“. . . a society is good to the extent that it
renders contemplation possible for its members; and that the existence of at least a minority of contemplatives is necessary for the well-being of any society.”
- Aldous Huxley, The Perennial Philosophy
(Using this criterion, how well does our culture “measure up”? How well your family? Your workplace? What can you do to help foster a more contemplative
spirit in the groups where you participate?)
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Hos 11:1-4, 8e-9; PS 80:2ac and 3b, 15-16
Mt 10:7-15
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let
your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that
town.”
Reflection on the Scriptures
Today is the feast day of Saint Benedict, abbot, Patron of religious orders. He’s the saint you think of when you think of monasteries and he wrote the book on monastic life. The readings today are fitting for
the subject.
The first reading tells of God’s pain when his people turn away from him. The Lord loves his people, teaches them his ways, comforts and heals them, but they turn away, not realizing that The Lord is their healer and salvation.
The Gospel gives the first rules for the holy life. The disciples are
told to go out and share the word. They are to tell the people that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. It’s now. There is important information to impart. The disciples are the first to share the good news, to minister to the people. They are told to heal the sick and to cast out demons. They are told to do it because it is the right and appropriate thing to do, not to get rich, but to help people.
The
disciples are told to help others and to tell their story. They should stay with a good person in a town and spread the good news. If their hosts are receptive, they will be blessed. If not, they will not receive the blessings.
This is the basis of the church, the basis that Benedict built on. These are the beginnings that we should all remember even today. We should follow this example and help others
because it is the right and appropriate thing to do, not to get rich, but to help others and be in community so the peace of the Lord can come upon us.
by Tamora Whitney
Psychic Energy and Contemplation by James
Arraj From St. John of the Cross and Dr. C. J. Jung, Part III, Chapter 9. Inner Growth Books, 1986. An Anti-mystical Atmosphere The anti-mystical reactions of the 17th century had become much more damaging when they were amalgamated with a deformation and misunderstanding of the prudential
maxims of the saints and spiritual writers.(2) Phrases dealing with the contempt and flight from the world and the dangers of creatures that filled the works of writers on the interior life and which had to be understood in a practical sense, that is, the nothingness of creatures in relationship to our choices for God when we are tempted to choose between the creature and God, were transformed and deformed into a speculative position, not overtly formulated, but covertly accepted. This position
created a feeling that creatures were somehow worthless in themselves, that the world and the very earth that God created had to be fled from. This crypto-Manichean attitude remained, as Maritain puts it, an external parasite on the life of piety in the Church for a long time, since the instinctive life, whether understood in a physical, natural sense, or even in a spiritual sense, was too strong and robust and rooted in daily contact with the goodness of the earth and human love to succumb to
this error. Gradually this picture began to change. The infection went deeper and caused a more virulent illness, and reached its culmination during the 19th and early part of the 20th century. Then the prudential maxims of the past assumed enormous proportions because of their ontological pretensions. The flight from the world, ever accentuated by
the raw assertions of a world enthralled with its human mastery of events, its scientific achievements and technological marvels which possessed an anti-religious character became a flight from the very foundation upon which a healthy spiritual life should be built.
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