Gender Identities

And he made each one in his own likeness.  --Genesis 1:25-26

Daisy Jane

by America

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Flyin' me back to Memphis
Gotta find my Daisy Jane
Well the summer's gone
And I hope she's feelin' the same

Well, I just left her to roam the city

Thinkin' it would ease the pain
I'm a crazy man
And I'm playin' my crazy game
Does she really love me?
I think she does
Like the stars above me, I know because
When the sky is bright
Everything's alright

Flyin' me back to Memphis
Honey keep the oven warm
All the clouds are clearin'
And I think we're over the storm

Well I've been pickin' it up around me
Daisy I think I'm sane
Well I'm awful glad
And I guess you're really to blame, blame

Do you really love me?
I hope you do
Like the stars above me, how I love you
When it's cold at night
Everything's all right

Does she really love me?
I think she does
Like the stars above me, I know because
When the sky is bright
Everything's alright

Today's media is all ablaze with reports of which public restrooms are one to use; who will put what signage where? There is an increased perception that humans, made in the image of the Divine Creator are, maybe, not so divine after all. Maybe they're off kilter, mixed-up; it's become quite political. What ever spiritual base it may have is unclear to many these days. Is an individual life, a struggle, confusion towards what is and what is not? Is it like Daisy Jane?

Ms. Schick, American author, Christian writer, speaker and the daughter of a man whom she describes as suffering from Gender Identity Disorder, the result being that he viewed himself not as the Divine did create, but rather as female. For the writer and her family, they came under a great deal of challenge and discord. She writes now of it in several of her books; most recently, Understanding Gender Confusion.

She writes largely from personal experience, from what she has learned and from a primary view of catholic, Christian faith. Regardless of what side of the fence one resides, her experiences are validly her own.
As Christians we are called to love our neighbors as our self, and to give expression to the dignity of all Creation. The prime concern she writes, is to address the pain and confusion of these souls, saying there is in each case, a primary disconnect, "a psychological separation from one's true existence."

She writes also that God the Creator is indeed "very interested in all aspects of our lives."

Matthew 12:10; Luke 6:20 

The Way to Heaven

Stairway to Heaven

by Led Zeppelin

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 There's a lady whose sure all that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.
When she gets there, she knows if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for.
Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to heaven.

There's a sign on the wall but she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
In a tree by the brook, there is a songbird who sings:
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiving.

There's a feeling I get when I look to the west,
And my spirit is crying for leaving.
In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
And the voices of those who standing looking.
And it's whispered that soon if we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason.

And a new day will dawn for those who stand long
And the forests will echo with laughter.
If there's a bustle in your hedgerow,
Don't be alarmed now,
Its just a spring clean for the May queen.

Yes, there are two paths you can go by but in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on.
Your head is humming and it won't go,
In case you don't know:
The pipers calling you to join him.

Dear lady, can you hear the wind blow,
And did you know: Your stairway lies on the whispering wind.
And as we wind on down the road,
Our shadows taller than our soul,
There walks a lady we all know.

Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold.
And if you listen very hard the tune will come to you at last.
When all are one and one is all, yeah, to be a rock and not to roll.
And she's buying a stairway to heaven.

"And when he said this to them, he breathed onto them and said, 'receive the Holy Spirit." 
John 20:22

There is a stairway to heaven; deep in the story of the Holy Grail, the truth of this lyric becomes apparent; while a bit different in its telling, the group, Led Zeppelin appropriately tells what it is about the road to heaven, the stairway as they call it. "The piper is calling you to join him...your stairway lies on the whispering wind..."

Women, we are told in the Grail myth, are in closer relationship to their feeling, valuing side. They are not forced apart from it as many men experience, so "with a word she knows she can get what she came for." Wind is a symbolic element for the Holy Spirit. Then there is the shadow-energy. The darkness which obscures, a veil come down across the eyes. All these are familiar symbols in biblical language from the earliest times of the catholic, Orthodox Church in Europe.

