Playing With Fire,True Without Defense

The truth needs no defense. It stands on its own. 'So let the horses run free.'

    Moment Of Surrender
by U2
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I tied myself with wire
To let the horses run free
Playing with the fire
Until the fire played with me

The stone was semi-precious
We were barely conscious
Two souls too cool to be
In the realm of certainty
Even on our wedding day

We set ourselves on fire
Oh God, do not deny her
It's not if I believe in love
But if love believes in me
Oh, believe in me

At the moment of surrender
I folded to my knees
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

I've been in every black hole
At the altar of the dark star
My body's now a begging bowl
That's begging to get back, begging to get back
To my heart
To the rhythm of my soul
To the rhythm of my unconsciousness
To the rhythm that yearns
To be released from control

I was punching in the numbers at the ATM machine
I could see in the reflection
A face staring back at me
At the moment of surrender
Of vision over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down 'til the Pentecost*

At the moment of surrender
Of vision of over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

It is so ever present, so ignored, so irksome. It is the truth. We hear much, little and nothing at all about it; we learn that 'the truth will set you free.' Some of us know about the unpleasantness of the truth. We have been spiked upon its points. Uncomfortably reminded, goaded, compelled to return to the truth, to the center.

Why must it bring itself into our presence, why must we attend to it at all? For some of us, we choose not, and we just don't. Preferring our imagined mental states, many times we withdraw, disassociate, as if there were multiples of our self; retreating into our minds where we can call the shots without any other regard. It seems so much better that way at times.
Our personality seems so much the weaker when confronted with the truths that the world turns on and will continue to press. We so often fool ourselves into this lonely, alone state. There seems no other good options.

Truth asks and often demands primarily two things of us always, at all times. First it asks for acceptance, but not agreement. Simple acceptance will do; then it asks for what is greater and far more difficult: truth asks that we surrender to a place, a state, a grace that is much more than we are alone. It asks for and offers love. Here we play with fire; it is as thrilling as it is terrifying. To let the horses run free, believing in something greater, something we cannot see. We 'the begging bowl,' the surrender back to the heart of each and every matter because at the end of our time, the world will continue turning. Its spin will go on, 'to the rhythm of its soul, visibility over invisibility.' Our job here? Say yes. Say yes and accept.

*Pentecost

Deeply Resented and the Beatitudes

"ask and you will receive; knock and the door will open to you; see so that you may believe."

There are phrases that the people of the West have heard so often until they're trite. They have become  caricatures, without specific meaning.
Yet the Bible tells us the Christ did say them, did instruct by them, and the Christ Way consists of them and others. For Jesus, the Christ, they were the new thinking, the way to lead from God, the Father.
So today, instead of sentences, the Simple Mind writes here mostly in phrases, ideas actually. These are some of the most essential of all the Christ's teachings, thoughts for all true disciples to strive towards.

First of all, the Good News tells us that we must ask; we are required to ask. Asking is part of listening and listening is a critical part of the voluntaries often called 'free will.' So we must ask--ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you; see so that you may believe.
The reluctance to heed these commandments for those persons who do not, gives an indication that they may well be some one who wishes to be seen as taking either the socially superior or inferior position.
Thus the person who for example, insists on always giving but not receiving, refusing even, is at the same time someone who will not allow the balance to be restored or maintained by reciprocity. They refuse to balance between giver and receiver.

Only when there are both givers and receivers, often one in the same, can a community be established; without this balance, deep resentment often arises between giver and receiver. The Christ recognizes this; he refuses to be caught on this point. Instead, he commands his disciples to think and to behave in the way of love for one another; so feed the hungry; give them drink; clothe the naked; be kind to the stranger; visit the sick or those in prison; bury the dead. Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful.

And there is the ongoing spiritual work that the Christ calls his disciples to-- correcting those in error; educating the ignorant; counseling those in doubt or confusion; comfort for those in sorrow; bearing wrongs patiently; forgiving the wrongs done by others; pray for the living and the dead, unceasingly.

