Christianity and Reincarnation by Philip St. Romain, M.S., D. Min. July 28, 2016 7:00 p.m. C.D.T. Can a Christian believe in reincarnation? This webinar will review evidence for and against reincarnation, history of Christian beliefs on this topic, and differences between Christian and Eastern
views of liberation. - Free-will donation. Register now
Message of the Day
"Gratitude takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God." - Thomas Merton, Thoughts in
Solitude
(Take time this day to consider what/whom you are grateful for.)
Readings of the Day
Jer 15:10, 16-21; Ps 59:2-4, 10-11, 17, 18;
Mt 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried
in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”
Discovering God's kingdom is like stumbling across hidden treasure or finding the one pearl of great price. When we discover the kingdom of God we receive the greatest possible treasure - the Lord himself.
Selling all that we have to obtain this incomparable treasure could mean many things - our friends, job, our "style of life", what we do with our free time. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure.
In this parable what does the treasure of the
kingdom refer to? It certainly refers to the kingdom of God in all its aspects. But in a special way, the Lord himself is the treasure we seek. If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty (Job 22:22-23). Is the Lord the treasure and delight of your heart?
"Lord Jesus, reveal to me the true riches of your
kingdom. Help me to set my heart on you alone as the treasure beyond compare with any other. Free my heart of any inordinate desires or attachment to other things that I may freely give to you all that I have in joy and gratitude for all that you have given to me. May I always find joy and delight in your presence."
How the bodily sentiments are all deceived in the aforesaid Sacrament (Eucharist), but not those of the soul; therefore it is, with the latter, that one must see, taste, and touch It; and of a beautiful vision this soul had upon this subject.
“You know that you went one morning to church at sunrise to hear Mass, having beforehand been tormented by the Devil, and you placed yourself upright at the Altar of the Crucifix, while the priest went to the Altar of Mary; you stood there to consider your sin, fearing to have offended Me through the vexation which the Devil had been causing
you, and to consider My love, which had made you worthy to hear Mass, seeing that you deemed yourself unworthy to enter into My holy temple. When the minister came to consecrate, you raised your eyes above his head while he was saying the words of consecration, and I manifested Myself to you, and you saw issue from My breast a light, like a ray from the sun, which proceeds from the circle of the sun without being separated from it, out of the midst of which light came a dove and hovered over the
host, in virtue of the words which the minister was saying. But sight remained alone in the eye of your intellect, because your bodily sight was not strong enough to stand the light, and in that place you saw and tasted the Abyss of the Trinity, whole God and whole man concealed and veiled in that whiteness that you saw in the bread; and you perceived that the seeing of the Light and the presence of the Word, which you saw intellectually in the whiteness of the bread, did not prevent you seeing
at the same time the actual whiteness of the bread, the one vision did not prevent the other vision, that is to say, the sight of the God-Man revealed in the bread did not prevent the sight of the bread, for neither its whiteness, nor its touch, nor its savor were taken away. This was shown you by My goodness, as I have said to you. The eye of the intellect had the true vision, using the pupil of the holy faith, for this eye should be your principal means of vision, inasmuch as it cannot be
deceived; wherefore, with it you should look on this Sacrament.
Listed below are several traditional methods of prayer and reflection. As St. Frances de Sales noted, we learn to pray by praying, but it is also good to try different methods to see which seem to help facilitate connection with God. Indeed, the more we learn different methods, the better we can sense how the Spirit is moving us to pray for any given prayer
time.
First, you choose a passage of Scripture that you will pray with. It might be the Gospel reading used in the liturgy of the day, or anything else you want. The process then follows these steps:
Reading (lectio) After settling in and quieting yourself,read the passage slowly, prayerfully. Just let it sink in for a minute or two, then read it a second time, paying closer attention to the words or phrases that speak to you.
Reflecting (meditatio) What do you hear God saying to you in this passage? What words or phrases caught your attention?
Responding (oratio) What do you want to say to God in response to what you've heard? Here you can also voice your prayers of petition, remorse, thanksgiving, praise, and so forth. If you sense God speaking to you in your thoughts, feelings or imagination, you respond as you would in any conversation.