And there are two ways to go. One may process a lifetime in darkness, in what the Buddha refers to as ignorance, or one may move towards what is light, towards the God or the great intelligence mind, of the world, the one who brings self knowledge and awareness to a soul. 
In this way, the usual way of the West, a man may through a progressing maturity, make contact with what is most important and what is most essential. He may find his true, inner self, a light reflecting outward what is in the Grail story, the contents of the Holy Grail vessel itself. 
This is contentment to the one who finds his way there. As for the Holy Spirit, that is the spirit-energy of love; the energy which animates one and makes one so exquisitely alive.

As for the stairway that LZ conceives of, it's not far off at all from that ancient tale. There are always 'Pipers calling you to join him,' the Spirit, if you will only listen; the spirit cries for leaving; the forests do echo with laughter and the birds sing from the hedge rows, because heaven is here on earth for those who look carefully for it. God is all around us; his creating spirit heralds the day.

For Seekers Everywhere

Will you love Me?

by Carole King

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Tonight you're mine, completely

You give your love so sweetly

Tonight the light of love is in your eyes

But will you love me tomorrow?

Is this a lasting treasure

Or just a moment's pleasure

Can I believe the magic of your sighs

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Tonight with words unspoken

You say that I'm the only one

But will my heart be broken

When the night meets the morning sun?

I'd like to know that your love

Is love I can be sure of

So tell me now and I won't ask again

Will you still love me tomorrow?

Will you still love me tomorrow?

We often pray that we will not suffer the pain of unknowing, the fearsome anxiety which often accompanies such a state. In the classic text, The Cloud of Unknowing* the author contemplates something which may be too large to appreciate on its own; it may be a mysterious element of the world in which we live. Some, like the Cloud author, would suggest that it is the action of the Holy Spirit which brings wisdom to the mind and peace to the soul. 

It challenges us to know what is real, to believe what we may feel or know, but cannot see or prove with absolute certainty. This view makes the intellect more in proportion to the heart, but not exceeding it.It's an example of both illumination and union, not unlike the desires expressed in these modern lyrics above. The Cloud speaks of: "the one moment of understanding," and the song: that I won't ask again--if I knew, could be sure of those words unspoken... 

*O God, all hearts are open to you.

You perceive my desire.

Nothing is hidden from you.

Purify the thoughts of my heart

with the gift of your Spirit

 that I may love you with a

perfect love, and give you 

the praise you deserve.

Amen.

for more of the modern translation

Sighs Too Deep for Words

"for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words."  --St. Paul to the  Romans 8:26

Listen here, a song from a most beautiful song bird:

Ave Maria
sung by Jackie Evancho

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Ave Maria

Virgin of the sky

Sovereign of thanksgiving, loving mother

Accept the prayer intentions of every one

Do not refuse

for help, this lost person of mine, love!

Sorrow for his pain!

My lost soul turns to you

And full of repentance, humbles at your feet

Prayers invoke you and wait for the true peace

That only you can give, love

Ave Maria

Ave Maria, full of thanksgiving

Maria, full of thanksgiving...

In the new millennium, Pope John Paul II (JP II), offered many teachings now contained in a book entitled, Wisdom from Pope John Paul II, edited by Patricia Mitchell. A modern thinker this Pope was very aware of the emerging technocacy and its effects on the spiritual life of mankind.

JP II often wrote about this and the related topic of relativism. "Our age,' he wrote, 'has a special need of prayer. ..In many places and in many communities there is a growing awareness that, even with all the rapid progress of technological and scientific civilization, and despite the real conquests and goals attained, man is threatened and humanity is threatened. In the face of this danger... indeed already experiencing the spiritual decadence, individuals and whole communities guided as it were, by an inner sense of faith, as seeking the strength to raise man up again, to save him from himself, from his own errors and mistakes that often make harmful his very conquests.
And thus they are discovering prayer in which the Holy spirit, who helps us in our weakness, manifests himself.
Pray brothers and sisters for the humanity of France, for the opening of eyes of those who might otherwise cause harm, and for the justice of all men everywhere.

