Change

I am often taken by surprise at the clarity with which our spiritual ancestors, the Sufis, spoke centuries ago on our behalf. Prominent among them is, of course, Jalaluddin Rumi. But there are others. Each speaks to us from the treasury of spiritual insight that is desperately needed in our own darkening day.

This is how a human being can change:
there's a worm in the garden addicted to leaves.
Suddenly, it wakes up.
Call it grace, whatever you will,
something awakens it,
and its no longer a worm.
Now its flying over the entire garden,
and the orchard too,
with its fruit and its sea of leaves.
Inside is a growing wisdom and joy
that doesn't need to devour anything
anymore.
--Rumi

Wait and hope

"All human wisdom is summed up in two words: wait and hope."


-Alexandre Dumas

The indwelling Christ

Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear, but it does not cease to exist. We can be sure of its
presence by tasting the water. Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen, will be made
evident to others from the love which he imparts to us.
- Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889-1929). "Reality and Religion:
meditations on God, man, and nature."

Letting others sustain us

We must be willing to accept the bitter truth that, in the end, we may have to become a burden to
those who love us. But it is necessary that we face this also. The full acceptance of our abjection
and uselessness is the virtue that can make us and others rich in the grace of God. It takes heroic
charity and humility tolet others sustain us when we are absolutely incapable of sustaining
ourselves.

We cannot suffer well unless we see Christ everywhere--both in suffering and in the charity of
those who come to the aid of our affliction.

- Thomas Merton, "No Man is an Island"

Four gateways

A basic trouble is that most Churches limit themselves unnecessarily by addressing their message almost exclusively to those who are open to religious impression through the intellect,whereas ... there are at least four other gateways--the emotions, the imagination, the aesthetic feeling, and the will, through which they can be reached.
- A. J. Gossip (1873-1954), "From the Edge of the Crowd"

The Lord of Love

The Lord of Love is one. There is indeed no other. He is the inner ruler of all beings. He projects the cosmos from himself, maintains and withdraws it back into Himself at the end of time. His eyes, mouths, arms and feet are everywhere. Projecting the cosmos out of Himself, He holds it together.

~Shvestashvatara Upanishad

Now would be a good time....

Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to re-establish dharma.

~Bhagavad Gita

Now would be a good time....

Whenever dharma declines and the purpose of life is forgotten, I manifest myself on earth. I am born in every age to protect the good, to destroy evil, and to re-establish dharma.



~

I must borrow Thy very Love.

Love attracts love,
mine rushes forth unto Thee..but alas!
it is not even as one drop of dew lost in the Ocean.
To love Thee as Thou lovest me
I must borrow Thy very Love.

- St. Therese Lisieux, "Story of a Soul"

Unfrequented chamber of our heart

There exists in our heart
an interior land where we are alone,
to which no one finds "their" way but God.
This innermost, unfrequented chamber of our heart is really there -
the only question is whether we ourselves avoid it foolishly...
because no one and no familiar things of this earth
can accompany us if we enter it.

- Karl Rahner, SJ

Mystery deep as the sea

Eternal Trinity, Godhead, mystery deep as the sea,
you could give me no greater gift than the gift of yourself.
Yes, you are a fire that takes away the coldness,
illuminates the mind with its light,
and causes me to know your truth.
And I know that you are beauty and wisdom itself.

- St. Catherine of Siena

We seek Him

We may begin to seek Him in desolation,
feeling nothing but His absence.
But the mere fact that we seek Him
proves that we have already found Him.

- Thomas Merton, "No Man is an Island"

The exact present

The great thing with unhappy times is to take them bit by bit, hour by hour, like an
illness. It is seldom the present, the exact present, that is unbearable.
- C. S. Lewis

Look Beyond and Within

"The outward form of things passes away, but the essence remains forever. How long will you be besotted with the shape of the jug? Cast aside the jug, and seek the water. If you look too closely at the form, you miss the essence. If you are wise, you will always pick out the pearl from the shell."

~Rumi

Growing in silence

"See how nature -- trees and flowers and grass -- grow in silence. See the stars, the moon, and the sun, how they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life."
- Mother Teresa

Seeking God

"O You who seek God, know this: We are the mirrors of God,
the absolute Truth. Come into this tavern of ruin, O clever
one; drink of this cup and see our purity."

Nur Ali Shah, Master of the Path

I'm right there in your tears

Jesus says, "Cry over your pains, and you will discover that I'm
right there in your tears, and you will be grateful for my presence
in your weakness." Ministry means to help people become grateful
for life even with pain. That gratitude can send into the world
precisely to the places where people are in pain. The minister, the
disciple of Jesus, goes where there is pain not because he is a
masochist or she is a sadist, but because God is hidden in the pain.
- Henri J. M. Nouwen