Wisdom Notes 2
The following text is from the book: The Big Book of Christian Mysticism, The Essential Guide To Comtemplative Spirituality.
Author: Carl McColman. Chater 7, pages 107-108
Author: Carl McColman. Chater 7, pages 107-108
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Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord, your God, am holy. (Lv 19:2)
All holiness flows from God’s holiness. Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son, is the wealth of his house; the Spirit pouring out upon the world through his Death and Resurrection is the stream of God’s delight and the source of life. These gifts of God’s love are what make human beings holy. ~ Magnificat
All holiness flows from God’s holiness. Jesus Christ, God’s Only Begotten Son, is the wealth of his house; the Spirit pouring out upon the world through his Death and Resurrection is the stream of God’s delight and the source of life. These gifts of God’s love are what make human beings holy. ~ Magnificat
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Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out 'Lord, '
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive."
3. This we learn from an illustration in the Scriptures. When Solomon had completed the building of the Temple, God came down in darkness and filled the Temple so that the children of Israel could not see; whereupon Solomon spake and said: ‘The Lord hath promised that He will dwell in darkness’.273 Likewise He appeared in darkness to Moses on the Mount, where God was concealed. And whensoever God communicated Himself intimately, He appeared in darkness, as may be seen in Job, where the Scripture says that God spoke with him from the darkness of the air.274 All these mentions of darkness signify the obscurity of the faith wherein the Divinity is concealed, when It communicates Itself to the soul; which will be ended when, as Saint Paul says, that which is in part shall be ended,275 which is this darkness of faith, and that which is perfect shall come, which is the Divine light. Of this we have a good illustration in the army of Gedeon, whereof it is said all the soldiers had lamps in their hands, which they saw not, because they had them concealed in the darkness of the pitchers; but, when these pitchers were broken, the light was seen.276 Just so does faith, which is foreshadowed by those pitchers, contain within itself Divine light; which, when it is ended and broken, at the ending and breaking of this mortal life, will allow the glory and light of the Divinity, which was contained in it, to appear.
4. It is clear, then, that, if the soul in this life is to attain to union with God, and commune directly with Him, it must unite itself with the darkness whereof Solomon spake, wherein God had promised to dwell, and must draw near to the darkness of the air wherein God was pleased to reveal His secrets to Job, and must take in its hands, in darkness, the jars of Gedeon, that it may have in its hands (that is, in the works of its will) the light, which is the union of love, though it be in the darkness of faith, so that, when the pitchers of this life are broken, which alone have kept from it the light of faith, it may see God face to face in glory. At death ... Leave behind only Jesus --
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The Will follows the Mind. Collect
Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Magnificat 10/3/21 Jesus said, “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (cf.Mt 7:24)
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Deacon Keith A. Fournier is Founder and Chairman of Common Good Foundation and Common Good Alliance. A member of the clergy, a Roman Catholic Deacon, he is also constitutional/ human rights lawyer and public policy advocate who served as the first and founding Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice in the nineteen nineties. He has long been active at the intersection of faith, values and culture and currently serves as Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel.
With permission. 
From Psalm 45 "... may the peoples praise you from age to age ..."
Matt 25:34
"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ◄ 2127. eulogeó ► Strong's Concordance eulogeó: to speak well of, praise Original Word: εὐλογέω Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: eulogeó Phonetic Spelling: (yoo-log-eh'-o) Definition: to speak well of, praise Usage: (lit: I speak well of) I bless; pass: I am blessed. HELPS Word-studies2127 eulogéō (from 2095 /eú, "well, good" and 3056 /lógos, "word, reason") – properly, to speak (reason) which confers benefit; hence, bless. 2127 /eulogéō ("confer what is beneficial") is used of God blessing people (Lk 1:28; Eph 1:3; Heb 6:14, etc.) – and His people blessing Him (Lk 1:64, 2:28, 24:53; 1 Cor 14:16; Js 3:9). Psalm 30:12
"That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. LORD my God, I will give thanks to You forever (unceasingly)." 