The Advent

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light." Isaiah 9:2

For the Advent

Lord of heaven and earth,you have come to lead the people
out of darkness into the light of Divine love.

Send your Holy Spirit into our hearts so that we may see clearly.

Help us to discover your presence in our world, especially in the needy, in our families and in our communities. Give us graciousness.

May we be evermore certain that our true joy
may be found in you. Amen.

The writer and historian, Frank Prochaska notes that today, "few subjects bring out so well the differences between our selves and our ancestors as [much] as the history of Christian charity.


In an increasingly mobile and materialist world, in which culture has grown more national, indeed global, we no longer relate to the lost world of nineteenth-century parish life.


Today, we hardly imagine a voluntary society that boasted millions of religious associations providing essential services, in which the public rarely saw a government official apart from the post office clerk. Against the backdrop of the [now] welfare state and the collapse of church membership, the very idea of Christian Social Reform has a quaint, Victorian air about it."

And yet the Christ remains to proclaim to all that the people in darkness have seen a great light.
Psalm 104: Send out your spirit, renew the face of the earth.

Leading with Humility Pope Francis

"Smell like your sheep!"

Pope Francis writes of himself as a young man that he was sometimes hard headed, rash and not always thoughtful about others and their short comings. He could easily anger and alienate others, but he learned by the hard lessons of experience not only about others, but most importantly about himself. He thus worked to mature himself and to correct his natural deficiencies. A deep and abiding faith led him forth.
A mature man emerged with greater kindness, strength, foresight, humility and grace. Lead with Humility, is his story. The book authored by Jeffrey Krames, more often a business management writer, is the result of the impression the Pope leaves him with. Krames writes about the 12 points of this Pontiff that he thinks are most critical:

* Lead with humility-- Never presume that you are better than any one else. We all have our skills and individual talents. They aren't better or worse, just different.

* Smell like your flock-- The good shepherd knows his sheep and his sheep know him; they recognize and care for one another.

* Who am I to Judge? -- Be we nothing more than humble. Judge not, lest you be judged for great is your god in heaven, and great is his kingdom upon earth.

* Don't Change--Reinvent-- As the Spiritual leader of the world's 1.3 billion Roman Catholics, the Pontiff recognizes the slow and lumbering difficulties in turning this great ship of state. Thus he comes to the task with his own complete and full understanding of the complex modern world and the need to freshen up the teachings to address modern concerns today.

* Make inclusion a Priority-- All are One in Creation, all the body of Christ. Don't forget the Church. She is world-wide, both local and universal. All come to the table to be fed whether they look like you or not.

* Avoid insularity -- Remember the Beatitudes, happy are those who... and it is the poor in spirit, who in coming to faith will inherit the earth, this the Bible instructs.

* Choose pragmatism over ideology-- The Pope, as the spiritual leader of the Church, leads and must lead forth into the modern world. His influence both in the universal church and the local church is considerable; communities everywhere take notice those cues coming from Rome.

* Employ the optics of decision making-- With a worldwide organization whose "citizenry" equals or tops nearly all the individual countries of the world, the Pontiff with the advice of his bishops hailing from every nation and his core team at the Vatican State, he must consider and rule in favor of justice to all. A 'one size' policy is not necessarily equitable nor just to the peoples of the world. Consider the many political systems in which the Church operates, plan accordingly.

*Run your organization like a field hospital-- There are those who consider churches the realm of the pious, the intolerant, the hypocrite. Jesus the Christ knew well. He wrote of them in the Bible and warned against them. The Pontiff drives home the message that churches are more like refuges for the 'walking wounded,' those whose daily life is a struggle, field hospitals for the wrong-doers.

