A classic gathered community of relatives and friends, grieving together, illuminates the humanity that binds us all. Grieving and sorrowing also disturbs our perspective – brokenness and blame, belief and benevolence.
Let me try to sum it up and describe it in this way. Beginner’s mind is a readiness to always be in awe, to always be excited. We see it in children and in people who don’t filter everything through the brain. Beginner’s mind is one’s mind before the hurts of life have made us cautious and self-protective.
Jesus said, ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in me that bears no fruit he cuts away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, to make it bear even more.’ (John 15:1–2)
The opposite of resentment is gratitude (from the Latin gratia = favour). Gratitude is more than an occasional ‘thanks be to God.’ Gratitude is the attitude that enables us to let go of anger, receive the hidden gifts of those we want to serve, and make these gifts visible to the community as a source of celebration. Gratitude is at the heart of celebration and ministry.
Lent offers an opportunity to look at our personal life – heart and soul, mind and body - to honestly review how we are living, why we are doing what we are doing, how we are managing, or honestly, how we are not managing.
Even the two greatest commandments, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and love your neighbour as yourself, are on paper, fairly simple. But obviously, when put into practice it’s a lot harder than it seems.
As we contemplate the Beatitudes in Matthew’s gospel this month, the wisdom of Henri Nouwen can help us understand the compassion of Jesus.
Scripture as validated by experience, and experience as validated by Tradition, are good scales for one’s spiritual worldview.
New Year’s resolutions are offered with the best intentions, though so often have the worst follow through. We may aim too high, or expect to implement things that have previously passed us by in our busyness.
In their speculations about who Jesus was, his contemporaries agreed that, whatever else, he was a prophet (Mark 8:27–28; Luke 7:16).
All claims to the contrary, Jesus did not preach from a place of rigid binaries and judgments but from a place of continual becoming. He befriended outcasts and lived on the margins of society while staying in relationship with wealthy and powerful people, some of whom became patrons and disciples.
All claims to the contrary, Jesus did not preach from a place of rigid binaries and judgments but from a place of continual becoming. He befriended outcasts and lived on the margins of society while staying in relationship with wealthy and powerful people, some of whom became patrons and disciples.
‘Nobody is so poor that he/she has nothing to give, and nobody is so rich that he/she has nothing to receive.’ These words by Pope John-Paul II, offer a powerful direction for all who want to work for peace.
What a statement of commitment and choice! Let us walk in the light which the Lord gives us!
The words “gratitude” and “grace” come from the same root word, gratia in Latin. . . . “Grace” is a theological word, one with profound spiritual meaning. Grace means “unmerited favor.”
Once we know that the entire physical world around us, all of creation, is both the hiding place and the revelation place for God, this world becomes home, safe, enchanted, offering grace to any who look deeply. —Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ
On All Saints Day we recall the great cloud or crowd of witnesses who have gone before, who are with us now, and who will be beyond our time. On All Souls Day we remember those who have passed away. What a wonderful annual reminder that God’s love reaches across all time and space.
Wealthy, corrupt and unscrupulous. Shocking the gathered crowd and righteous folk. Unsettling Law, tradition and culture. Sharing food and wine as if friends or even family. Why would he do that? I mean Jesus.
Many people have observed that the human condition seems burdened with a dualistic way of understanding reality. This divided nature of our minds creates a spiritual warfare within us. It creates a conflict between sin and righteousness, which we often lose.
The message is clear. God has written it on our hearts. Persevere in sharing the good news of God’s grace and love, through our words and actions.