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From my wonderful brother ..."Out pastor is basing his current sermon series (Jesus' Greatest Hits" on this book "Sermon on the Mount", written by a woman rabbi. The attached excerpt is on page 62, as part of a discussion on prayer." --------- >
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God ....
A cosmic circulatory system with God as its heart, pumping the blood of being through the veins of creation, which is God's outpouring love to man and then receiving it back through the arteries of man's love to him, man's moral journey back to God.
~ Professor Peter Kreeft, expounding on the work of Thomas Aquinas
A cosmic circulatory system with God as its heart, pumping the blood of being through the veins of creation, which is God's outpouring love to man and then receiving it back through the arteries of man's love to him, man's moral journey back to God.
~ Professor Peter Kreeft, expounding on the work of Thomas Aquinas
Reading 2, Colossians 1:12-20
12 giving thanks with joy to the Father who has made you able (fit, qualified, enabled, have part in, worthy, adequate, competent, [Colossians 1:12 V-APA-DMS
GRK: πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς
NAS: to the Father, who has qualified us to share
KJV: hath made us meet to be partakers
INT: Father the [one] having made competent us for]) to share the lot of God's holy people and with them to inherit the light.13 Because that is what he has done. It is he who has rescued us from the ruling force of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son that he loves,
14 and in him we enjoy our freedom, the forgiveness of sin.
15 He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation,
16 for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers -- all things were created through him and for him.
17 He exists before all things and in him all things hold together,
18 and he is the Head of the Body, that is, the Church. He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way;
19 because God wanted all fullness to be found in him
20 and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross.
12 giving thanks with joy to the Father who has made you able (fit, qualified, enabled, have part in, worthy, adequate, competent, [Colossians 1:12 V-APA-DMS
GRK: πατρὶ τῷ ἱκανώσαντι ὑμᾶς εἰς
NAS: to the Father, who has qualified us to share
KJV: hath made us meet to be partakers
INT: Father the [one] having made competent us for]) to share the lot of God's holy people and with them to inherit the light.13 Because that is what he has done. It is he who has rescued us from the ruling force of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son that he loves,
14 and in him we enjoy our freedom, the forgiveness of sin.
15 He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation,
16 for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and everything invisible, thrones, ruling forces, sovereignties, powers -- all things were created through him and for him.
17 He exists before all things and in him all things hold together,
18 and he is the Head of the Body, that is, the Church. He is the Beginning, the first-born from the dead, so that he should be supreme in every way;
19 because God wanted all fullness to be found in him
20 and through him to reconcile all things to him, everything in heaven and everything on earth, by making peace through his death on the cross.
Pain and Healing over time ... can't have one without the other
Frederick Douglass once said… “Without struggle there is no progress.”
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"Some people will never learn anything because they grasp too soon. Wisdom, after all, is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of traveling....To know exactly where you're headed may be the best way to go astray. Not all who loiter are lost."
~ Anthony de Mello
~ Anthony de Mello
Practices From the Inside Out: Creating Sacred Space and Time AUGUST 10, 2019 BY GREG RICHARDSON
Creating Sacred Space and Time
We sometimes hear people talk about sacred spaces. Actors and directors tell us the theatre becomes sacred space for them. Some people describe places where boundaries between physical life and spiritual life become thin.
Spiritual life helps us create and appreciate sacred space and time.
Some of us have visited sacred space and experienced sacred time.
We come to a place where we can feel the presence of spiritual life. It may be a place where people have come together to worship or pray for hundreds of years. Some of us expect sacred places to have some history.
Others of us find sacred space waiting for us in unexpected places.
We may find sacred space in a building or somewhere outside. I know people who draw closer to spiritual life when they are in the woods, or the mountains, or at the beach.
Each of us has our own ideas about what sacred space is like, how it feels and where to find it.
Some of us discover it is within us.
Like sacred space, there are moments of awareness when time seems to stand still for us. The ways we usually experience it seem to melt away. Time appears not to follow the rules we try to impose on it in our everyday lives. It overflows its banks, or evaporates, or freezes.
Time escapes our expectations and is infused with spiritual life.
There are people who help us experience sacred time and space, help us recognize spiritual life. We share our stories, listening and asking questions, laughing together and crying together.