* Live on the frontier-- When we become complacent with a feeling of ease, we fall into a slumber in which we fail to observe the simple, everyday needs of others. The Bible exhorts the faithful to always be on guard, to be aware to the needs of others, that we should assist to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and care for the sick and destitute of the world so that they may gain a measure of their god-given dignity.

* Confront adversity head-on-- Remember Jesus the Christ who did not shy away. Faithful to his tasks, the Christ bore up to them, even unto the Cross of his own Crucifixion.

* Pay attention to non-customers-- There are many minds in the world and many who have not known the tender mercies of the Christ, nor the working of the Holy Spirit come upon them. Be gentle with those whose understanding is not your own. Be the Christ for them. Show the unfamiliar, the strangers among us the way. Remember the Christ comes in many disguises. He may not be immediately recognizable to you.

You Are Blessed in Every Moment

“Blessed is the one whose fault is removed." Psalm 32

Blessed

by Sir Elton John

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Hey you, you're a child in my head

You haven't walked yet

Your first words have yet to be said

But I swear you'll be blessed

I know you're still just a dream

Your eyes might be green

Or the bluest that I've ever seen

Anyway, you'll be blessed

And you, you'll be blessed

You'll have the best

I promise you that

I'll pick a star from the sky

Pull your name from a hat

I promise you that, promise you that

Promise you that you'll be blessed

I need you before I'm too old

To have and to hold

To walk with you and watch you grow

And know that you're blessed

And you, you'll be blessed

You'll have the best

I promise you that

I'll pick a star from the sky

Pull your name from a hat

I promise you that, promise you that...

You'll be blessed

You'll be blessed!

As the song goes, we are blessed. When we doubt, we need to know what those things are and why we are so just. A positive, upright focus reveals that through many, many of the things we have done rightly have indeed yielded us the blessings of a stable job, caring friends, family around us, a good education, housing, health care, and the many elements that make life so much more than bearable.

But when we fall into the mind of what is wrong with something or someone, our thoughts fall dark. We fail to see our own or any other blessings. Our friends are goofy, they tell dumb stories; our family argues, we don't like our co-workers and we wish our house was different-- or just somewhere else…

Unlike what some may suppose or even teach, the Faithful are ever blessed by the redemption of the Cross. The Holy Spirit has seen to that. The bible tells us, Blessed is the one whose fault is removed, for he may focus himself unto trust in the Lord.  Psalm 32
And the story of Job reinforces this. It doesn't teach that only some are blessed or that you sprinkle salt, for example, and jump three times or any other ritual to be blessed.
The bible teaches us that it is indeed the Cross, not any particular community or denomination which in the end of days, is the source of redemption and blessings for all. 

"Know this so that you may believe." John, chapter 20

Clothing as Love

I'm In You 

by Peter Frampton

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I don't care where I go
When I'm with you
When I cry, you don't laugh
'Cause you know me

I'm in you, you're in me
I'm in you, you're in me
'Cause you gave me the love
Love that I never had
Yes, you gave me the love
Love that I never had

You and I don't pretend
We make love
I can't feel any more
Than I'm singing, yeah...

Come so far when you think
Of last fall
You can't buy what we made
You and I, oh

I'm in you, you're in me
I'm in you, you're in me
'Cause you gave me the love
Love that I never had
Yes, you gave me the love
Love that I never had
You gave me the love
Love that I never had

I don't care where I go
When I'm with you...

While it may be quite true that those who are happiest clothe themselves in the Holy Spirit alone, it's through brief moments of inspiration, that we first make the connection to Spirit and Self.
These contacts over time become more sustainable, they make an opening for a change in consciousness; our reality changes. The eternal qualities of faith, hope and charity become more obvious and relevant. And what remains is real.

Two people in coming together weave a cloth which becomes uniquely their own reality. Whether any one else understands that view or not is immaterial to the lovers. What does matter is that they have this consciousness, this opening and they between them, possess comprehension of it.

