Adelante !!
That means "go forward" and so we do, despite the sluggishness of a post Christmas trough. How truly awesome is the gift we have been given by God - God's only son, Jesus Christ, entering our world as a human baby.
The German mystic preacher, Meister Eckhart, said: "What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart? - "the outward "man "is the swinging door; the inner "man " is the still hinge." These days lend themselves to quietude and I'm finding it hard to post.
"In the
point of rest
and this from Thomas Merton
"There is no spiritual life without persistent struggle and interior conflict. This conflict is all the more difficult to wage because it is hidden, mysterious and sometimes almost impossible to understand. Every serious Christian is willing to make a few initial sacrifices. It is not hard to make a good start. But it is hard to continue, to carry on the work begun, and to persevere in it through many years until the end…It is perfectly true that we die with him in baptism and rise from the dead: but this is only the beginning of a series of death and resurrections. We are not “converted” only once in our life but many times, and this endless series of large and small “conversions,” inner revolutions, leads finally to our transformation in Christ.”
- Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness
The German mystic preacher, Meister Eckhart, said: "What good is it that Christ was born 2,000 years ago if he is not born now in your heart? - "the outward "man "is the swinging door; the inner "man " is the still hinge." These days lend themselves to quietude and I'm finding it hard to post.
But here's a few timely quotes from Dag Hammarskjold.
It was written in the Gaza Strip, where he flew to spend
Christmas with the UN peacekeeping force on duty there.
" In Thy wind—in Thy light—
How insignificant is everything else, how small are we—
And how happy in that which alone is great."
Towards the end of 1957, Dag Hammarskjöld made a concluding entry in his private journal, which later became included in his remarkable and beautiful book, Markings.
It was written in the Gaza Strip, where he flew to spend
Christmas with the UN peacekeeping force on duty there.
" In Thy wind—in Thy light—
How insignificant is everything else, how small are we—
And how happy in that which alone is great."
and I like this one too...
"In the
point of rest
at the centre of our being,
we encounter a world
where all
things are at rest
things are at rest
in the same way.
Then a tree becomes a mystery,
a
cloud a revelation,
cloud a revelation,
each man a cosmos
of whose riches
we can only catch
glimpses.
glimpses.
The life of simplicity is simple,
but it opens to us a book
in which we never get beyond
the first syllable.
and this from Thomas Merton
"There is no spiritual life without persistent struggle and interior conflict. This conflict is all the more difficult to wage because it is hidden, mysterious and sometimes almost impossible to understand. Every serious Christian is willing to make a few initial sacrifices. It is not hard to make a good start. But it is hard to continue, to carry on the work begun, and to persevere in it through many years until the end…It is perfectly true that we die with him in baptism and rise from the dead: but this is only the beginning of a series of death and resurrections. We are not “converted” only once in our life but many times, and this endless series of large and small “conversions,” inner revolutions, leads finally to our transformation in Christ.”
- Thomas Merton, Life and Holiness
and now is a good time for some beautiful music
and this one always bring me to tears..
and this one always bring me to tears..
Composed by Bernadette Farrell and sung by the Notre Dame Folk Choir in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at University of Notre Dame.
Lyrics
Chorus
Bread for the world:
a world of hunger.
Wine for all peoples
people who thirst.
May we who eat
be bread for others.
May we who drink
pour out our love.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the bread of life,
broken to reach
and heal the wounds
of human pain.
Where we divide your people,
you are waiting there
on bended knee
to wash our feet with endless care.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the wine of peace,
poured into hearts once broken
and where dryness sleeps.
Where we are tired and weary,
you are waiting there
to be the way which beckons us
beyond despair.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you call us to your feast,
at which the rich and powerful
have become the least.
Where we survive on others
in our human greed,
you walk among us
begging for your every need.
I'm been playing with a few visuals of 2013, so I'll leave you these.
On interruptions
On the election of Pope Francis
On summer days
a world of hunger.
Wine for all peoples
people who thirst.
May we who eat
be bread for others.
May we who drink
pour out our love.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the bread of life,
broken to reach
and heal the wounds
of human pain.
Where we divide your people,
you are waiting there
on bended knee
to wash our feet with endless care.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you are the wine of peace,
poured into hearts once broken
and where dryness sleeps.
Where we are tired and weary,
you are waiting there
to be the way which beckons us
beyond despair.
Lord Jesus Christ,
you call us to your feast,
at which the rich and powerful
have become the least.
Where we survive on others
in our human greed,
you walk among us
begging for your every need.
 |
| Image source |
I'm been playing with a few visuals of 2013, so I'll leave you these.
On interruptions
On the election of Pope Francis
On summer days
On those days of mundane housework chores
ora et labora
On peaceful nights
of silence and prayer
with their creativity and energy
On days when my energy is spent and someone else keeps me going
On life's pitfalls and slippy moments
On loving and cherishing the moment
On the beauty of birdsong
On the sea and travels
On the warmth of friendship and loved ones
and community
for the graced blessings of a safe home
For all those who make me
and laugh
For those who have helped me
through the rain
For the vision of others who see what I fail to see
I'm truly thankful !!
Want to know where these images below come from?
A British architect who studied websites and how they connect across
the Web has turned these data network maps into nifty portrait images. Have a look at the Complex Beauty of The Internets "Connectedness" from National Geographic article here. The perils of the internet are well documented but when it is used well there is no doubt that the connectivity of social networks can bring many rich blessings and graces.
which brought me to this....
“Prayer is the hidden wiring of human life
that connects us to the world wide web of the Spirit.”
John Pritchard
“Prayer is either a sheer illusion or a personal contact between
embryonic, incomplete persons (ourselves) and the utterly concrete
Person.
Prayer in the sense of petition, asking for things, is a small
part of it;
confession and penitence are its threshold,
adoration its
sanctuary,
the presence and vision and enjoyment of God its bread and
wine.
In it God shows himself to us.
That he answers prayers is a
corollary – not necessarily the most important one – from that
revelation.
What he does is learned from what he is.”
C.S. Lewis
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