Sacred time and space are where and when we recognize spiritual life swirling around us and filling us.
What makes the difference between space and time which are sacred and other time and space?
Everyday Sacred Space and Time
Some of us have particularly clear rules for ourselves about what makes time or space sacred. We believe certain buildings, or kinds of buildings, are sacred spaces. Some of us have been taught some ways we spend our time are sacred while other ways are not.
I am learning sacred time and space do not work like that. It is more and more difficult for me to find the line between what is sacred and what is not.
Yes, there are places we can go and ways we can spend our time which are not helpful, but harmful. The challenge for me is when people go places they believe are sacred and act in ways which hurt people.
Do they believe doing things in a space they believe is sacred makes their behavior sacred?
As far as I can tell, what makes space and time sacred is how we experience them. We recognize spiritual life is everywhere, all around us and within us, and we open ourselves to it. Some of us try to develop specific habits to help us be more open to spiritual life.
Being sacred is not a matter of our conviction or our zeal in how we enter a space or spend our time. Contemplative practices help us remember and recognize how spiritual life is alive in the world.
We practice being open to spiritual life and begin to appreciate how it surrounds and fills us.
It can take us a long time to begin to understand spiritual life is not about arbitrary rules and limitations. We discover a relationship to spiritual life different from the one we thought we had.
Sacred space and time are not what we expected them to be, not what we thought they were.
Spiritual Life Creates Sacred Space and Time
We are transformed by spiritual life. As we practice being open to spiritual life we recognize more clearly how it is at work in us.
Spiritual life is not a system of rules to follow, not a list of concepts to believe, not minimum standards we need to meet. We are in a relationship with spiritual life and it recreates us from the inside out.
Ordinary, familiar places reveal themselves to us as sacred spaces. We realize our routines and schedules are full of sacred time.
The challenge for me is not finding sacred space and time, but paying attention and appreciating what is already there. Spiritual life is constantly surprising me in new ways. Places and experiences I thought were familiar reveal themselves to be sacred in ways I never recognized before.
We do not need to seek new ways to discover sacred space and time. Spiritual life is not hidden in distant places or new experiences. We live in sacred space and time wherever and whenever we are.
Spiritual life is creating sacred space and time in our lives. As our relationship with spiritual life grows more intimate we appreciate the reality of sacred time and space.
Living in Sacred Space and Time
Spiritual life will not force us into a relationship.
It is easy for us not to pay attention. We are distracted by whatever attracts our attention for a moment and we forget the deep reality of spiritual life.
Part of living in sacred space and time is developing our capacity to pay attention. We practice remembering there is more to life than our own immediate experiences.
Learning to pay attention is why so many traditional spiritual practices are built around going without something. Each one is a way to practice intentionally paying attention to our relationship with spiritual life.
We choose to let go of things which demand our attention. Going without food we pay attention to how spiritual life lives in our bodies. Listening to sacred stillness we pay attention to truths deeper than words. Each contemplative practice gives us opportunities to live in sacred space and time.
The things we practice giving up are not necessarily wrong or harmful in themselves. They get in the way of sacred space and time.
When and where will we experience sacred space and time today?
How will we live in sacred space and time this week?
Greg Richardson is a spiritual life mentor and coach in Southern California. He is a recovering attorney and a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is StrategicMonk.com and his email address is [email protected].
The Characteristics of a Mystic AUGUST 20, 2019 BY CARL MCCOLMAN
5 Ways AWS Has Transformed the Way Top Businesses Operate
BY AMAZON WEB SERVICES
What are the characteristics of a mystic?
I know two elderly monks at the local monastery near where I live, both of whom have reputations as “real mystics.” Indeed, I would agree with this assessment — they both strike me as genuine contemplatives, true living mystics. But they are very different from one another in some key ways. One is something of a theologian, who spent most of his life reading dense, academic works on topics like the Holy Trinity and apophaticism (the spirituality of darkness and unknowing). The other, meanwhile, while no intellectual slouch — he speaks several languages — would rather spend several hours a day meditating than reading. Both have charming personalities, but one is a clear extravert, the other just as obviously an introvert. Both are committed Roman Catholics, but one of them also has a strong interfaith bent and as a young man devoted much time to exploring eastern forms of meditation.
