Everything is for us to enjoy
Just not to keep or cling to
Thursday, June 3, 2010
What Mother Teresa Wrote to Me
I just wanted a record of this somewhere in case my actual letter is lost or destroyed. In 1993, I wrote to Mother Teresa saying that I had little power of influence to create a world peace minute of silence, but that perhaps she could make this happen.
Her letter came on a small note card in which one side has a black and white photo of her holding a baby and a quote from Isaiah 43: 2-7. On the other side, her writing is written by manual type writer with errors and whiteout marks, a stamped return address, and a hand written signature. Here was her response:
+LDM
23rd Oct. 1993 Missionaries of Charity
54/A, A [illegible] Bose Road
Calcutta 700016 India
Dear Christina
Thank you very much for your letter.
To spread peace, begin by working for true peace - the freedom of being the children of God, ofbelong to Him. This freedom enables one to love as He loves andto forgive as He forgives.- for true obstacles to peace are within us. when we sincerely try to remove fromour hearts and minds all anger and thoughts of revenge we make way for true peace. Through your Christian life, work for it and make way for it in your own life by desiring true peace and wanting it at any cost. May God's blessing be abide with you and all your loved ones.
God Bless you
M Teresa MC
Her letter came on a small note card in which one side has a black and white photo of her holding a baby and a quote from Isaiah 43: 2-7. On the other side, her writing is written by manual type writer with errors and whiteout marks, a stamped return address, and a hand written signature. Here was her response:
+LDM
23rd Oct. 1993 Missionaries of Charity
54/A, A [illegible] Bose Road
Calcutta 700016 India
Dear Christina
Thank you very much for your letter.
To spread peace, begin by working for true peace - the freedom of being the children of God, ofbelong to Him. This freedom enables one to love as He loves andto forgive as He forgives.- for true obstacles to peace are within us. when we sincerely try to remove fromour hearts and minds all anger and thoughts of revenge we make way for true peace. Through your Christian life, work for it and make way for it in your own life by desiring true peace and wanting it at any cost. May God's blessing be abide with you and all your loved ones.
God Bless you
M Teresa MC
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Anti "Survival of the Fittest"
The point of life is not to survive,
But to keep God's grace and love alive.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Reality Bites (Or Does It?)
Since I love what my momma calls "deep thinky thoughts," I've pondered the nature of reality since I can remember. It wasn't until I went to seminary over a decade ago that I learned that some of my personal theories were considered heresies. Imagine my surprise!
Apparently, I had entertained thoughts of pantheism. A pantheist supposes that everything is spiritual-- you know, everything --as in "the rock is spirit," "the tree is spirit" etc. Seminary education shored up in me a more traditional theistic belief that only God ["up there"] is spiritual, while all that is "down here" on Earth is not. Today, however, I find myself dissatisfied with both the "heresies" and with the traditional Judeo-Christian views on the nature of created reality.
What appeals to me most now is "reality" according to the mystic. Yes, there are critical differences in the mysticism of the Sufi, the Kabbalist, the Native, and so forth. However, it seems that none of the mystical traditions naively sprinkle glittery spiritual magic dust on top of the cruel reality of life on Earth. The mystic also does not conceive of a sharp divide between the Divine and the finite. Instead, the mystical claim is that after having experienced (however briefly or imperfectly) the Oneness of All That Is, reality isn't bad (the view of another heresy, the Gnostics), but that reality isn't quite spiritual either. According to the mystic, to understand the nature of Reality, one must look through the appearance of suffering, impermanence ,and death --- not with physical eyesight, but with spiritual vision.
My momma would roll her eyes and say, "Oh yeah, that's easy!" Of course, we all worry that acquiring spiritual vision is not easy. However, I don't believe obtaining true, mystical, spiritual vision is ultimately about hard work with furrowed brow nor is it about decades of intellectual pursuit. Spiritual vision cannot be earned by either of these means because its achievement must be accessible to all ---if it is the gift and will of a loving Spirit.
