Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Christianity-in-kansas-city, Marta Diaz
Lily is determined to grow spiritually http://www.examiner.com/christianity-in-kansas-city/marta-diaz
Lily decided to take the risk. One day she will be able to gather the fruits of this endeavor. Until that day comes, she will continue experimenting with thoughts and ideas but avoiding involving her emotional life on it. Strangely ignoring her feelings, Lily will do this for a long time.
Using a specific terminology of Saint John of the Cross, after a ‘dark night’ for her soul, the eleven years old Lily remained searching inside her mind with no explicit direction or knowledge but with the purpose to find answers, something valuable in it.
The girl was trying to know more about her spirit, a term that she heard in the church and at school. Lily thought that the word spirit should be related to the word soul, a term that the girl already knew at the time of discovering the reality of the spirit. Thus, looking with some direction then, she turned to herself one more time questioning, searching inside her mind and her spirit, …what will the spirit, soul, mind stand for? At that time, it was impossible to solve that dilemma.
The purpose to identify, connect and find meaning for all these realities was an immense task that only after years of hunt, Lily clarified and set up some stability that usually comes with the appropriate explanations. Only as a young adult she understood what it means ‘to be unified’, a word but specially a practice that spiritual masters frequently recommend and teach their pupils.
As an apprentice, the purpose to identify, connect or integrate her being, and achieve harmony for her life was something that Lily did intuitively at the beginning. As was said, intellection of those terms and events that marked her life came years later. Those spiritual stages Lily accomplished with no enough coomprehension but with a determination that, thank God, Lily never lost.
Using a specific terminology of Saint John of the Cross, after a ‘dark night’ for her soul, the eleven years old Lily remained searching inside her mind with no explicit direction or knowledge but with the purpose to find answers, something valuable in it.
The girl was trying to know more about her spirit, a term that she heard in the church and at school. Lily thought that the word spirit should be related to the word soul, a term that the girl already knew at the time of discovering the reality of the spirit. Thus, looking with some direction then, she turned to herself one more time questioning, searching inside her mind and her spirit, …what will the spirit, soul, mind stand for? At that time, it was impossible to solve that dilemma.
The purpose to identify, connect and find meaning for all these realities was an immense task that only after years of hunt, Lily clarified and set up some stability that usually comes with the appropriate explanations. Only as a young adult she understood what it means ‘to be unified’, a word but specially a practice that spiritual masters frequently recommend and teach their pupils.
As an apprentice, the purpose to identify, connect or integrate her being, and achieve harmony for her life was something that Lily did intuitively at the beginning. As was said, intellection of those terms and events that marked her life came years later. Those spiritual stages Lily accomplished with no enough coomprehension but with a determination that, thank God, Lily never lost.
Monday, October 18, 2010
When you think of Christ, do thoughts come to mind as a command…, “I have to praise God for what He gave me”, or you turn to Him just because you what to spend that moment with Him? In that case love is the motif and sincerely comes from the heart. This is important to know in order for you to know if have the attitude that will make you feel absolutely comfortable with God.
The best disposition counts because it makes a big difference during the spiritual journey. Love is humble and humility makes people wise as a popular Biblical passage affirms: “He who humbles himself will be exalted”. The virtue of humility is the foundation and beginning to unveiling for you Jesus’ Face.
Only when a person humbly acknowledges that the development of virtues such as faith, humility and charity to succeed in the transcendent world of God is a continue process, then he/she is ready to receive as a gift insight about spiritual matters.
Christ: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=Christ&x=11&y=14
Faith, humility, charity: http://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?quicksearch=faith%2C+humility%2C+charity&x=10&y=19
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
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| Communion of Saints are named the people of God |
God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness and let them rule over .... Genesis 1:26. Do you think it's easy to understand this similarity? It is certainly no. Although the Bible offers a wealth of passages to clarify the issue, it remains difficult for men to analyze and compare a physical world with an infinite reality.
However, it is very important for men to understand the meaning of these statements of Genesis. In the twenty first century is essential for individuals and communities, government, professionals, entrepreneurs and workers to realize the real dimension of every human being declared by the parameters of God.
Christian religions built their doctrine, teachings and practice, founded on the concept of God from the likes of men drawn from their resemblance to God. The dignity of man could also be recognized by his/her communion with God. The ability to interact and become a partner of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, is the opportunity for men to maintain this glorious dignity and not let go for not understanding its excellence.
As image of God, the predominant vocation of a Christian believer is to love and be loved. This role is accomplished in the community as image of God’s community: One God in three persons. As an example and to remark the importance of the community for human beings to fulfill their vocation, in a conference of Catholic Bishops, Cardinal John J. O'Connor citing a book by Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, says: "We have all known the long loneliness. I learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community."
Self-abandonment is the perfect attitude toward God for the spiritual being who accepts the experience of the spiritual path. At first, it can be confusing for some people who enthusiastically offered their lives to God and in short started experiencing some kind of regression.
In view of these loyal people sudden lack of fervor and desire, inability to control their spiritual progress, and thereby meet commitments are associated with inability to manage the transcendent affairs. Spiritual instability, doubt, insecurity after begin the spiritual development task is related to lack of willingness or ability to sustain spiritual growth.
Some of them leave the commitment caused by anxiety, some continue but with a lot of pain, and eventually, others find guidance on time to rectify the evaluation done to experiences that could be worth the effort. Experts generally mystical authors as Saint John of the Cross define this moment as a transition between the natural knowledge of the spiritual to a mystical understanding of the religious experience and clarify the steps of the process as going gradually through a path of darkness or lack of light, uncertainty and doubts to a path of light in the last stages. This makes it important to know the reason of self-abandonment into the hands of God as the best attitude for the good of the creature.
http://www.examiner.com/christianity-in-kansas-city/marta-diaz
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