A feather from a mockingbird
Fell gently from the sky.
It perched upon a blade of grass
And gently caught my eye.
I dared not touch my little friend
So peaceful in its rest.
Such simple things in life you see
Bares beauty at its best.
~~~~~
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
The Walk
i walked a trail.
it led me there.
and there i was.
and there i could be.
and here i am.
do i go back?
do i go forward?
do i stay?
what is there?
what was there?
what is here?
i think.
i feel.
i live.
i love.
i see.
~~~~~
it led me there.
and there i was.
and there i could be.
and here i am.
do i go back?
do i go forward?
do i stay?
what is there?
what was there?
what is here?
i think.
i feel.
i live.
i love.
i see.
~~~~~
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Light of Love
The light of love is shining forth from the heart of Jesus. Dwell forever in the warmth of this light's embrace.
~~~~~
~~~~~
A Christmas Wish
May your mind be ever open to the tugging of your soul coming through your heart.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Help Holy People Stay Holy
The sacrament of Holy Orders does not make the recipient instantly IMMUNE to the fallen condition of mankind. Striving to overcome our fallenness is a 24x7 lifetime struggle for EVERYONE.
Therefore, just as controls are put in place to help honest people stay honest, so too do we owe it to holy people to implement controls to help them stay holy.
~~~~~
Therefore, just as controls are put in place to help honest people stay honest, so too do we owe it to holy people to implement controls to help them stay holy.
~~~~~
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saints and Miracles
Have you ever wondered why God wills miracles to occur in response to petitions made to saints?
The answer is this - miracles are one way by which God VALIDATES for us the truth (as exemplified in the lives, words and works of saints) that acts of selfless love is the only way to love God, the true way back to Him and the true way to experience joy and peace in this fallen existence.
Therefore, if God wills a miracle to occur in response to your petition to a saint, then consider this miracle as a direct invitation from God for you to study the life, words and works of that saint in order to find your way to loving God and to loving Him profoundly.
To find your profound love for God is the greatest miracle.
I wish that miracle for you.
~~~~~
The answer is this - miracles are one way by which God VALIDATES for us the truth (as exemplified in the lives, words and works of saints) that acts of selfless love is the only way to love God, the true way back to Him and the true way to experience joy and peace in this fallen existence.
Therefore, if God wills a miracle to occur in response to your petition to a saint, then consider this miracle as a direct invitation from God for you to study the life, words and works of that saint in order to find your way to loving God and to loving Him profoundly.
To find your profound love for God is the greatest miracle.
I wish that miracle for you.
~~~~~
Remorse and Guilt
Remorse and guilt are like identical twins; we sometimes confuse one for the other. Nonetheless, they are quite distinguishable if you know their differentiating traits. For the former is steeped in love and the latter is steeped in fear.
Does guilt bring any real value to humankind? As my spiritual sister Gwen Lily correctly observed, it is of value only if it brings about remorse and (subsequently) a renewed determination to strive harder to live a life that more completely reflects our love for God.
~~~~~
Does guilt bring any real value to humankind? As my spiritual sister Gwen Lily correctly observed, it is of value only if it brings about remorse and (subsequently) a renewed determination to strive harder to live a life that more completely reflects our love for God.
~~~~~
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Stormy Times
The stormy times in our life are but preludes that enhance and sweeten the calm and sunshine just beyond. Learn to lie low so as to minimize their disturbing effects as they pass through your midst.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Friday, December 17, 2010
Smarts
Smart is not so smart without heart. It might seem that too much heart is perhaps not so smart. But in truth, to be all heart is the path to God.
What are smarts for, you ask? Smarts are primarily for the fulfillment of our self-oriented desires.
It would be "smart" to love God. However, God does not desire for us to be "smart" about loving Him. Rather, God calls us to return and be true to our essence. Our essence is none other than selfless love. This is so because we (our soul in particular) are made in the image of God and He is selfless love.
~~~~~
What are smarts for, you ask? Smarts are primarily for the fulfillment of our self-oriented desires.
It would be "smart" to love God. However, God does not desire for us to be "smart" about loving Him. Rather, God calls us to return and be true to our essence. Our essence is none other than selfless love. This is so because we (our soul in particular) are made in the image of God and He is selfless love.
