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Cowardice asks the question: is it safe?
Expediency asks the question: is it politic?
Vanity asks the question: is it popular?
But conscience asks the question: is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular - but one must take
it simply because it is right.
- Martin Luther King Jr.
(What has your conscience been calling you to act upon?)
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ACTS 18:9-18; PS 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
JN 16:20-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, amen, I
say to you, you will weep and mourn,
while the world rejoices;
you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.
When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived;
but when she has given birth to a child,
she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy
that a child has been born into the world.
So you also are now in anguish.
But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice,
and no one will take your joy away from you.
On that day you
will not question me about anything.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you."
USCCB Lectionary
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John 16: 20-23 (Our hearts will rejoice)
The disciples of Jesus
loved him dearly and were upset to hear him speak of leaving them. Jesus compares their sorrow to that of a woman in labor, suffering now but rejoicing when her child is born. So shall it be with those who long for the things of God.
• Gibran wrote, "Your joy is your sorrow unmasked... .The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” Has this been your experience?
• Who or what has brought you your greatest
joys? What sorrows have accompanied these experiences?
3rd edition pocketbook, trade book, Kindle, eBook.
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God and I: Exploring the Connections between God, Self and Ego, by Philip St. Romain, 2016 (2nd
ed.) ____________ Chapter 7: The Journey to Belonging: The Ego-God Relationship The Spirit-centered Ego The issue of centeredness is a way of calling attention to what is the most formative influence in our lives. For one who is completely mired in false self conditioning,
what is primary is getting approval, social status, wealth, power, maintaining addictions, and other means of “making oneself OK.” These standards are usually rooted in the culture, and one buys into them by accepting these worldly norms and making decisions to direct one’s life accordingly. There are many who have chosen to live more authentically by critically examining the role of addictions
and false self values in their lives. We discussed the process for doing so in Chapter 5, and Chapter 6 took matters a step further by noting that work unto individuation can also help one break free from false self enslavements. This is surely spiritual progress in the most basic meaning of the term: growth unto a fuller and more authentic expression of the human spirit. But the question of centeredness remains. What is of primary importance in the life of, say, a non-religious, individuating
person? Here, the philosophy of secular humanism suggests itself, with its emphasis on growth, goodness, community, justice and responsibility pointing the way.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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