And again, numerous times the Christ reminds aspiring disciples, of just this-- if you love me, you will keep my commandments; love one another as I have loved you; the greatest commandment is love.

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

Mankind Waits For You

Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh Adonai Tz'vaot / Melo Kol Haaretz Kevodo.--Hebrew Kaddush

Humming bird
performed by Seals & Croft
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Mankind was waiting for you to come along...
Lend us your wings
let us soar in the atmosphere Lift us to the Heaven of holiness

Oh, source of our being, hummingbird...

Have you noticed the days are getting longer
somehow keep getting longer?
The spirit son is stronger
And a new day is dawning for us all...

The ancient prayer the Kaddush comes to the Christian believer from ancient roots of the father, Judaism. It remains essentially unchanged for thousands and thousands of years. The words are from the Bible, Isaiah 6:3. In current use this same prayer also called by its Latin name the Sanctus, is a cornerstone of devotional prayer. It becomes one into trance, into mystery into prayer. 

Its theme is the simple chant of Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts... The Bible refers to it a number of times; in Corinthians, in the Apocalypse of John, in Matthew 21, in Isaiah. A prayer of hope of open hearts, the Sanctus calls to the holy one to descend upon the faithful with Spirit and grace.

The theme of a bird in the lyrics above bring this prayer to mind. While the dove is the more usual bird, why not another, like the Humming bird? It 's a beautiful and inspiring creature widely present in the temperate regions of north America and elsewhere.

You, the Secret

"Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be soundly mocked."  --Song of Solomon 8:6-7.

Secret

by Seal

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You must know me,

one of your secrets

You must know me,

I’m one of your secrets

I belong to you.

I belong to you.

And you belong to me.

You must know me,

one of your secrets

ooh, whoa, ooh

From what I see,

you’re trying too hard

to keep it oh,

yes you are.

Well, I belong to you.

I belong to you.

I belong to you.

And you belong to me.

Look at me, I’m

your heart’s keeper.

Met for 3:21 AM,

she will be here,

oh yes she will.

And I belong to you.

Yes I belong to you.

I belong to you.

 And you belong to me.

Look at me, I’m one

of your secrets.

From what I see,

you’re trying hard

to keep it. Oh yeah

"Set me as a seal upon your heart; as a seal upon your arm. For stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is to devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. Deep waters cannot quench love, nor floods sweep it away. Were one to offer all he owns to purchase love, he would be soundly mocked." --Song of Solomon 8:6-7.

In proclaiming his beloved-- he, God of Creation demonstrates his utter devotion. He declares in no uncertain terms that his love cannot be swept away by fire, flood or any other event, so steadfast is he. God it seems, is equal in strength and determination to every other force. I guess you might say that God the Lover is madly, wildly passionately in love. A little taste of this love is given to us during our lifetime; we feel that we have discovered heaven. And heaven it is.

The secret of God's heart is you. You are the creation of his unearthly love. Mysterious in all ways. Man cannot be for use, for every person is capable of determining his or her own aims. Each person, a creation of the natural order, has the natural right to be respected, given their dignity and loved for who they are, rather than the work or acts they perform; since this is in keeping with the natural ends of God's good, who in the act of Creation, he intends for all.

Wild, Unbridled Hope

Treat Her Like a Lady

by Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose

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All my friends had to ask me
Somethin' they didn't understand
How I get all the women
In the palms of my hand, now

And I told them, to treat her like a lady
Um-hum all the best you can do
You got to treat her like a lady, she give into you
Ah-hum now who can see, you know what I mean?

I know you heard
That a woman
Will soon take advantage of you...

Let me tell you
My friend
There just ain't no substitute
You 'outta a treat her like a lady
Um-hum, all  the best you can do

You got to treat her like a lady
She give into you,
Now who can see?
You know what I mean

Oh, you've got to love her
Tease her
But most of all you've got to please her

You've got to hold her
Now and want her
And make her feel you'll always need her

You know a woman
Is sentimental
And so easy  to upset
So make her feel
That she's for real
And she give you happiness

Strange  as it seems
You know you can't do a woman mean
So my friends, now there you have it
I said it's the easy simple way
Now if you fail...
Don't blame her if she looks my way...