~~~~~
Mind, Heart and Soul
The heart is the gateway to the soul. The eyes reveal the soul. The mind must pass through the heart to reconnect with the soul. The soul touches the mind through the heart.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Monday, November 29, 2010
Self-Evident Truths
Self-evident truths are truths that our spirit knows intimately. Our mind somehow senses the undeniable truthfulness of these because our spirit knows these to be so.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Random Thoughts on Selfless Love
These are random tidbits posted on my Facebook wall over time that I will recompile some day into a coherent and complete thought. For the meantime, I transfer them here unedited so that readers can already reflect on them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There eventually comes a moment in the journey of a human being when only that which is eternal matters. May you be completely with God when that moment comes in your life.
ALL acts of selfless love are eternal.
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There eventually comes a moment in the journey of a human being when only that which is eternal matters. May you be completely with God when that moment comes in your life.
ALL acts of selfless love are eternal.
~~~~~
Random Thoughts on Morality
These are random tidbits posted on my Facebook wall over time that I will recompile some day into a coherent and complete thought. For the meantime, I transfer them here unedited so that readers can already reflect on them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love supercedes and trancends morality.
Morality is not the endpoint of life; love is.
God is not a moral being; God is love. You, who are made in the image of God (in the image of love) are called to love; you are not called to morality.
Do not reduce God and yourself to the mediocrity of morality.
~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Love supercedes and trancends morality.
Morality is not the endpoint of life; love is.
God is not a moral being; God is love. You, who are made in the image of God (in the image of love) are called to love; you are not called to morality.
Do not reduce God and yourself to the mediocrity of morality.
~~~~~
Thursday, November 4, 2010
The Most Important One
The person you wish to be with will be so at some moment in the future. Don't let the anticipation of such block you from realizing the prime importance of the one you are momentarily with.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Creation and Evolution
Here is the truth about creation as revealed by God in His answer to my question to Him concerning the truth about Adam and Eve and evolution.
Let’s start by establishing a common viewpoint concerning evolution. The theory of evolution is an INTERPRETATION (perhaps a perception even) of scientifically observed phenomenon in the physical realm. Even scientists acknowledge that the interpretive nature of the theory (any theory) will never make it an established FACT.
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the theory of evolution is indeed factual and true. By this, I mean to say that all living things evolved over time from much simpler forms of cells into whatever collective complexity of cells they are at the present time and that they CONTINUE to evolve. Assume furthermore (again, for the sake of argument) that there exists a God, in the form of a spirit (in order words, not consisting of any physicality), who created everything in the physical realm.
Who are we to say that God did not intend for creation to unfold in an evolutionary manner? If evolution is indeed true, then evolution is God’s way of creating. Evolution is therefore NOT contrary to the concept of God creating everything.
Now let’s move on further to the origins of human beings.
The first human being was created when God took a physical form and MERGED it with a spirit. He then took a part of the newly formed first human being and merged that with another spirit. From that point on (after the fall of humankind) every other human being was formed at the moment when a (genetically) incomplete cell from a male combines with another (genetically) incomplete cell from a female to form a (genetically) complete cell which, in turn, is merged with a spirit by God (at the moment of conception).
Whether God used a primate or some other physical form to create the first human being is something that God and only God would know. Is it really important to know what form He used? Not at all! What is important to focus on is that the human being is a combination of elements from the physical and the spiritual realms. Human beings are unique among all beings (physical beings or spiritual beings) by virtue of that composition.
This truth concerning ourselves, is what we all should be focusing our reflections on. The endless and DIVISIVE debate over whether human beings evolved from primates or not is, at best, a DISTRACTION away from what really matters. What matters most is not what we are made FROM but rather what we are made OF.
If we were to assume (for the sake of argument) that God used a primate to merge with a spirit in creating the first human being, then that human being “evolved” differently from that point on from the rest of the other primates. This would explain why there are still primates in existence today even if the first human beings were created from them.
As to the question of whether the male (Adam) was indeed formed before the female (Eve), I leave that to you to ask God yourself. As far as I am concerned, it is of no real spiritual significance.
In summary, a person who believes in the truth of creation can still be at peace with the theory of evolution. Unfortunately, this does not do much the other way around since a person who believes in the theory of evolution (as defined by Charles Darwin) does NOT believe in a God from which all things that exists in the physical realm comes from.
~~~~~
Let’s start by establishing a common viewpoint concerning evolution. The theory of evolution is an INTERPRETATION (perhaps a perception even) of scientifically observed phenomenon in the physical realm. Even scientists acknowledge that the interpretive nature of the theory (any theory) will never make it an established FACT.
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that the theory of evolution is indeed factual and true. By this, I mean to say that all living things evolved over time from much simpler forms of cells into whatever collective complexity of cells they are at the present time and that they CONTINUE to evolve. Assume furthermore (again, for the sake of argument) that there exists a God, in the form of a spirit (in order words, not consisting of any physicality), who created everything in the physical realm.
