"This realization of your own unworthiness will drive out of your heart all unreasonable interest in other people's affairs and criticism of their actions, and will compel you to look at yourself alone, as though there were no one in existence but God and yourself. You should consider yourself more vile and wretched than any … Continue reading adesse.
Category: What I Like
Pray for me…
I first became aware of Josèmaria Escrivá's teachings in a little movie called The DaVinci Code. However, as we all know, that film is a highly entertaining one built upon a teeny tiny foundation of pseudo- truth and an overwhelming amount of fiction, fantasy, and "what if"? In the past few years I have discovered … Continue reading Pray for me…
adesse.
This compelling love, steeped in silence, is required of every soul. This obedience to the present moment is, moreover, an act whereby they dedicate themselves totally to the external will of God as a matter of course. This is their rule, method, law and way. Pure, simple and sure, it is a straight path along … Continue reading adesse.
adesse.
A little lifting-up of the heart is enough; a short remembrance of God, an interior act of worship, made in haste and sword in hand, are prayers which, short as they may be, are nevertheless most pleasing to God. ~~unknown
A cuppa tea with… Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer
Thomas suggests instead of seeking a "method" of prayer, we should choose a "life" of prayer. It should be intentional behavior to life and not akin to the enthusiasm of acquiring a new skill. God calls us to life with HIm; prayer is that response. In meditation we face the harsh realities of ourselves and … Continue reading A cuppa tea with… Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer
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"In dwelling, live close to the ground. In thinking, keep to the simple. In conflict, be fair and generous. In governing, don't try to control. In work, do what you enjoy. In family life, be completely present." ~~Tao, 8.
A cuppa tea with… Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer
Thomas mentions the various forms of contemplative prayer including psalmodia, lectio, oratio, contemplatio. These prayers are a way to turn from the world to God, but "to separate meditation from prayer, reading, and contemplation, is to falsify our picture of the monastic way of prayer." Singing hymns and songs of praise, sharing in the liturgy, and … Continue reading A cuppa tea with… Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer
adesse.
The future, good or ill, was not forgotten, but ceased to have any power over the present. Health and hope grew strong in them, and they were content with each good day as it came, taking pleasure in every meal, and in every word and song. ~~J.R.R.Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
adesse.
We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners, all our life! ~~Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer
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So whatever form of prayer, meditation, or activity leads you to the highest and purest desire for Him, and to the deepest experience of Him, will be the means by which you may best seek and find Him. ~~Walter Hilton, The Ladder of Perfection, 57.
Couldn’t Be More Clear
...that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands... ~~1 Thessalonians 4:11
Ouch!
"Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; give me life in your ways." ~Psalm 119:37.
adesse.
We do not want to be beginners. But let us be convinced of the fact that we will never be anything else but beginners, all our life! ~Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer.
adesse.
That our thoughts spoil everything all the trouble begins with them. We must be careful to reject them immediately [when] we see that they are neither necessary to our occupation at the moment nor conducive to our salvation, and return to our communion with God, wherein is our only good. ~Br. Lawrence, The Practice … Continue reading adesse.
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It is only when one makes a relentless and unswervingly concrete commitment to prayer that it becomes possible for God even to begin to act significantly in that life. ~Fr. John-Julian, "The Dance of the 13 Veils"
adesse.
This realization of your own unworthiness will drive out of your heart people's affairs and criticism of their actions, and will compel you to look at yourself alone, as though there were no one in existence but God and yourself. ~Walter Hilton, The Ladder of Perfection.
my fault, my fault, my most Grievous fault
Nestled amongst the major prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel lies the small but powerful book of Lamentations. While the prophets offer the dooming judgment of Almighty God upon Israel and Judah, trapped within the chaos and devastation of their own making, Lamentations allows a glimpse of the raw, exposed emotions of Jerusalem … Continue reading my fault, my fault, my most Grievous fault
adesse.
Practicing Present-ness. "Growth in prayer is growth in simplicity, and as the powers of the soul become united with the will in the act of love, which is prayer, [the] method of operation alters and becomes less deliberate, until [those in prayer] appear to be doing nothing, a fact which often causes much heart-searching to the … Continue reading adesse.
adesse.
Practicing Present-ness. "That our thoughts spoil everything, all the trouble begins with them. We must be careful to reject them immediately [when] we see that they are neither necessary to our occupation at the moment nor conducive to our salvation, and return to our communion with God, wherein is our only good." ~Br. Lawrence, … Continue reading adesse.
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Practicing Present-ness. "The heroic minute. It's time to get up, on the dot! Without hesitation, a supernatural thought and . . . up! The heroic minute; here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does not weaken your body." ~Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #206.
Keep Out!
If we spend all our energies defining what we AREN'T and vehemently defending our side of the line, we will not only alienate ourselves but also find it difficult to define who we ARE. And if we've been so militant in our description of who we AREN'T, given our behavior, will there even be anyone … Continue reading Keep Out!
Ouch!
"But busyness may sometimes be an excuse for laziness. As Eugene Peterson observes, busy people are too lazy to take control of things, so they fit themselves into other people's demands. Activities can be an excuse for spiritual inertia or acedia, an unwillingness to accept God as God, that is, his absolute claims on … Continue reading Ouch!
What You Don’t Know
John Donne penned: "No man is an island, Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main…" There is so much negativity in the world and in the community. There can be so much that can come against us that seeks to tear us down, hurt us, diminish … Continue reading What You Don’t Know
Revelation 21:21
"And the great street of the city was gold, like pure transparent glass." NIV If the great street of the city is paved with the precious gold of a fried egg, it truly WILL be Heaven, indeed!!!
Clear as….
"The common nature of several individuals is distinct from what individuates them as different individuals." Allen & Springsted
Fill ‘er up!
"Fill me with your Holy Spirit." "Make me more like you." "Show me your way." These are all phrases that I've said in my life at some point or another. Heartfelt. Impassioned. Sincere. But these are inaccurate. In order to be like Christ, the divine, I must be empty. Void. Bare. Nothing. If I … Continue reading Fill ‘er up!
Eject! Eject!
"The heroic minute. It's time to get up, on the dot! Without hesitation, a supernatural thought and . . . up! The heroic minute: here you have a mortification that strengthens your will and does not weaken your body." Josemaria Escriva, The Way, #206.
Is it really so difficult?
"I know I got really, really angry. And I kinda feel bad about that. But they really, really pissed me off! And I was justified to get angry -- I really was justified! *hands on hips for emphasis* I don't think I should have to apologize. Well, I'll just get them a small gift instead. … Continue reading Is it really so difficult?
AA-CHOO!!
I wonder... Why don't we sneeze in our sleep? We yawn. We poot. We scratch. We talk. We move. Some walk. Some eat. But we don't sneeze. Curious.
Entropic Deterioration
Merriam-Webster: entropy -- a degradation or running down or a trend to disorder. Chaos is a living, breathing, viable being hell-bent on one purpose: to devour, to consume, to obliterate. We arise in the morning facing a new dawn, a fresh chance, a blank slate. Clear. Barrier-less. Free. Smoke creeps along the edges of the … Continue reading Entropic Deterioration
