Help to grow this newsletter by forwarding it to someone.
Some people think of the creation as though God made this thing and then tossed it out into space to let it fend for itself. By no means. All that is, is of God. At every moment the creation comes forth from the Eternal Creative Love. There is
not a moment when the Divine Creative Energy is not fully present to the creation, for in such a moment all would simply cease to be. We are in some mysterious way a participation in the Divine Being, destined to be partakers in the Divine Life and Happiness.
- M. Basil Pennington, True Self, False Self
(God
fully present to you . . . always!)
|
1 Kgs 17:7-16; Ps. 4:2-3, 4-5, 7b-8; Mt 5:13-16
R. Lord, let your face shine on
us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear
me when I call upon him.
Tremble, and sin not;
reflect, upon your beds, in silence.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
UCCB Lectionary
|
Reflection on the Scriptures |
We can try to hide things from others, from ourselves, and from God. How tempting to shut our eyes from the consequences of our sinful ways and bad habits, even when we know what those consequences are. And how tempting to hide them from others and even from God. But, nonetheless, everything is known to God who sees all. There is great freedom and joy for those who
live in God’s light and who seek this truth. Those who listen to God and heed his voice will receive more from him. Do you know the joy and freedom of living in God’s light?
“Lord Jesus, you guide me by the light of your saving truth. Fill my heart and mind with your light and truth and free me from the blindness of sin and deception that I may see your ways clearly and understand your will for my
life. May I radiate your light and truth to others in word and deed”.
DailyScripture.net
|
|
Precautions, by St. John of the Cross
- Introduction -
John of the Cross wrote the Precautions for the nuns in Beas while he lived at El Calvario (1578-79), after he had escaped from prison in Toledo. These warnings represented some of the fruits of his years as spiritual director in Avila. The nuns, in turn, made copies and sent
them to other houses. From the adaptations in gender that appear in some manuscripts, it seems that the friars, too, must have laid hands on the material and made copies for themselves.
The work is brief, with much doctrine condensed into a small amount of space. Written for nuns influenced personally by St. Teresa, the lean statements
spoke to women who were ardent in their embrace of the spiritual journey. They wanted to reach poverty of spirit, union with God, and "the peaceful comfort of the Holy Spirit" in a short time. Love has little use for delay. The objective, then, is to overcome any obstacles interfering with rapid progress. People less passionate about their goals have other alternatives. The aspiration to avoid any stumbling blocks accounts for the negative tone of the work.
The condensed character and particular objective of this writing, then, require a reading in the doctrinal light of John s other works. In these he describes in detail how union with God comes about not through the
observance of precautions but by adapting to God s communication through the theological life of faith, hope, and love. The precautions take any value they may have from their ability to promote this adaptation.
Christian spirituality, rooted in Scripture, spoke commonly of three spiritual enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Within this tradition, John finds the structure for his work: three precautions against each of the three enemies. Building from this framework, he formulates the kind of behavior one must adopt as a precaution with respect to particular areas of life; he describes the harm and dangers that arise from not observing the specific precaution; and extols
the advantages and benefits that follow from practicing it. If overlapping occurs in the presentation of the material it is because, as the friar himself points out, vanquishing one enemy means vanquishing the others also, and weakening one means weakening the others as well.
|
|
|
|