How then is the spiritual vision of Reality experienced? We must pray for spiritual vision that is aligned with the will of the Divine, and pray for it only. After our prayerful petition, we then are asked to meditate in inner stillness (Ex. 3:14). Spiritual vision comes some day, I hope, when we are open to it and when Grace has chosen us to receive it (not because we have earned it in any way).
And so, I am trying to stop getting God so I can focus solely on letting God flow through me. If I am inwardly still and empty, spiritual vision may one day fill me too.
Apparently, I had entertained thoughts of pantheism. A pantheist supposes that everything is spiritual-- you know, everything --as in "the rock is spirit," "the tree is spirit" etc. Seminary education shored up in me a more traditional theistic belief that only God ["up there"] is spiritual, while all that is "down here" on Earth is not. Today, however, I find myself dissatisfied with both the "heresies" and with the traditional Judeo-Christian views on the nature of created reality.
What appeals to me most now is "reality" according to the mystic. Yes, there are critical differences in the mysticism of the Sufi, the Kabbalist, the Native, and so forth. However, it seems that none of the mystical traditions naively sprinkle glittery spiritual magic dust on top of the cruel reality of life on Earth. The mystic also does not conceive of a sharp divide between the Divine and the finite. Instead, the mystical claim is that after having experienced (however briefly or imperfectly) the Oneness of All That Is, reality isn't bad (the view of another heresy, the Gnostics), but that reality isn't quite spiritual either. According to the mystic, to understand the nature of Reality, one must look through the appearance of suffering, impermanence ,and death --- not with physical eyesight, but with spiritual vision.
My momma would roll her eyes and say, "Oh yeah, that's easy!" Of course, we all worry that acquiring spiritual vision is not easy. However, I don't believe obtaining true, mystical, spiritual vision is ultimately about hard work with furrowed brow nor is it about decades of intellectual pursuit. Spiritual vision cannot be earned by either of these means because its achievement must be accessible to all ---if it is the gift and will of a loving Spirit.
How then is the spiritual vision of Reality experienced? We must pray for spiritual vision that is aligned with the will of the Divine, and pray for it only. After our prayerful petition, we then are asked to meditate in inner stillness (Ex. 3:14). Spiritual vision comes some day, I hope, when we are open to it and when Grace has chosen us to receive it (not because we have earned it in any way).
And so, I am trying to stop getting God so I can focus solely on letting God flow through me. If I am inwardly still and empty, spiritual vision may one day fill me too.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A "New & Improved" Lord's Prayer
Ok, before you raise your eyebrows in shock and horror that I would arrogantly dare to "improve" the sacred Lord's Prayer, let me qualify my statement: I wrote the title (as I often do) so that you would be intrigued to read the blog article that accompanies it. If I had simply entitled it, "A Commentary," would you have even read this far? Although it is a mere reflection, read on anyway!
Our Father Who art in Heaven
Our Father: meaning, the source of all of us, the source of all Life; Our source is "heaven" or, in other words, our source is "eternal and spiritual."
What if we now just focus on the word, "our," and contrast it to other possible words that could have been used but weren't-- like the word, "my?" That is, with the simple, intentional choice to use OUR Father, I am being reminded that God is not just MY Source, but also hers, and his, and theirs-- - equally.
Hallowed be Thy Name
Your Name is holy; ALL names for You are holy because You are Holiness. And so, the names of God as Elohim, Yahweh, Allah, Great Spirit, The Way, The Tao, Life, Goddess, Truth etc. are all holy because they can each ideally accomplish God's holy purpose.
Thy Name is not just a label, but "Thy Identity, Thy Essence and Core" and so all the mysterious ways we can know you are holy. The forms and ways You choose to reveal Yourself to us are all potentially holy. God that resides in the core, inner Temple of each human body is holy. Therefore, God appearing in and through 'Robert' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Alliyah' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Ari' is hallowed. God appearing as Talik is hallowed. God appearing as Helen, Franc, Alexander, Mosiah, Ruth, Liu, Juan, and so forth....