A strong weave makes for strength in each of the beloveds. It is not necessarily intellectual; in fact when asked to explain it, often they are lost for words. So they may suffice to say, ' it's just a feeling; we understand it between us.'

The poet Rumi wrote, "Love is the sea where intellect drowns."

The Prayer of the Holy Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of the faithful with the fire of your love.

The Prodigal Son
The Bible tells a story of the prodigal son, or lost son. Prodigal because though this son left his father's house, when he returned, his father spent lavishly, even wastefully celebrating this child's return. The origins of this word, prodigy-prodigal, are interesting. In the old English language, prodigy carried the usual meaning of 'omen,' a portentous event.
So while the particular Bible story tells of two brothers, one obedient and one flagrant and a father desperate beyond reason to reunite with the child who has left, spurning his family. The message is clear: once lost, now found.
There is a documentary recently produced by American Public Broadcasting System (PBS) about the lives of 12 people whose origins go back to the protestant christian sect, commonly known as the Amish, a community which believes in community first and always, as a necessary means of witness. They do sometimes nurture the lost souls who see to a way beyond the gates of their community into the wider American community. Leaving is not often welcomed by the Amish. Sometimes they are "shunned."
And yet when they do this, their family may still treat them as the Bible instructs, hoping, looking and waiting for their return, a prodigal child. The family sets a place at meal times each and every day their loved one is gone, to remind themselves of the mercy of the Christ when dealing with a 'lost sheep.' They, as singer Phil Collins sings, Hold On My Heart.

Parents, friends, and others in their Amish community remain apart from the ones who leave. Often they fear hell or damnation, as they understand it, if one lives among the wider society and their materialistic ways. The Amish, you see, highly value plain, simple living. They believe that the clutter of 'stuff' gets in their way and their conversations with God. So they eschew common materialism for the favor of the riches of creation, honest work and community.

The Amish, a breakaway Christian sect formed by followers of Roman Catholic Priest, Father Menno Simons in Switzerland during the counter Reformation. Their faith-ways led them to the relative religious liberty of America and a place in William Penn's Pennsylvania.
They are devout Christians, keeping the way of discipleship before their eyes; their way is independent with minimal hierarchy, no church buildings or seminaries, and a desire to baptize those who come forth willingly. Thus children in these families are church members if they choose it when they come of age.

In another story, the Bible tells us of a certain shepherd and a flock of sheep. When one lamb goes missing, there is an all out search to locate and return the lamb to its flock. This story, unlike the Prodigal Son is without comparisons. There is simply the fact of a lost sheep, now found.
In both stories however, we can take away the meaning that each of us is with value, each has his own importance, irrespective of any other thing we may or may not do in the world, because we are the love and the product of the Creator himself, who has loved us into existence, and means to sustain us with the very same love, the love poured down on us by the Holy Spirit.
So to you, I say, 'Amen, Amen. Be on your way.'

Cooks In Kitchens

Adia

by Sarah Machlaughlin

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...There's no one here to blame
There's no one left to talk to, honey
And there ain't no one to buy our innocence

'Cause we are born innocent
Believe me Adia, we are still innocent
It's easy, we all falter
Does it matter?

Adia I thought that we could make it
But I know I can't change the way you feel
I leave you with your misery
A friend who won't betray
I pull you from your tower
I take away your pain
And show you all the beauty you possess
If you'd only let yourself believe that

We are born innocent
Believe me Adia, we are still innocent
It's easy, we all falter, does it matter?...

Sometimes cooking together is very messy, and sometimes things burn; other times the food is tasty and we are so glad. There are days that the sight of the 'kitchen' is terrifying! Without courage to experiment, at times we turn away; it just seems so hot in there. The kitchen may be a metaphor for one's life.
 Boiling water, burnt fingers, we imagine our self unappreciated.
But truly we are innocent. Innocence in the sense of a good gift given and received; innocent that we are free of guile or cunning; innocent that we are honest in dealing with one another. Innocent in the Simple way. Powerfully innocent in divinity.

