Month: September 2023

You still don’t know me? John 14:9

To feel comfortable with the incredible presence of God is precisely the challenge that Jesus had when He began his ministry as related to us in the Gospels. The first thing Jesus seems to have done in his preaching career was to call us to repent. This is a word that means not to do penance in the sense of some external practice, but to change the direction in which we are looking for happiness, implying that where we are looking for happiness is not the place where it can be found, and certainly not where God is to be found. 

If you seek him, he will be found. 1 Chronicles, 28:9

As we know from the gift of science and the work of Galileo, the earth is not the center of the universe. Given that revelation, we should be led to the realization that “I’m really not the center of the universe” either. However, most of us see the world from an “I” perspective or the “false self”.  But seeing through this lens, we don’t see the world as it really is. We see it inside out, upside down, or not at all. This is a serious situation that has existed since Adam and Eve. It’s what might be called the human predicament or the human condition.

Who, O God, is like you? (Psalm 71:19) When we say God, we don’t really mean God, we mean our idea of God.

Are you feeling a nudge to deepen your relationship with God?  Prayer allows us to give ourselves to this relationship, sharing and exchanging our most intimate thoughts and feelings on both mental and spiritual levels.  This practice helps us know the divine in our life and see the banquet of love before us.  It calls us to the fullness of life. 

God always gives us what we need and sometimes that is a good laugh.  

God is always there providing a gentle nudge. He is calling, trying to get your attention through that uncomfortable pain in your soul.  He whispers an invitation out of the pain towards something deeper and truer.  To trust Him.

The Rule of St. Benedict revolves around five practices:  Prayer, Work, Study, Hospitality, and Renewal. Prayer is the foundation to the monastic life and calling, and can be a constant part of the life of non-monastics as well. St. Benedict talks about how our work can be an encounter with the sacred, sanctifying us, providing dignity, and a sense of well-being along with earning a decent wage.

A lot of the spiritual journey is learning to get sober, to wake up to our true nature and get over our soul-sickness.  We can’t do this on our own, despite how hard we try. The only way to do this is to call on the grace of God and invite Him in to accompany us on our journey.  

To be the change we want to see in the world, we must see the value of what is in front of us.  God exists in gift form. If we want his life within, we have to learn to give it away. Think of everything we have received from God:  life, breath, being, powers. Because they come from God, they are meant to become gifts. If we cling to them, they don’t grow and in fact can wither away. 

We have been taught by God to love one another.

1 Thessalonians 4:9-11

These words struck me this morning during my time reflecting on scripture. It doesn’t say we will be taught to love or that we haven’t been taught to love but that we have been taught to love.