Resting
(contemplatio) If, at any time, you feel drawn to simply rest in the awareness of God's loving presence, you let yourself do so. Remain in loving silence as long as you feel comfortable, perhaps using a simple word or phrase from the Scripture passage to help deepen your openness to rest in God (see Centering Prayer method,
below)
(Works best after a
period of Lectio Divina, as described above; two 20 minute periods a day are recommended.)
This term, centering prayer, is of recent origin, but the method is described in many places, most notably The Cloud of Unknowing.
1. Choose a sacred word as the symbol of your intention to consent to God's presence and action within. (This can be any word.)
2. Sitting comfortably and with eyes
closed, settle briefly, and silently introduce the sacred word as the symbol of your consent to God's presence and action within.
3. When you become aware of thoughts, return ever-so-gently to the sacred word.
4. At the end of the prayer period, remain in silence with eyes closed for a couple of
minutes.
Hesychast Prayer ("quiet" prayer)
(This form of contemplative practice was widely used by the fathers and mothers of the desert in the early days of Christianity and is still very popular in Eastern Christian
churches. At least two 20 minute prayer periods are recommended.)
1. Sit quietly, with back straight and hands resting in the lap, palms up.
2. Lovingly introduce into your mind the prayer, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me." (Note: this may be shortened as the prayer proceeds).
3. Let this prayer move in synchrony with your breath, praying the first part with your inhalation, the second with exhalation.
4. When distracting thoughts attempt to break in, persist with the Jesus Prayer. Allow yourself to feel your emotions, however.
Practice
of this prayer may lead to feelings of warmth in the heart and perception of inner light. Enjoy. . .
Christian Meditation (The World Community for Christian Meditation)
John Main was a Benedictine monk who recovered the
Christian tradition of using one word in meditation, as practised by the Desert monks especially John Cassian, and taught it as a spiritual discipline for people from all walks of life.
The way to stillness of spirit and transcendence of the self, is to learn to recite interiorly one word over and over again for the duration of the meditation session. WCCM recommend the word "maranatha" (come
Lord). Say it in equally stressed syllables, silently and not moving the lips, and listen to it with all your attention. Let go of thoughts, ideas and the use of the imagination, and each time distractions occur return to saying the word.
In remaining faithful to the one word or mantra, and by reciting it in twice daily sessions of between 10 and 30 minutes with poverty of spirit and humility,
it will open the heart to the Spirit of Love. Purity of heart is the main concern. The rest is God's gift.
Praying With Scripture (Benedictine Approach)
1. Relax. Settle in. Be aware that God is here, now, loving you.
2. Read a short passage of Scripture as though God were speaking directly to you in it.
3. Choose a phrase from the passage that strikes you and repeat it slowly, prayerfully, non-analytically.
4. When your heart is full, express to God the needs and sentiments awakened
by your meditation. When you're done, read another passage and repeat steps 3 and 4.
5. If, at any time, you feel moved to simply be present to God in loving silence, put the Scripture aside and rest in God.
Here is a practice used
by many at the end of the day to see what lessons can be learned and how God was present and active through the day. Set aside fifteen to twenty minutes at the end of the day for prayer and review of your day. A suggested format is described below:.
1. Take a few moments of quiet. Breathe deeply. Ask God to help you see yourself as you truly were during the day.
2. Look back over your day - not to see what you did wrong but to honestly acknowledge what was going on with you and others.
What happened? What did I do today?
How did I feel? Why did I feel that way?
Were my expectations and beliefs reasonable?
3. Affirm the healthy things you recognize.
4. Admit to yourself and God the unhealthy things. Ask God's forgiveness, believe it is yours, then decide if you need to apologize or make
amends.
5. Use creative visualization to grow stronger. Honestly acknowledge the troubling situations of the day. See and feel yourself acting honestly and lovingly in these situations. Ask God for the grace to help you act in this new way.
6. Close with simple awareness of the sights and sounds around
you, grateful for the good things in your life.
This process can be undertaken as a daily journal exercise or by prayerfully reviewing your day in your own mind. I like to take a walk before bedtime for examen. The important thing is to do it. It is a discipline, to be sure, but a very important one.