So, using just these two men as a template (but also drawing from the literary sources by recognized mystics like Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Keating, Simone Weil, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and many others), is it possible to begin to identify what kinds of characteristics mark the life and personality of a true mystic? Especially given the reality that mystics come in many shapes or sizes: like the saying goes: “a mystic is not a special kind of person; each person is a special kind of mystic.”
I think it is possible to make at least some basic statements about the characteristics of a mystic. And while a simple blog post cannot be the final word on the characteristics of mysticism, perhaps this list of seven common (not necessarily universal) marks of a true mystic can be a source of discernment for anyone who is interested in embracing the mystical path.
5 Ways AWS Has Transformed the Way Top Businesses Operate
BY AMAZON WEB SERVICES
What are the characteristics of a mystic?
I know two elderly monks at the local monastery near where I live, both of whom have reputations as “real mystics.” Indeed, I would agree with this assessment — they both strike me as genuine contemplatives, true living mystics. But they are very different from one another in some key ways. One is something of a theologian, who spent most of his life reading dense, academic works on topics like the Holy Trinity and apophaticism (the spirituality of darkness and unknowing). The other, meanwhile, while no intellectual slouch — he speaks several languages — would rather spend several hours a day meditating than reading. Both have charming personalities, but one is a clear extravert, the other just as obviously an introvert. Both are committed Roman Catholics, but one of them also has a strong interfaith bent and as a young man devoted much time to exploring eastern forms of meditation.
So, using just these two men as a template (but also drawing from the literary sources by recognized mystics like Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill, Thomas Keating, Simone Weil, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and many others), is it possible to begin to identify what kinds of characteristics mark the life and personality of a true mystic? Especially given the reality that mystics come in many shapes or sizes: like the saying goes: “a mystic is not a special kind of person; each person is a special kind of mystic.”
I think it is possible to make at least some basic statements about the characteristics of a mystic. And while a simple blog post cannot be the final word on the characteristics of mysticism, perhaps this list of seven common (not necessarily universal) marks of a true mystic can be a source of discernment for anyone who is interested in embracing the mystical path.
- Mystics are humble. Kenneth Leech (author of Prayer and Prophecy) once rather playfully told me that true mystics would never presume to call themselvesa mystic — they would humbly trust others to decide whether or not they truly deserved to called as such. I think his point was less about the labels we choose to identify ourselves with, and more about the central role of humility in the contemplative life. Mysticism is not a badge of honor or a point of pride. Having a sense of God’s abiding presence in your life, if it’s authentic and not just your imagination, most likely will impress you with a serene but clear sense of your own littleness and even unworthiness — not in terms of self-denigration (that’s just pride inverted), but rather as a down-to-earth, matter-of-fact acknowledgement of your own limitedness and imperfection. As someone (it’s often credited to C.S. Lewis) once said, a humble person doesn’t think less of himself, but thinks of himself less. Humility is all about being honest and authentic. So too is mysticism.
- Mystics are virtuous. We have so many subtle ways in which we dismiss the idea of basic, down-to-earth goodness in our society. We call a good person a “girl scout” or a “goody-two-shoes.” We sometimes think that truly good people are rather weak or passive — unable to defend themselves or to effectively fight for what they want. These ideas are so pervasive that they might go unquestioned: but they are symptoms of the pervasive cynicism of our culture. We forget that the word virtueis related to virilitywhich implies strength, fecundity, and “manliness” — a gendered term that might better be re-defined as humanliness— the qualities that make a human being reach his or her full potential. True virtue: an unwavering commitment to goodness, fairness, justice, and courage, even when it requires self-sacrifice, was classically understood as an essential part of living a truly good human life. Goodness is not an optional dimension of a mystical life: it is inherent to it. And while no one is perfect, a good person takes responsibility for his or her mistakes.