Thy Kingdom come
Everything is ultimately THY kingdom; there is no mention of any other kingdom that could even dare to compete with Thy Kingdom. This is first and foremost another reminder for us: it is GOD'S kingdom (or more politically correct, God's "reign").
Then, let's look at: Thy kingdom come. Come Now. Come in the future. God's power shows forth in an eternal-Now that is not bound by human conceptions of time; God's kingdom is in the eternal-Now, if we have cultivated conscious awareness of Thy Kingdom within.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Of course, not MY will, not HER, HIS, or THEIR will, but Thine. Seek first only the will of God. Thy Will be done. Thy Will is done both now and in the future. Better yet: Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will "IS" both on earth (in our physical bodies, in the finite sense) and in heaven (in our spiritual bodies, in our eternal Life in God). Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will is the "place" where the finite, mundane stuff of "earth" (for example, that's just 'mom') is made INTO "heaven" (that is, God-appearing-as-mom in this moment, for me).
Give us this day our daily bread
Whatever we have of true substance YOU give us. "You" is not stated, but implied. I want to slow down and notice WHO is doing the giving, Who is the Source of all. You give us whatever it is we truly, ultimately need for our spiritual development, comfort and safety. We are not petitioning for all of our many wants; God gives anew each day, each moment, what our souls truly need.
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
God forgive us. I like that part a lot. Does God forgive us in like measure to how we show grace toward others? If so, we're all in big trouble, some more than others. However, this is just another way of expressing the Great Love Commandment: When asked which one of the 10 Commandments was most important, Jesus replied that two, interrelated ones were the most important: love God; love your neighbor.
When I come to this line of the prayer, I think of something I once saw on a T-shirt: "May God have one hand on my shoulder and the other over my mouth."
Our Father Who art in Heaven
Our Father: meaning, the source of all of us, the source of all Life; Our source is "heaven" or, in other words, our source is "eternal and spiritual."
What if we now just focus on the word, "our," and contrast it to other possible words that could have been used but weren't-- like the word, "my?" That is, with the simple, intentional choice to use OUR Father, I am being reminded that God is not just MY Source, but also hers, and his, and theirs-- - equally.
Hallowed be Thy Name
Your Name is holy; ALL names for You are holy because You are Holiness. And so, the names of God as Elohim, Yahweh, Allah, Great Spirit, The Way, The Tao, Life, Goddess, Truth etc. are all holy because they can each ideally accomplish God's holy purpose.
Thy Name is not just a label, but "Thy Identity, Thy Essence and Core" and so all the mysterious ways we can know you are holy. The forms and ways You choose to reveal Yourself to us are all potentially holy. God that resides in the core, inner Temple of each human body is holy. Therefore, God appearing in and through 'Robert' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Alliyah' is hallowed. God appearing as 'Ari' is hallowed. God appearing as Talik is hallowed. God appearing as Helen, Franc, Alexander, Mosiah, Ruth, Liu, Juan, and so forth....
Thy Kingdom come
Everything is ultimately THY kingdom; there is no mention of any other kingdom that could even dare to compete with Thy Kingdom. This is first and foremost another reminder for us: it is GOD'S kingdom (or more politically correct, God's "reign").
Then, let's look at: Thy kingdom come. Come Now. Come in the future. God's power shows forth in an eternal-Now that is not bound by human conceptions of time; God's kingdom is in the eternal-Now, if we have cultivated conscious awareness of Thy Kingdom within.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Of course, not MY will, not HER, HIS, or THEIR will, but Thine. Seek first only the will of God. Thy Will be done. Thy Will is done both now and in the future. Better yet: Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will "IS" both on earth (in our physical bodies, in the finite sense) and in heaven (in our spiritual bodies, in our eternal Life in God). Thy Will simply IS. Thy Will is the "place" where the finite, mundane stuff of "earth" (for example, that's just 'mom') is made INTO "heaven" (that is, God-appearing-as-mom in this moment, for me).
