do us well to regularly meditate on this amazing truth, that His desire is for His Heart to "speak" directly to our hearts - to transform us into His Image. technorati tags > sacred heart, jesus Labels: catholic, spiritual formation 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 24, 2008 > 2:27 PM to the least of these You know, you've heard that Scripture around, "whoever does it to the least of these has done it to me" - that one. We hear this a lot in the context of helping the poor - help the poor because we are helping Christ in them. We are ministering to Jesus in the poor, or to anyone who is downtrodden or marginalized in some way. That's the concept. It's a very interesting concept. I certainly see it, and it's not unscriptural, surely. Jesus said these things to people, to us. As I was thinking about this the other day, I began to wonder if there wasn't more to it than that. I've thought this in the back of my mind many times along the way but have never quite brought it to the front enough to write about it like this. Let's begin like this: It's easy to love Christ, to love Jesus. Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. He gave His whole life for us. He existed as a human being entirely for us! What's not to love? If I simply train myself to see that I am loving Jesus as I do something for some human person here on earth, then it will be much easier. I will even feel more of a pull or draw to do things like that. I mean, that's Jesus lying there in the gutter... for Christ's sake! And that's fine, for what it is. What I'm wondering though, and leaning heavily towards, is that this concept was given to us only as a beginning, not as the end-all of our reasoning for action. "Love your neighbor as you love yourself." Remember that one? Sure you do. So do the ancient Israelites. They read it in the Torah long before God took on human flesh. The concept then was to love your friends, your countrymen and hate your enemies. That wasn't quite the God-created ideal now was it? No. God was dealing with us where we were - and, as always, leading us on to where He desired for us to eventually be. How about this? "Love one another as I have loved you." Now that's another shade of blue altogether in the sky above. The ozone has been cleaned up and all the pollution pulled away for that statement. We're getting at the ideal here. To love as Jesus loved is quite a leap from merely loving as you might love yourself. It's beyond what is presently considered human. All this is getting somewhere. Back to the seeing Christ in the poor thing: What if God actually wanted us to love people for who they really were? I'm serious about this now. I believe God wants us to purely love the nasty, torn up people that we are looking at AS nasty, torn up people, not just as a mask for Jesus. He wants us to love AS Jesus (as HE) loved/loves, not just for the sake of Jesus. He wants us to become people like Jesus so that our love is on the same order as the Love of God - because we are breathing His Breath as Jesus did. He wants this to become natural for us, much as being selfish has been natural to us thus far. I'm saying this has to go beyond, "I'm doing what God directed us to do." I'm saying this really needs to eventually go beyond, "I'm doing this in order to love Christ in the unlovable." I believe what God set out to do here is to make us into people who don't need masked motives in order to be good. He is trying to make us fully good, period. Not so that we can do good - that will happen because we are good - but because that's how He created us. If all we ever do is directed by a motive of "being holy" or "being obedient to God" - there is generally a "...so I... don't get in trouble - don't go to hell - can get to heaven when I die - get rewarded for doing the right thing - get my prayers answered - I, I, I..." It's sort of inevitable that we end up with a sort of selfish motive. Can we do something simply because it's the right thing to do, even if we don't feel like it? Certainly, and we should. But we shouldn't see this as the goal or the ideal of what Christianity is supposed to be. We shouldn't look at that as just the way it is and live there. We should understand this is where we may happen to be now, but God is actually calling us to be like Him, like Jesus - not just for ourselves, but for everything, for it all. We're called to be recreated, not just to do what we're told. Our goal for ourselves, for everyone, should be the same as God's goal for us all. I believe His goal for us is that we should see as Jesus sees because we have been made who Jesus is. I'll clarify briefly. His goal for us is that we be people who are fully integrated with His Eternal Life, people who, when we walk down the street and see someone in need, have compassion because compassion and love is a part of the fabric of our being. How did Jesus do this? Did He see Himself in poor people or sick people or spiritually crippled people? Did he help them simply in order to fulfill His duty to the Father so He could be rewarded with the Resurrection? I'm thinking not. I think He saw and was compassionate because that's who He was. He loved people because He was integrated with Love Itself. So, if we love others as Jesus loved them, we will be loving them AS people - often as nasty, no-count, filthy, sinful people, not because somehow "they are Jesus," but because somehow we are Jesus. And I don't mean just acting on His behalf, I mean because we have become transformed, loving people and that's what people were created to do, to be. technorati tags > helping the poor, christian holiness, love one another, transformation Labels: spiritual formation, theology 0 comments
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I am now officially at least a semi-regular daily Mass going nerd. I bought myself a 
