“The
presence of God” means a lively, attentive realization of God’s absolute presence — God is everywhere, in all places, in all things, in all people. Wherever birds fly, they encounter the air; so wherever we go or wherever we are, we find God present.
- St. Frances de Sales ("God is everywhere" . . . here and now . . . always loving.) _____ Christianity and Spirituality monthly forum February 1, 2024, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. CST Topic: "Theosis, Spiritual Transformation" More info via the link below Free sign up for Zoom link
|
Acts 22:3-16; PS 117:1bc, 2
Mk 16:15-18
Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."
Reflection on the Scriptures
The Psalm for today and the Gospel remind us that the Lord of all nations calls us to go out to all the world and tell the Good News. Certainly, Paul did travel far and
wide and with every breath of his being, and every strength of his intellect, bore the fruit of his conversion. He was remarkably effective, but it does not stop there, with us reading about the amazing work of the churches established by Paul in the New Testament. What about each of us here and now? I think especially during these dark days of confused messages among even church leaders, we need to step up on behalf of those who are persecuted for the sake of strict interpretations of ancestral
law and bring the voice of Jesus to light. If we are listening, we will hear the call. It is my prayer that we will all answer, “Here I am, Lord.” -by Barbara Dilly
St. John of the Cross and the Beginning of Contemplation
by James Arraj From St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. J. Jung, Part II, Chapter 4. Inner Growth Books, 1986.
Contemplation
If meditation is the active working of the faculties, contemplation for St. John, which he describes under a variety of terms, means infused contemplation which is received without the natural use of
the faculties. Some of the many terms that St. John uses are: "one act that is general and pure"(10); "this peace and rest of interior quiet"(11); "loving general knowledge of God"(12); "substantial and loving quiet"(13); "confused and general knowledge"(14); "general and loving attentiveness or knowledge of God"(15); "general and supernatural knowledge and light"(16); "pure and serene light"(17); '1pure and simple general light"(18); "quietness and ease"(19); "contemplation is naught else than
a secret peaceful and loving infusion from God"(20); "this food is the infused contemplation whereof we have spoken"(21); "the way of illumination or of infused contemplation"(22); "contemplation, which is Divine love and knowledge in one - that is, a loving knowledge"(23); "infused with the spirit of Divine wisdom"(24); "this knowledge is general and dark"(25).
|
|