It's now the official first of summer and there is today, a bright, sunny day. The air seems permeated with a wild, unbridled hope. While it is still the early days of the summertime, we are reminded that all who follow, live under "the book."
The bible reminds us that "Today is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad." Psalm 118:24. And being that it is from the Psalms, we know that it is meant to be either chanted or sung.

Today is a day to be glad, even as we face disaster and tragedy. Today offers to us new hope. Pray for the well being of those who have risked life and limb, who risk everything that they somehow find the calm and peace in the chaos of their life at just this moment. As a woman said this morning, "Tomorrow the sun will rise again." Words are powerful; they can wound, but they can also heal.

The words of a young blogger inspire me to write today. While I cannot discern the way for her, hers is a young life, growing and blooming. I came across her blog today; her enthusiasm is palpable. She is fully engaged in her work with children who are, by many measures, hopeless. For her however, they are each rays of hope! 

Treat each other well, because as the lyrics say, "There just ain't no substitute."  Today is a day made for you and me, made for us all to feel joy, to hope for a change of circumstance by the miracle of inter-being.

Complete in Every Moment

Unless we accept responsibility for our life, we will always resist change.  ~Unknown author

Prayer of St. Francis

sung by Sinead O'Connor

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Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love
where there is injury, pardon

where there is doubt, faith
where there is despair, hope
where there is darkness, light
where there is sadness, joy

O Divine Master, grant

that I may not so much seek to be 
consoled as to console

to be understood as to understand

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive

for it is in pardoning that we are pardoned

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life

Patience is a special kind of love. When we are patient with our self or others, we experience the sense that we are all "works in progress," that in each and every moment we are whole and complete.
This is the great paradox, because in the wider view, we are often aware of our longings and strivings and we feel unfinished, like a song.
It takes both persistence and practice to learn to play the music to sing a song. Persisting in the moment does lead to a stronger sense of accomplishment when the time comes that we both play the music and sing.

Betrayed and Scourged

"Accept whatever happens to you; in periods of humiliation be patient. For in fire gold is tested' --Sirach 2:4-5

While the modern solution to betrayal might be to get a dog, as some may conclude, in the Christian way one takes time to learn during this most important season of Lent, that by taking a period of 40 days to examine ourselves and to re-examine the Gospel story, the last days of the Christ and his passion is prime.
The Easter season which is the most important event on the Christian calendar is prime for several reasons, and is interestingly determined by the earth herself. Since ancient history astronomers have observed the moon to fix the date for the start of Lent and therefore the advent of Easter which recollects the dying and the rising of the Christ.
So Easter, like Passover is intrinsically tied to the earth and the seasons;  the date for both is fixed on an annual basis by the moon. What could be more organic than that? As the moon rises and falls, the seasons come and go, so too the Easter season. It is an unending story of fail and triumph, despite treachery, despite betrayal.

Easter addresses the metaphysical questions of life purpose, of renewal, of succeeding despite adversity and withering odds. Saint John 6:51 tells us that if we believe, we will have life everlasting;

the Christ commands that we give up our worldly cares to follow him. Saint Matthew 19:21-30 .

If we meet in the middle, will we trust, trust just enough…says the song lyrics, Sister Goldenhair, by America. 

With Christ what is there to fear?  Romans 8:31

Who are we as we follow along the path, living in the Spirit?
Lent provides the time to meditate and ponder these among other questions, to answer for our self what it means to be scourged, embarrassed and humiliated, and to rise above to meet the Christ with love and acceptance, the Easter way.