- Mystics are kind and compassionate; love is central to their identity and consciousness. At least in a Christian context, love is recognized as the greatest of the virtues. If the characteristics of a true mystic begins with humility, the ultimate flowering of the mystical life is love, in its fullest expression. Not just love as passionate feeling or erotic desire, but rather love as a function of the will: an intentional commitment to virtues such as kindness, compassion, caring (and, when necessary, charity), and a grounded sense of brotherhood and sisterhood with all people and indeed all of life. “We love because God first loved us,” proclaims the New Testament, and a mystic embodies this truth. He or she lives immersed in Divine love, and the proof of that immersion is the loving way in which the mystic relates to others, including rivals and enemies, and to the world at large. Mystics bring the presence of God into the lives of others, and they do so by bringing love into all situations and circumstances; even and especially the most troubled situations.
- Mystics recognize spiritual depth regardless of one’s religious label. The first three characteristics could all be expected of any high-functioning, self-actualized person. But mystics are beyond merely human peak performance. A mystic is one who has drunk deep from the waters of eternity, and bathed in the supernal light of Divine consciousness. He or she is infused by God, and so lives from a deep place, a deep center within. One of the qualities of living such a “deeper” life is the capacity of recognizing a similar depth in others. It is said that when the American Catholic mystic Thomas Merton traveled to Asia, a Buddhist (who had never met him before) greeted him by proclaiming, “You are a natural Buddha!” Likewise, the Southern Baptist mystic Howard Thurman in his biography With Head and Heartreports recognizing deep truth in the lives of Hindus and Buddhists and Muslims when he traveled through India. The presence of God cannot be constrained by religious boundaries, and true mystics naturally recognize this.
- Mystics take their spiritual practice seriously; they don’t take it for granted.While there is a certain universal quality to mysticism, paradoxically many mystics remain deeply affiliated with one particular path. There are Sufi (Muslim) mystics and Christian mystics; Jewish mystics and Vedantist mystics; Buddhist mystics and nature mystics (found among indigenous spiritual practitioners around the world). Mysticism is universal, but it also seems to be a universal quality of mysticism that it benefits from a healthy ecosystem in which to thrive and flourish. When people say “I’m spiritual but not religious,” presumably this means they reject the constraining, fussily bureaucratic nature of religious institutionalism. That makes sense; meanwhile, so many mystics have pointed the way to spirituality withinreligion that they have wisely maintained at least some ties to the disciplines and practices of their particular faith tradition. Rather than digging a lot of holes, none of which go very deep: most mystics persevere at digging one deep well to access the living water.
- Mystics rely on grace and wonder: they know their spirituality is not entirely under their control. Playing a musical instrument, or improving one’s physical fitness, or many other desirable goals in life require hard work, perseverance, dedicated effort, and the willingness to follow the instruction of a qualified teacher, trainer, or coach. Mysticism is similar: it’s more than just a nice idea or a desirable identity: it is the fruit of dedication, loyalty, hard work, and ongoing training and formation. However, there is much more to mysticism than merely mastering a skill or honing a talent. Mysticism is, at heart, relational— it’s a dance between a finite human and the infinite Spirit. And of course, the Spirit leads the dance. This means that sometimes people enter the deepest chambers of the Interior Castle with seeming little effort; others may toil away for years and have no conscious“mystical experience” to show for it. God is the choreographer of the mystical life, and true mystics always recognize that grace is at the heart of their spirituality.
- Mystics are comfortable with ambiguity, paradox, and unknowing. The challenge of grace is that it is beyond our control. We do not get to decide just how “mystical” we become: do we have supernatural experiences like Teresa of Ávila, an ongoing sense of desolation like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, one single night of visions like Julian of Norwich, or an ongoing sense of darkness and mystery, called by names like The Dark Night of the Souland The Cloud of Unknowing? Ultimately, God decides, and each mystic is a unique expression of what it means to be a human being fully accepting of God’s love at work in their lives. We do not know what the road ahead of us looks like: so true mystics learn to live serenely with the unknowing, the mystery, the sense of ambiguity and paradox that is the mystic’s constant companion on the contemplative path. Mystics are more familiar with wonderingthan with certainty; more comfortable with heavenly questions than with cut-and-dried answers. Mystics live in the heart of paradox and possibility.