Who are we to say that God did not intend for creation to unfold in an evolutionary manner? If evolution is indeed true, then evolution is God’s way of creating. Evolution is therefore NOT contrary to the concept of God creating everything.
Now let’s move on further to the origins of human beings.
The first human being was created when God took a physical form and MERGED it with a spirit. He then took a part of the newly formed first human being and merged that with another spirit. From that point on (after the fall of humankind) every other human being was formed at the moment when a (genetically) incomplete cell from a male combines with another (genetically) incomplete cell from a female to form a (genetically) complete cell which, in turn, is merged with a spirit by God (at the moment of conception).
Whether God used a primate or some other physical form to create the first human being is something that God and only God would know. Is it really important to know what form He used? Not at all! What is important to focus on is that the human being is a combination of elements from the physical and the spiritual realms. Human beings are unique among all beings (physical beings or spiritual beings) by virtue of that composition.
This truth concerning ourselves, is what we all should be focusing our reflections on. The endless and DIVISIVE debate over whether human beings evolved from primates or not is, at best, a DISTRACTION away from what really matters. What matters most is not what we are made FROM but rather what we are made OF.
If we were to assume (for the sake of argument) that God used a primate to merge with a spirit in creating the first human being, then that human being “evolved” differently from that point on from the rest of the other primates. This would explain why there are still primates in existence today even if the first human beings were created from them.
As to the question of whether the male (Adam) was indeed formed before the female (Eve), I leave that to you to ask God yourself. As far as I am concerned, it is of no real spiritual significance.
In summary, a person who believes in the truth of creation can still be at peace with the theory of evolution. Unfortunately, this does not do much the other way around since a person who believes in the theory of evolution (as defined by Charles Darwin) does NOT believe in a God from which all things that exists in the physical realm comes from.
~~~~~
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Go Forth and Love God
I did not say go forth and be good. I did not say go forth and do the right thing. I did not say go forth and follow the ten commandments.
I said go forth and love God.
~~~~~
I said go forth and love God.
~~~~~
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Think with Love
Rout ideology can mess up our thinking; it stops it altogether. To think with love is the only true way to think.
~~~~~
~~~~~
Saturday, April 3, 2010
The Meaning of the Resurrection
One important insight that we can glean from the resurrection of Jesus is this - the choice of the Son of God to take up the form of a human being was NOT a temporary state of existence that ended in the death of His (imperfect) physical body. Rather, Jesus resurrects the body-spirit existence of mankind back to the state of perfection when He permanently takes on the physical form of a spiritual body (a form that is perfect and eternal).
We can look forward to our own resurrection into spiritual bodies the next time Jesus comes into the world.
And that, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus, is what we actually mean when we say that the resurrection of Jesus conquered death (the by-product of our imperfect and fallen state of existence).
I share with you the words of Jesus to His dear friend Martha - "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26) NIV
~~~~~
We can look forward to our own resurrection into spiritual bodies the next time Jesus comes into the world.
And that, my dear brothers and sisters in Jesus, is what we actually mean when we say that the resurrection of Jesus conquered death (the by-product of our imperfect and fallen state of existence).
I share with you the words of Jesus to His dear friend Martha - "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" (John 11:26) NIV
~~~~~
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Suffering
God did not create suffering in the world. Rather, suffering was introduced into the world by the exercise of man’s free will to be separate from God and raise himself to the level of God. Yet, even though suffering is an unfortunate by-product of this unfortunate choice (by the first man), it is also the means by which redemption from it comes.
A good metaphor for this concept would be the poison of a snake. We use it as a means to build an effective antidote to it. In like manner, suffering is the path to developing an effective remedy for it.
To grasp the truth of this spiritual concept, one need only reflect on why Jesus willed Himself to endure an incredible amount of physical and mental agony (and ultimately die on a tree) in order to bridge the spiritual divide between God and man.
Learn to embrace suffering with a loving outlook, and in doing so, peace will rest within you.
~~~~~
A good metaphor for this concept would be the poison of a snake. We use it as a means to build an effective antidote to it. In like manner, suffering is the path to developing an effective remedy for it.
To grasp the truth of this spiritual concept, one need only reflect on why Jesus willed Himself to endure an incredible amount of physical and mental agony (and ultimately die on a tree) in order to bridge the spiritual divide between God and man.
Learn to embrace suffering with a loving outlook, and in doing so, peace will rest within you.
~~~~~
Monday, January 11, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