Staying Together

Lets Stay Together

by Al Green

performed by Seal

LISTEN HERE

I, I'm so in love with you

Whatever you want to do is all right with me
'Cause you make me feel so brand new
And I want to spend my life with you

Let me say that since, baby, since we've been together
Loving you forever is what I need
Oh let me be the one you come running to
I'll never be untrue

Oh let's, let's stay together
Lovin' you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad, alright, oh yeah
Whether times are good or bad, happy or sad

Oh tell me why, why, why, why, why, why
Why people break up, turn around and make up
I can't see, you never, never, never do that to me
You better not do, staying around you is all I
All these eyes will ever see

Why won't you say that me, everybody says
That let's, let's stay together
Lovin' you whether, whether
Times are good or bad, happy or sad

Everybody says, "Let's, let's stay together
I'll keep on lovin' you whether, whether
Times are, oh times are good or times are bad
Whether, whether good or bad, happy or sad
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah

In today's disposable, scientific world there is a decided trend towards absolute consumerism. We want products and services that will please us, that will perform to our expectations. When they don't, we often leave them aside and search out something else, as if at a smorgasbord.
It is pervasive and growing, even if perhaps without conscious awareness. A consumer, after all, is someone who consumes, eats it all up, and then goes out for more.
When it comes to people, we sometimes treat them like things too.  More people, more relationships, ever hungry for more and more, if for only a momentary pleasure or thrill before the sameness, the stress and loneliness sets us to searching once more.

Many want to "dump" what is challenging, what is uncontrollable, and find what suits. Our modern language and electronic media trends reflect this.
And yet deep down, in the stillness of the heart, in the soul, what satisfies is a sense of "can do" as in 'I can do this. We can succeed."   We want to know where to place our confidence, where our heart may rest. We may want to know that what lies in you, lies in us too.

"The one who perseveres to the end will be saved." Matthew 24:3-13

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.'

Persevering Until Justice Is Done

"The seed is the word of God." Saint Luke 8:11

Follow you, Follow Me

performed by Genesis

Phil Collins et al

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Stay with me,
My love I hope you'll always be
Right here by my side if ever I need you
Oh my love

In your arms,
I feel so safe and so secure
Everyday is such a perfect day to spend
Alone with you

I will follow you, will you follow me?
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me?
Just one single tear in each passing year

With the dark,
Oh I see so very clearly now
All my fears are drifting by me so slowly now
Fading away

I can say
The night is long, but you are here
Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give
And while I live

I will follow you, will you follow me?
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me?
Just one single tear in each passing year there will be

I will follow you will, you follow me?
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you, will you stay with me?
Just one single tear in each passing year...

There is a story about a woman and a judge. She represents the common, everyday person, and the judge is an authority. The tale is told in completion in the book of Saint Luke 18:9-14; it concerns itself primarily with struggle, and resistance to injustice.

"The Christ then told them in reply, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and then act upon it."
Luke 8:21

Resistance is indispensable for those of us leading a life of submission, and lack of dignity as persons. Follow the Christ, a peaceful and loving son.
In this story which Luke tells, the woman prayed that she be granted justice against her opponents.  Luke 18:3 tells us about this. And we are reminded to pay to Caesar [a Roman emperor] what is his, and not more Matthew 22:15-22.

The key to the struggle against social injustice and social evils is perseverance and prayer. Please, find your way there as you work to follow the Christ.

A thousand "reasons I should not spend my time with you"

Only When I Lose Myself

by Depeche Mode

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It's Only When I Lose Myself in someone else
Then I find myself
I find myself

It's Only When I Lose Myself in someone else
Then I find myself
I find myself
Something beautiful is happening inside for me
Something sensual, it's full of fire and mystery
I feel hypnotized, I feel paralyzed
I have found heaven

There's a thousand reasons
Why I should not spent my time with you
For every reason not to be here I can think of two
Keep me hanging on
Feeling nothing's wrong
Inside your heaven

It's Only When I Lose Myself in someone else
Then I find myself
I find myself
It's Only When I Lose Myself in someone else
Then I find myself
I find myself

I can feel the emptiness inside me fade & disappear
There's a feeling of content that now you are here
I feel satisfied
I belong inside
Your velvet heaven

Did I need to sell my soul
For pleasure like this
Did I have to lose control
To treasure your kiss

Did I need to place my heart
In the palm of your hand
Before I could even start
To understand

It's Only When I Lose Myself in someone else
Then I find myself
I find myself...

