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- Sunday January 17: What Are You Looking For?
[link to full email]: https://mailchi.mp/coutreach/word-of-the-week-jan17
[excerpt from email]: Pure faith is the purification of the human props in a relationship to God. As these are relinquished, we relate more directly to the Divine Presence, even though it may feel like the end of our spiritual life.” – Thomas Keating, Awakenings
An examen: Has your relationship and understanding of God changed over time? Have some of the “human props” fallen away? Are other relationships being adjusted as well?
what has changed for me is that i am dropping all the stuff i was clutching in my arms that i thought was necessary to my identity: my achievements, my reputation, my projects, my having to have my cake and eat it too, having ro know it all , having to “be” the best (drilled into me as a child), having to understand, feeling happy, my beloved supports-the people who betray me or die, my resentments, my superiority, my intellect, my memory, my health….every crisis , signified by a period ogf anxiety and depression, results in an insight and a release into a different landscape, just ad Thomas says.
<p style=”text-align: left;”>Today we listen to the story of Samuel and Eli. Eli the elder helps the young Samual identify the voice of God . In My life there have been people like Eli who have helped me find the voice of God amid the cacophony of voices. And I believe that we can each be an Eli for one another, especially as we share communal silence and sacred reflections. I am grateful for each of you.</p>
Has my relationship and and understanding of God changed over time? The words Samuel in Hebrew means “having been heard by God”. Growing into “having been heard by God” now well into my 80’s I am seeing life more from the perspective of God. I am more aware of the reality that God’s plan for me/us has been written into my/our heart (Hebrews 8;6-13, the Word of God for today). The plans of the exuberance of my youth and well beyond, have slowly given over to, as a friend of mine wrote this Christmas, “What was God’s plan for you this past year? When did you discover it?”. As 2020 unfolded I found myself praying for those whom I have hurt intentionally or unintentionally hurt over the course of these 80+. Gradually I am seeing from the perspective of God, the one who has the plan written in the hearts of these person, too.
Grateful, too, for you in this virtual community. Thanks for growing in awareness of God’s writing on your heart.
Sunday January 17: What Are You Looking For?
Yes, as I practice Centering Prayer my relationship and understanding of God changes. Human props fall away for varied reasons: moves away, job transfers, new calls, etc. The relationships God deems important are solidified and deepened. I know I have been invited into these relationships so that I may, as Anthony de Mello eloquently explains, remember “the one thing you need most of all is the readiness to learn something new.” <3 linda
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