What  happens in the kitchen, that central place in our daily life? Mostly good. It came to me over time, that a person may simply be a gift. An amazing gift to me by the Holy Spirit. How else could it be?
How could I refuse such a gift? While not perfect, we are very lovable. This proves a great help to me. It's my hope I am mostly a help in return, if a clumsy one. And like all gifts, those freely given and freely received, may be freely withdrawn, the 'free will' thing. The Spirit does not force anything; it can be surrendered.

This gift given me, cannot be shamed. Some may not understand; some may be jealous, but owing to the Original Giver, we cannot be shamed. Truly we are innocents.
The light of the Spirit is all knowing and I have, often in extreme anxiety, followed its lead, honoring  and respecting what I cannot always know or understand.

Among the things I have always discerned is the gift of love, sometimes soft, sometimes tough. It gives courage to go on and on. I could not have had instances of more beauty and wonder in my life without such great gifts as these.
The Bible tells a bit about the gifts of the Spirit, about the light to the world. Keep your courage, engage patience when in darkness, follow the light in your life, as did the disciple Mark 10:14: "Let the little children come to me."

Love and the Body

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you..." 1 Corinthians:1-19
"We are like little mirrors in which God contemplates Himself."
St. John Vianney

When the Body Speaks

Depeche Mode

Listen Here

To the soul's desires

The body listens

What the flesh requires

Keeps the heart imprisoned

What the spirit seeks

The mind will follow

When the body speaks

All else is hollow...

In matters of the body, there are some who see no body-soul connection, instead they see the body only. The physical, tangible body is their reality. There is nothing intrinsically evil or immoral in things, natural in creation. The Creator has seen to that, writes Thomas Merton. In his effort to express what he sees as the good, the beautiful, the holy, Merton addresses certain issues of the human body.

While all things, natural, created by the One cannot be in any way an impediment to realizing our own true divinity, the obstacles when and where they do exist take the form of "self." It is the tenacious need to maintain a separate egotistic, willfulness that alienates one from the Creator by means of an outwardly 'false self.'
By necessity and by function, this falseness demands an equally false environment in which to operate; the false self subsumes the real; in service to the imaginary, false self we use things for the betterment of this self to the detriment of the One, true, created self, the 'original face' as some call it. Engaged in corruption, evil easily enters as we use many illusions to increase our dependence and attachment to the false self.
The maintenance of such falseness tends to turn one into a fanatic, ever on the look-out for what is not whole or unified. Those who divide themselves, distract themselves in this pursuit to maintain a exterior identity and a second, hidden identity. We all know others whom we may have referred to as 'two-faced' and this is what Merton wishes to address.

The true joy of the world is escape from this little island of false self; instead of entering into union with the One who creates, we encounter much sadness; the grief we sometimes discover is due to the demands of our desire that there be more than there is: he who does not expect, then, has all things.
In any event, the false self is not to be 
"identified with the body. The body is neither evil nor unreal. It has a reality given it by God and this reality is therefore holy... The body is the temple of god, meaning that his reality, his truths are enshrined there... let no one then dare to hate or despise the body that has been entrusted to him by god, and let no one dare to mis-use this body... Soul and body exist together," writes Merton

There are many [persons] in the world, decent and moral, and also who recognize no other reality in life besides their body and its relationship to the environment, or a physical containment within its surroundings. While they may admittedly reduce themselves to their five, discrete senses--taste, touch, sound, smell and sight, their lives are based on their senses and nothing else.
Consequently, they easily fall into illusion-- but do not find fault in the body itself; rather it is the person them self who consents, finding a sort of security in the simplest senses. They will not answer to the secret, still voice of the One, the Creator, who calls them to take a risk, to come out of themselves, making visible all glory of the Created One. This risking, says Merton, is a task for a spiritually engaged person.

Kingdom Come

"All those dumb, old Christians--when will they figure that he ain't never, never gonna come?"