There's a thousand "reasons I should not spend my time with you" is among the lyrics to this meditation. The song succinctly describes the experience of many in this life.
The feeling of being, captured by love. A love that surprises, that overwhelms, lowering the normally defensive ego to allow the brilliance of a sun-filled day into our heart.
"Do I need to sell my soul for pleasure like this?"
 No, love is not bought or sold; it's given freely. We learn none of these fears are justified; if it is God who is the great creator of all, then it is god, who casts light among the beloveds.
All of creation is free in his reign. Love requires faith; it requires that we act though we cannot see; that the "evidence" lies only in a heart.
"Something beautiful is happening inside for me, Something sensual, it's full of fire and mystery I feel hypnotized, I feel paralyzed, I have found heaven..."

There is something to it: For those demanding a sign, Saint Matthew tells us in Chapter 16 that

"When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples,“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied,“Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life? "

 Bible, St. Matthew 16:13-20; 24-26

Sincerity and Love

“We make ourselves real by telling the truth.” Thomas Merton

Duran Duran

Come Undone

Listen Here 

Mine, immaculate dream made breath and skin

I've been waiting for you

Signed, with a home tattoo,

Happy birthday to you was created for you...

Oh, it'll take a little time,

Might take a little crime

To come undone now

We'll try to stay blind

To the hope and fear outside

Hey child, stay wilder than the wind

And blow me into cry

refrain:

Who do you need, who do you love

When you come undone?

Who do you need, who do you love

When you come undone?

Words, playing me deja vu

Like a radio tune I swear I've heard before

Chill, is it something real

Or the magic I'm feeding off your fingers?

Lost, in a snow filled sky,

we'll make it alright

To come undone now

refrain:

(can not forgive from falling apart)

Who do you need, who do you love

When you come undone?

(can not forgive from falling apart)

Who do you need, who do you love?

(can not forgive from falling apart)

Who do you love

When you come undone?

(can not forgive from falling apart) 

We all very much need to know the truth as a function of living in the real world. Cold makes snow; water makes rain, and wind makes tornadoes. These simple truths we know as facts.
But when dealing with the myriad other aspects of a human life, we can very often forget how very badly we need to tell the truth. It is not possible for a person to be in harmony with a truth that he does not yet possess.
So it seems that we must be true inside, with our self, before we can know a truth that is outside us. We make ourselves true when we manifest what we see.

Sincerity is still something to admire, be it in ignorance, humor, understanding or joy. Yet many times, upon meeting with truth, we refuse it, crucifying that which is before our own eyes. Transformed into a grotesque caricature of its former self, sincere truth, now stripped of harmony, wreaks vengeance. It seems the need for truth is inescapable. I deeply need to know wherein to place my confidence, my joy.
The whole package of truth consists in the trite phrase of “talk the talk, walk the walk.” There is a sort of homage to the world which we pay by truth.
Without this, there is left the specter of mental instability or chaos in the form of illness. The classic feature of psychosis is the inability to distinguish reality from fantastic pretense.

Despite this potentiality, men seem often consumed in idle gossip, scurrilous malignment and scandalous calumnies. There is, in their actions contempt, a lack of respect for reality. Some say the base of this issue rests in the will.
We refuse many times to conform with what we know true. We refuse it, fight it; our will plunges into false values, false views. The restless wagging of our tongues is evidence of this state.
Does a spring send out both sweet water to drink, and poison from the exact same source? Can unquiet evil be tamed, filled full, with its own poison?

We are still, despite it all, free in our will to value what we know to be true, or not. And to speak the truth in sincerity is more than frankness. It is a manifestation of a spirit to be simple, to be real, to observe an obligation to the truth about one self.
When we rake the truth, it is our soul we make foul. Heaped with dirt until we recognize it no more. So without a personal commitment to honest self-justice, lying and double dealing become unavoidable. Fear is possibly the greatest obstacle to candor. Others have no authority to demand that I be other than I rightly am.
And when they arrested and beat me, they could not take me down. It was a test of love. When fully myself, my life becomes its own fulfillment and completion.
So in the end, while a surge of pride may devour and destroy, sincerity remains a question of love. In love a person may see the true, and offer love for beauty in its own soul.
'Truth makes us real', as Merton said.

