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God, though present everywhere, has His special residence, as being a pure Spirit, in our minds. “In Him we live, and move, and have our being.” He is somewhere in the recesses of our soul, in the springs of our existence, in that mysterious, dark, cavernous region of our nature where the wishes,
feelings, thoughts, emotions take their earliest rise… The mind is a sanctuary, in the center of which the Lord sits enthroned, the lamp of the consciousness burning before Him.
— Edward Meyrick Goulburn, Thoughts on Personal Religion. 1871.
(Mind, here, as the place where "wishes, feelings, thoughts, emotions take their earliest rise," also corresponds to the biblical understanding of "the heart." Invite God to direct your life from that inner sanctuary this day.)
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EPH 4:1-6; PS 24:1-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
LK 12:54-59
Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”
USCCB Lectionary
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Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain,
2018 (3rd ed.) ____________
Luke 12: 54-59 (The signs of the times)
We have become quite adept at
understanding God’s creation and of prospering from it. We have placed people on the moon and learned the secrets of the atom. We have a technology which promises wonders only dreamed of by science fiction writers in the past. Yet we have achieved only minimal ethical and spiritual progress through the ages. In today’s reading Jesus tells us that we ought to apply our intelligence to the things of God as much as to creation and materialism.
• People do not change, only culture” is a familiar maxim. Do you agree with this? Why? Why not?
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What are some of the signs of the times today to which we ought to pay more attention? What are you doing to take a stand?
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 8: Mystical Union: Self and God
Direct Approaches . . . by understanding what the Ego is and how it functions, we can devise a strategy for its weakening as follows:
- Reducing the flow of sensory information. Do yogic stretches to calm the body; get away from the phone, TV, radio; find a quiet place; close your eyes; assume a posture that minimizes bodily distractions.
- Reducing the activity of the intellect and imagination. With no sensory information to act upon, the intellect and imagination
begin to explore undigested experiences, unhealed memories, make plans for the rest of the day, etc. Attention can be directed away from this activity to the breath; a mantra may be repeated when distracting thoughts emerge; one can learn to observe distractions “from a distance,” without becoming involved in them; counting breaths also frustrates intellectual activity; turning to the “sacred word” in centering prayer serves a similar purpose.
- Reducing the movement of the will to a state of desirelessness. The disciplines above contribute to this somewhat, but more important is the ongoing practice of non-attachment to the things and experiences one encounters during meditation. If the will must be given any “goal,” it
is to be simply present to the moment, with no strings attached. The purpose of meditation is to do nothing more, nor less, than growing in this presence. Simplified Christian prayer continues to hold the will in openness to God, but we are speaking, here, of letting go of even such willingness.
Hardback, paperback, eBook and free preview versions.
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