Wednesday, April 30, 2008
nature
Monday, April 28, 2008
be kind
Be kinder than necessary,
for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
How old are you?
Age is irrelevant --
peace is not the preserve of the elderly or sedate.
peace is not the preserve of the elderly or sedate.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
What do we feed first?
I can't talk religion to a man with bodily hunger in his eyes.
-- George Bernard Shaw
-- George Bernard Shaw
Thursday, April 24, 2008
I don't have a choice
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."
-- John 6:68
-- John 6:68
Monday, April 21, 2008
Christ in us
"He remains in me and I in him" (John 6:56). If Christ remains in us, of what else could we have need? What could we lack? If Christ remains in us what more can we want? He is both our host and our dwelling. How happy we are to be the place where he lives! What joy that we ourselves are the abode of such a host! What could lack those whom he thus treats? What do those who shine with such a light have in common with wickedness? What evil could stand up to such good? There is nothing else capable of remaining in us or coming against us when Christ unites himself to us in this way. He surrounds us and penetrates our deepest selves; he is our protection and refuge; he hems us in on every side. He is both our dwelling and the host who wholly fills his dwelling place.
-- Saint Nicholas Cabasilas (c.1320-1363), Greek lay theologian
-- Saint Nicholas Cabasilas (c.1320-1363), Greek lay theologian
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Lectio Divina
It wasn't until I started visiting Blue Cloud Abbey that I learned the meaning of lectio divina. For a good explanation and a practical application of this practice, read Abbot Thomas' comments here.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
the nature of God
Adam asked God, "Why do you let yourself be disobeyed?"
"So that creation will understand that God is free," God replied.
-- Juris Rubenis Finding God in a Tangled World
"So that creation will understand that God is free," God replied.
-- Juris Rubenis Finding God in a Tangled World
Friday, April 18, 2008
love
O my Jesus! What is your answer to all my follies? Is there a soul more little, more powerless than mine? Nevertheless, even because of my weakness, it has pleased you, O Lord, to grant my little, childish desires and you desire, today, to grant other desires that are greater than the universe… I understood that love comprised all vocations, that love was everything, that it embraced all times and places… in a word, that it was eternal!… My vocation, at last I have found it… my vocation is Love!
-- Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carmelite
-- Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus (1873-1897), Carmelite
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.
-- Psalm 46:10
Thanks for the photo, Mike. I'm not sure I can make the connection between this display and the actual text. But perhaps the only thing that matters is that God's Word is displayed to the people.
Monday, April 14, 2008
do good
People will forget tomorrow the good you do today.
Do good anyway!
Do good anyway!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Easter
Yes, we are still in the Easter season -- and we will continue to be until May 11 -- Pentecost.
We often tend to put our emphasis on Christmas -- yet, it is Easter that is the magnificent triumph of Jesus' time among us.
It is Easter that guarantees our victory over death.
It is Easter that gives us the assurance of eternity with God in heaven.
We often tend to put our emphasis on Christmas -- yet, it is Easter that is the magnificent triumph of Jesus' time among us.
It is Easter that guarantees our victory over death.
It is Easter that gives us the assurance of eternity with God in heaven.
Carmelites of Indianapolis
I was saddened to learn that the Carmelites of Indianapolis will be moving and closing their web site which has been a great inspiration to me. Take a look at it here before it is too late.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Anselm
When I became an oblate of St. Benedict through Blue Cloud Abbey, I was told that I could choose a new name as an oblate. After several days' deliberation, I chose Anselm, after St. Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), a philosopher, theologian, and archbishop. Here is one of his prayers which I wholeheartedly adopt as my own:
Most merciful Lord, turn my lukewarmness into a fervent love of you. Most gentle Lord, my prayer tends towards this -- that by remembering and meditating on the good things you have done I may be enkindled with your love. Your goodness, Lord, created me; your mercy cleansed what you had created from original sin; your patience has hitherto borne with me, fed me, waited for me, when after I had lost the grace of my baptism I wallowed in many sordid sins. You wait, good Lord, for my amendment. My soul waits for the inbreathing of your grace in order to be sufficiently penitent to lead a better life. Amen.
Most merciful Lord, turn my lukewarmness into a fervent love of you. Most gentle Lord, my prayer tends towards this -- that by remembering and meditating on the good things you have done I may be enkindled with your love. Your goodness, Lord, created me; your mercy cleansed what you had created from original sin; your patience has hitherto borne with me, fed me, waited for me, when after I had lost the grace of my baptism I wallowed in many sordid sins. You wait, good Lord, for my amendment. My soul waits for the inbreathing of your grace in order to be sufficiently penitent to lead a better life. Amen.
Friday, April 11, 2008
understanding God
Everyone who understands God is mistaken.
* * *
God does not scold us for having imperfect ideas about God.
-- Rev. Juris Rubenis Finding God in a Tangled World
* * *
God does not scold us for having imperfect ideas about God.
-- Rev. Juris Rubenis Finding God in a Tangled World
Friday, April 04, 2008
Blue Cloud Abbey
I'm taking a few days off with a couple of friends for a retreat at Blue Cloud Abbey. Look for my posts to resume next Wednesday.
May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
-- 1 Peter 1:2b
-- 1 Peter 1:2b
Thursday, April 03, 2008
the monastery
Of this there is no doubt, our age and Protestantism in general may need the monastery again, or wish it were there. The "monastery" is an essential dialectical element in Christianity. We therefore need it out there like a navigation buoy at sea in order to see where we are, even though I myself would not enter it. But if there really is true Christianity in every generation, there must be individuals who have this need...
-- Soren Kirkegaard
-- Soren Kirkegaard
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
too poor or too rich
Nobody is so poor that he/she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he/she has nothing to receive.
-- Pope John-Paul II
-- Pope John-Paul II
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
prayer
May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half truths,
and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deep in your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation
of all people and the earth,
so that you will be able to work
for justice, equity, and peace.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think
that you can make a difference in the world,
so you will do the things that others say
cannot be done.
-- Sr. Rita Steinhagen, CSJ
at easy answers, half truths,
and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deep in your heart.
May God bless you with anger
at injustice, oppression, and exploitation
of all people and the earth,
so that you will be able to work
for justice, equity, and peace.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think
that you can make a difference in the world,
so you will do the things that others say
cannot be done.
-- Sr. Rita Steinhagen, CSJ