Give us this day our daily bread
Whatever we have of true substance YOU give us. "You" is not stated, but implied. I want to slow down and notice WHO is doing the giving, Who is the Source of all. You give us whatever it is we truly, ultimately need for our spiritual development, comfort and safety. We are not petitioning for all of our many wants; God gives anew each day, each moment, what our souls truly need.
And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us
God forgive us. I like that part a lot. Does God forgive us in like measure to how we show grace toward others? If so, we're all in big trouble, some more than others. However, this is just another way of expressing the Great Love Commandment: When asked which one of the 10 Commandments was most important, Jesus replied that two, interrelated ones were the most important: love God; love your neighbor.
When I come to this line of the prayer, I think of something I once saw on a T-shirt: "May God have one hand on my shoulder and the other over my mouth."
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
As you may have picked up on by now, I am privy to focusing on not what it is we are requesting of God (give us, forgive us, lead us, etc.) but on what this prayer tells us about what God already DOES for us. So, I note here: God leads us. God delivers us. What if it weren't a request made by we, finite, sinful, impaired, doubting humans but instead a statement made by saints and angels: Fear not, God leads us. God delivers us. We just have to remember it and ask God.
God does not lead us INto temptation. This petitions asks that God intervene on our behalf: God, don't let me lead myself down the wrong path, into error, temptation, and evil. While some theologians will argue, "Yes, God DOES bring us temptation and trial," I believe that temptations and trials simply occur (as a result of our individual and collective actions) and that God can work through ANYthing that initially appears to us as "good" or even "evil."
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever,
Again, I like to read and hear these words as a reminder. So many times, we pray and wonder, "When do I get my answer?" But the beautiful and amazing thing about the Pater Noster is that it contains the answers we need already. We just have to slow down and notice, really hear how Jesus instructed us to pray.
The prayer closes with this final reminder: It is all GOD's kingdom, It is all GOD'S power, It is all GOD'S glory. Ultimately, (according to all the mystics across the main religions), there is only ONE. There is only One kingdom and One glory. If we dwell --even for a glimpsing moment-- in that inner, still and sacred space where God's kingdom lies, we may come to realize that there is ultimately only One Power, for ever and ever, in the Eternal Now that knows no boundaries nor limitations.
Amen.
Not, "so be it" as in, "O, ple-e-e-ase let it be this way!'
No! It is "Amen" as in, "it IS so . . . now help us, Holy Spirit, to come to greater and greater awareness of these Truths."
Thursday, April 23, 2009
It's Not About Being Good
When it comes to teaching my child about God: My natural inclination is to urge him to "be good," that being good is God's primary requirement of us. Now I am leaning toward a different perspective. Perhaps my equating goodness with closeness to God is a set up for failure, disappointment, and doubt in later life. Afterall, we're all human. Eventually we sin badly and at some deep, primitive (not intellectual) level, we then feel like we've lost God. However, the Bible is full of examples of serious sinners-- murderers and other evil doers-- who became God's key representatives.
So, the message must be that it's not about "be good," rather it's about "keep trying." In other words, when sin knocks us down, we are asked to keep getting up; when sin sucks us in (as it eventually will), we must keep reaching for God. We are not required to be good, but to keep our determination for God. Isn't that what faith is? Be resilient in our spiritual faith rather than just do humanistic, good works.
So, the message must be that it's not about "be good," rather it's about "keep trying." In other words, when sin knocks us down, we are asked to keep getting up; when sin sucks us in (as it eventually will), we must keep reaching for God. We are not required to be good, but to keep our determination for God. Isn't that what faith is? Be resilient in our spiritual faith rather than just do humanistic, good works.
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