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When I walk by the wayside, He is along with me. When I enter into company amid all my forgetfulness of Him, He never forgets me. In the silent watches of the night, when my eyelids are closed and my spirit has sunk into unconsciousness, the observant eye of Him who never slumbers is upon me.
- Thomas Chalmers
(How does it feel to consider that “the observant eye of Him who never slumbers” is upon you?) |
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SIR 5:1-8; PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6
MK
9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ,
amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.
"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put
around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled
than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna.
And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.
Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one
eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
"Everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid,
with what will you restore its flavor?
Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another." USCCB Lectionary
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Mark 9: 41-50
The gospels show Jesus becoming most infuriated at those in leadership positions--parents, teachers, and ministers--who lead the naive and ignorant astray
for self-serving reasons. Today's reading expresses the seriousness of Christian responsibility.
* Were you ever scandalized by an adult's behavior when you were younger? How did you handle it then? How has it affected you?
* Pray for the grace to have "salt in yourself," to know that you are loved by God.
Paperback, Kindle
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd ed.) ____________ Chapter 2: Self (excerpts)
Self and God
The fundamental attitude of Self is “I am,” or even “that I am.”
This “I” is the one who is here, now, attentionally present to what is going on in one’s consciousness and in the outside world. Unlike the Ego (next chapter), which is also intentionally engaged in the world of this and that (duality), Self experiences other things as immediately present to and deeply connected with it. It is as though the spiritual perception of Self sees not only the outside of things, but senses and resonates with their inner essence as
well.
In describing Self’s fundamental disposition as “I am” or “that I am,” we can surely note similarities with the description of existence in Chapter One, but only to a point. The isness of existence pervades everything, and so every entity proclaims “i am” in some manner because of the simple
fact that it exists. The difference between Self and a rock or even a dog, here, is that Self is aware of its existence while a rock or a dog is not. This awareness, as we have noted earlier, is an attribute of spiritual consciousness, in this case, the human kind. Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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