Hope for the Modern World

"Be not afraid. Come, follow me..." Jesus to his disciples, Pope John Paul II to the world

 If there is any message of hope in the modern world for the followers of the Christ, it is this: there is a limit, and this limit has to do with the mercy of God.  There is a limit imposed upon evil in the world, in history, wrote Pope John Paul II as he recalled his youth in Poland under Russian domination. In secret he studied to become a priest.

Despite all our fears, of the human capacity for evil and wickedness, or the confusion of our own hearts, we need not be afraid for God loves. Indeed God is love itself. In Christianity there is the great teaching, the revelation that a being, a creator existed for love, in love with all that was created; this being was Gospel, the 'good news.' In a largely joyless, suffering world of oppression and hatred, the future Pope found joy. In the community of Christians, he felt joy so large that he felt compelled to share; this brought him to his vocation as a priest. He went forth to share this good news. Joylessness turned to hopefulness for the young priest from Poland.

In the modern, industrialized West, threats to human happiness take subtler forms than for those who suffer unjust governments. They threaten the Spirit, the Community no less than overt acts of evil. 
And yet there is the Christ, whose message is taken up by followers throughout the world, all parts of the world, not only in the West. It is a universal message of hope, of peace, of love, faithful love.
Saint John, the disciple, writes of the radiant, burning love made visible in the incarnation of the Christ. The Holy Spirit comes down from above to kindle the hearts of ordinary men so that this love is made visible, tangible and real. 

This love is the ordinary love of the Creator. It is not the love of hearts and candy, romantic and fickle.  "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life..." 1John1:1

Cooks In Kitchens

Adia

by Sarah Machlaughlin

Listen Here

...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."

Springtime, A Temperate Mood

SONNET 116
by William Shakespeare

view video1
This Love, Sarah Brightman

"Let me not to the marriage of true minds

admit impediments. Love is not love

which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove.

O no, it is an ever fixed mark
that looks on tempests and is never shaken;
it is the star to every wandering bark,whose worth’s unknown,
although his height be taken.

Love’s not time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
within his bending sickle’s compass come:
love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
but bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error and upon me proved,

I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

Compare the original above with a modern version here for meaning:

"I hope I may never acknowledge any reason why minds that truly love each other shouldn’t be joined together. Love isn’t really love if it changes when it sees the beloved change or if it disappears when the beloved leaves.
Oh no, love is a constant and unchanging light that shines on storms without being shaken; it is the star that guides every wandering boat. And like a star, its value is beyond measure, though its height can be measured. Love is not under time’s power, though time has the power to destroy rosy lips and cheeks.
Love does not alter with the passage of brief hours and weeks, but lasts until Doomsday. If I’m wrong about this and can be proven wrong, I never wrote, and no man ever loved. "

While casting for a topic, I came upon an intriguing video composition combining the famed novelist, Jane Austin's (there are three novels in the series), Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare's sonnet 116 and the modern, English soprano singer Sarah Brightman performing This Love. Quite a combination! It's not what one might expect.

Even a simple mind doesn't easily put it all together. But further consideration gives the idea from Jane Austin, that in the middle way, a temperate mood is beneficial to one's life and happiness.There is something to the idea that a calm, steadiness lends itself to prosperity when standing on shifting ground.
The plot of the novel (written in 1811) illustrates this value, strengthened with Shakespeare's words that a true love is real, and remains, unfoundered. And while I can't ascertain the logic or philosophy engaged by the maker of the video, nor the sense or appropriateness of its music or lyric combined with the novel, I think it attracts because of the strong soprano voice of Sarah Brightman and an emotion she conveys when paired to the visuals of the movie. It forms a sort of synthesis which says more than either alone.

And I suppose one must read "between the lines" to find the meaning in it all. Finally, it is the music--maybe-- surely (maybe minus the lyrics) that seems to offer some kind of answer.

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.