This week, Holy Week to many Christians around the world, comes on the heels of the election of the new Roman Pontiff, Pope Francis. This is the week in the calendar year set aside to usher into our consciousness, the greatest event of the Christian calendar, the death and resurrection of the Christ.

For those whose belief stops at their intellect, indeed this annual event is unintelligible. How stupid is it to think year after year that some dead guy is coming? Very stupid if one does not see themself in the process. The annual event is a time for reflection, for meditation upon the self and others and the ultimates in life, like what it is to live, to grow in love, to believe what we cannot easily perceive, to friend and befriend others, to commit ourselves to our communities and the common ground they can produce.

While these are identifiable Christian values, they are not limited to those persons who identify themselves as Christian. Many, many others will take part in just those same tasks under different names, in different seasons.
What makes the Christian focus on "the dead guy" so identifiable is that the story we learn is that he came at the behest of the Father, Lord Creator, that We, as his children, participate in those very same acts of Creation, and that from this the Holy Spirit guides, influences and maintains certain truths throughout the ages so that we, each one, may grow in love.
The love that was demonstrated on the dying cross by the Christ to "Love one another--love your neighbor as yourself,' and to do so at times is: to 'give up your life for a friend."
Here is the time of year that we are reminded by example that we have a friend in Jesus, no matter what our identified faith community is. The Christ comes for all persons, not just for the Christians.
Rejoice as he rises; for his rising raises us too.

Let It Rain

Rain Down
by Jaime Cortez 

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"Looks like it's gonna rain, rain…" go the lyrics. Firmly rooted in the Gospels, tradition tells us that there are seven gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit is presented firstly as the source of all human love, love enduring. It is the source of unity, oneness of all creation; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Consciously or unconsciously we are moved in, and by the Spirit. For those who do not consciously sense that Spirit, who think it foolish, may they come to know its inexplicable energy, its synchronicity that defies all other explanation-- it's spiritual, some how, some way. Love is present here.

The Light, the Spirit

The light come down upon me. 
Some times in life we are surprised by the most magnificent gifts of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is mysterious in gift giving. Once some years ago, I went to learn how to cook. Not long after arriving in that place for the first time, I saw someone who made me intensely curious. I could hardly keep from staring. Earnestly I wished to speak, to know their name. They smiled. A small bit of conversation followed.

This person left and I did not know their name, yet more than any other, I wished to see them again!
That some how we found ourselves placed together in the same kitchen, proves to be a wonder, even now.
Because sometimes cooking together is very messy, and sometimes things burn; other times the food is tasty and we are so glad. There are days that the sight of the kitchen is terrifying! Without courage to experiment, at times we turn away; it just seems so hot in there. Boiling water, burnt fingers, we imagine our self unappreciated.

But what was happening here? Mostly good. It came to me over time, that this person simply is a gift. An amazing gift to me by the Holy Spirit. How else could it be?  How could I refuse such a gift. While not perfect, we are very lovable. This proves a great help to me. It's my hope I am mostly a help in return, if a clumsy one. And like all gifts, those freely given and freely received, may be freely withdrawn. It's the 'free will' thing. The Spirit does not force anything; it can be surrendered.

This gift given me, cannot be shamed. Some may not understand; some may be jealous, but owing to the Original Giver, we cannot be shamed. Truly we are innocents.
The light of the Spirit is all knowing and I have, often in extreme anxiety, followed its lead, honoring  and respecting what I cannot always know or understand.
But one thing I have always discerned is the gift of love, sometimes soft, sometimes tough. I could not have had instances of more beauty and wonder in my life without such great gifts as these. The Bible tells a bit about the gifts of the Spirit, about the light to the world. Keep your courage, engage patience when in darkness, follow the light in your life, as did the disciple John.

"All Good Gifts"

by Godspell

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"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him
nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;
the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
A man named John was sent from God."
--the disciple, John1:1-6