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The contemplative response gazes on the world with eyes of love rather than with an arrogant, utilitarian stare. It learns to appreciate the astonishing beauty of nature, to take delight in its intricate and powerful workings and to stand in awe of the never-ending mystery of life and death.
- Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, God’s Beloved Creation
(How does nature speak to you of God?)
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2 KGS 11:1-4, 9-18, 20; PS 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18
MT
6:19-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also
will your heart be.
"The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.) ____________ Matthew 6: 19-23 (Heavenly treasure)
Again we return to the issue of motives. The philosopher Durant wrote
that we do not desire that which we find reasonable, but we find reasons for that which we desire. Ignatius of Loyola stated that our motives are directed toward either love or selfishness. We should check our motives often.
• What do you treasure most in this world? How does your heart serve this treasure?
• Look back over the key events of the past day. What were your motives for saying and doing what you did?
• Pray for the grace to be motivated by
love. Paperback, Kindle and 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 Theosis: Being-in-Love
The ongoing effort of the Ego to actively cooperate with the ways of God is similar to the manner in which two lovers strive to adjust their lives to one another. This has less to do with “earning love” than with forming the Ego to receive love. God, it seems, actually wants a real relationship with us, and that cannot happen if we do not also want
a real relationship with God. God could easily heal us completely from all of our inner wounds, but old habits of mind and lifestyle need to be changed as well or we would go right back into our old ways. People do this all the time; it’s called “backsliding.” The active part of the spiritual life is about taking responsibility for what is ours to change -- that we put forth effort to reform our lives, as needed. In doing so, the human spirit is strengthened and broadened in its capacities for
attentiveness, truth and love. Through the active part of the spiritual life, then, the Ego co-operates in the theotic process.
Happily, it is not all up to us. How could it be? If theosis were primarily a consequence of the operations of the Ego, then it would be difficult to affirm that it was really a participation in the life of God rather than, say, the
development of new habits of thinking and choosing. Our efforts to give ourselves more and more over to God are met more than halfway by our divine lover, who delights in sharing an abundance of gifts with us. This is the passive dimension of the spiritual life, wherein God infuses gifts and blessings into our consciousness,
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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