"Layman Damien of the Cross?"

I know most in our community squirm at such things as titles, making it about one's self, etc..., but since we also like to test out being outside our comfort zones-- well, here goes! My previous blog confessed my lack of peace. More than one book I've been reading has mentioned St. John of the Cross. St. John of the Cross was known for (among other things) the phrase "dark night of the soul". This referred to times of struggle regarding one's sinfulness in relationship to God. This is a time where God's mercy is not the focal point, but instead God's judgment. These times are moments in a Christian's journey where he/she may theologically acknowledge that God disciplines instead of punishes, but doesn't feel that this is necessarily justice, & that they deserve punishment, not mere discipline. What's so dark about this dark night of the soul is one's sense of unworthiness eclipses sound doctrine. There's also the irony that a moment where you fear punishment the most is at this time where you'd totally understand if the Lord made an exception in your case and allowed the bad things that are bound to happen in any given life, not be something that makes you stronger (which is His M.O.), but weakens you so you have no illusions about His distaste for you at this point in time (yes, I know Nietzsche was an atheist). Additionally, there is a good bit about no longer feeling the Lord's presence, when normally one has been.
Though this is descriptive of much more agony than my lack of peace, the roots are blatantly the same. Blatantly. The love we are immersed in at D.F. can counter-balance some of this. Hermits! Man, ya gotta love 'em. There is evidence, however, that Dear John may've experienced this while at a monastery. I still feel the Lord's presence. Or, for the skeptical blog reader, I'm still so incredibly aware of the existence of God at all times, I call that God's presence. Yet, I'm increasingly guilty over how I don't measure-up. My repetition of the same ol' sin(s) wearing down my faith that it's not about my letting my inner Christ take care of it, but that there is the unknown factor of just what does that mean in contrast to personal responsibility.
Buy Bonds & get your kids on a Christian form of Yoga TODAY!
P.S.
Learn your Yoga positions fist before
joining Palates-- masseuse friend of mine :)

"You Wanna Peace Ah Me?"

I've lost my peace. I hope someone else has it and it hasn't just up & disappeared. I think I might indeed find some peace if I knew someone was getting some use out of it. Perhaps my peace was sent to a person I had inadvertently taken peace from, for instance. Better yet, perhaps I once blatantly stole some one's peace, the peace I miss was never mine to begin with and has returned to the rightful, former owner. So, if ya see some peace laying around, you might want to think twice about giving ME SOME OF IT!
Ahem. Then again, as Jesus does not give as the world gives... maybe I have peace and just don't recognise it because I'm somehow too worldly.
Anyway, you wants some bonds? Buy 'em!
Your kids on centering prayer yet, or what?

"Greg's Contemplations"

When asked recently what I got out of some contemplations Greg did quite some time ago on Jesus and Peter, I replied, "If you'e a carpenter telling a fisherman how to fish, you'd better be the Son of God!"
Buy bonds & get your kids on centering prayer TODAY!,
Damie...

"What's Love Got To Do With It?"

There is a notion that unconditional love is a mental defence mechanism for tolerating bad behavior. This notion makes room for the practice to cover folks from loved ones to strangers. The idea is that we employ unconditional love by not letting someone's bad behavior cause us to react similarly. In other words we use our mind ("I will engage good behavior at this time, because my love for this person is not based on the condition that they are always well behaved.") to distance our heart ("I will not be influenced to act negatively if I shield myself momentarily from them and what they are doing."). The flaw in this is obvious: that's not love. The fact that it's not unconditional, either, is of lesser concern.
Love, no matter how well we spin it, isn't distancing (even "momentarily") our heart from someone. Bad behavior is all around us and we are influenced by it. People have differing degrees of sensitivity. People have differing opinions about behavior, influence, negativity, etc... Negative behavior however, like so much else, doesn't change the rule that influence doesn't automatically mean emulation. For instance; how much of the body of Christ is influenced by Christ Himself? All of it to one degree or another. How much of the body of Christ actually emulates Him? Regardless of degree, none are 100% successful. Influence doesn't have to = emulation.
Just as God's grace was sufficient for Paul's thorn in his side, God can give us the grace to be completely open hearted to someone acting unbecomingly. The decision (& after enough practice, the intuition) to not behave the same hateful way is not based on shielding yourself. This is the definition of "tough". Tough is not blocking a punch and delivering one. Tough is taking a punch and handling it. To whatever degree.
Unconditional love is about mourning with those that mourn and rejoicing with those rejoicing. Imagine the sapping of strength that entails. You've got to have stamina. You've got to be tough. You've got to be blessed with God's grace. In other words, there is a condition.
It is my opinion that the only way to truly practise unconditional love is through the Holy Spirit (the Holy Spirit is still the Holy Spirit, regardless of what religion you are). To be in a state where He can influence that successfully... 100% successfully... well, that's grace! That's the condition for unconditional love. The good news? I've yet to meet a person that hasn't performed this in some way or form. It's true. Anyone reading this right now, I've seen you do this, at least to some degree.
So, buy bonds & get your kids on centering prayer TODAY!
Damie...