A Taize Kind of Day

On a recent visit to the very important pilgrimage center in Europe-- Taize, France, as a simple mind I was brought into direct experience with what it is that makes this monastery Taize tick, bringing more than 80,000 pilgrims each year. But after a week there, I can explain it no better than frere Paolo who has made Taize his life: the simple way, the way of Saint Ignatius Loyola is his way.

 Frere or Brother and monk of Taize, Paolo is quoted as explaining their lives at Taize:

“The monastic commitment is to three things: to celibacy – to say as a life commitment that you are not going to have any one person in your life to whom you belong or who belongs to you. To simplicity – not having bank accounts, not always looking to acquire more things. To obedience – accepting the decisions made in community, not looking out for your own career, not living together for convenience: trying to take part in the same creation together, the same work, ministry, whatever you want to call it. 

 

Those three things, which are questions of sex, money and power, are the very things which human beings want to be able to control. And the thing is, that, if you live it well, and wholeheartedly, it quite often leads you into times when you feel very, very empty, lonely, at a loss. And you wait there, in the Prayer, in the silence, in the singing of the psalms, in these songs that go round and round, and you wait and you discover that it is actually there, when it is very empty, that the roots of your life arise again.

And the thing is that I actually think that this resonates with the experience of young people It is young people’s experience that life is empty and they want it to be filled, and they wonder where that fulfillment is going to come from, where they are going to discover the direction for their lives, and so I think there is something here in our life at Taize that resonates for them.”


Some 'song-prayers' of Taize: Ubi Caritas, the words are a simple chant: 'ubi caritas, deus ibi est'; where there is charity, there is love, god is.
There are many others such as Stay with Me.... and the chant   Oh, You, You Are Everything  whose sound and images record the simple beauty of the monastery herself.

The voices you hear are not those of professional singers. They are the voices of the many, simple pilgrims who come each day to pray in chant at the worship center. Praying as one voice, chanted in many different languages, the prayers are often spontaneous and many linger an hour or more chanting after the monks have retired to their other tasks, in addition prayer.

Follow You, Follow Me

Follow You, Follow Me
by Collins, Banks, Rutherford, Genesis

Listen Here

Stay with me,

My love I hope you'll always be

Right here by my side if ever I need you
Oh my love

In your arms,
I feel so safe and so secure
Everyday is such a perfect day to spend
Alone with you

I will follow you will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be
I will stay with you will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year

With the dawn,
Oh I see so very clearly now
All my fears are drifting by me so slowly now
Fading away

I can say the night is long but you are here
Close at hand, oh I'm better for the smile you give

And while I live
I will follow you will you follow me
All the days and nights that we know will be

I will stay with you will you stay with me
Just one single tear in each passing year there will be...

The Lord of Hosts calls, reminds, implores that we come to know:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.  

1 Corinthians

 be not afraid; I am with you always.
--Luke 4; John 14

Over the Sill, Close the Door

"Love sails around me; I walk two steps on the ground and four steps in the air." --Thomas Merton

Many without any other influence might come to think the world of a contemplative serious or even dry, but this and other thoughts by the late Thomas Merton shows another side to living a simple life-a life that is simply full. Read more of his thoughts:

"It's love; it's consolation. I don't care if it's consolation. I'm not attached to consolation. I love God. Love carries me around. I don't want to do anything but love. That love, secret, hidden, obscure love, down inside of me and outside me where I don't care to talk about it... I have only time for eternity, which is to say for love, love, love... Love is the only thing that makes it possible for me to tick... I am all dried up with desire and I can only think of one thing--staying in the fire that burns me...Sooner or later the world must burn...sooner or later it will be consumed by fire and nobody will be left--for by that time the last man in the universe will have discovered the bomb capable of destroying the universe and will have been unable to resist the temptation to throw the thing and get it over with... But love laughs at the end of the world because love is the door to eternity, and before anything can happen, love will have drawn him over the sill and closed the door, and he won't bother about the world burning because he will know nothing but love." 
--Thomas Merton, Cistercian monk, priest and mystic
A Thomas Merton Reader