"I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief..." has been my mantra for many years. I wrote it down once and stuck it to my mirror. The clarity of faithlessness must be so rewarding (it must be, otherwise who would be faithless?). But the reward for faith, at least in this life, are dreams and visions, and sacred cures. A beautiful thing....
I believe you are right as usual, gentlemen. Sacramental rites & other religious practices serve the purpose of training your thinking toward the divine. One can live a spiritual life and yet not have spiritual experiences everyday. The mechanism is that perhaps, the spiritual disciplining of the mind through sacraments and other practices open the mind to the spiritual so that we can experience those God events more deeply than our iPhone apps would otherwise indicate.
Thank you for honesty and revealing your life to us, i hope, your friends. Looking for miracles, we will find them. Holiness in everyday life is a quest for a lifetime as we walk, talk and serve with God. Let us all pierce the veil of unbelief and access the power of God through faith and repentance. He was born for you.
I don't know about knowing the "sacred depths of life while actually living." I have always imagined death to be a sacrament or capstone of sorts that kind of ties all of your life together and gives it a greater meaning, even to others, than perhaps even when you were living. I just think some things can't be resolved or realized fully until after you are gone, however the memory of you and your life can still be life giving. But I digress...
My actual thought was that I think all Christians are called to be mystics because who is a mystic but the one who can see God through the veil of the human experience? It definitely takes some formation and habitual practice though to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, but once that good habit is developed, you can start seeing/experiencing it almost everywhere. Though I do think we all need the occasional experience of the direct supernatural to help us along. We are only human after all!
I’ve found that it is so easy to lose sight of the spiritual, and God moving in our world. It is times of intention, and devotion that I can see God moving. These efforts take discipline and quiet to yield fruit. It’s only in moments in which I unplug from the busy-ness that this is possible.
My conclusion:Miracles happen every day. God’s spirit is alive, and moving with vigor all around me. I pray that others will see what I see, and approach these extraordinary moments with gratitude.
The doctrine of christ is iterative. First faith (see and believe) which is temporal then Hope (learn to act instead of being acted upon -repentance) which bridges the lower and higher law , then charity ( overcoming the world, potential of covenant) what we BECOME as we embrace and are infused with light and truth. A "positive virtuous cycle" We learn and practice this in holy places and through ordinances but all of these represent us as God's children with potential to become sanctified. He taught us The Way through his own condescension.❤️🎄
I believe that experiencing the divine is rare. Experiencing the supernatural is less rare, but seldom an everyday occurrence. The two holiest people I am aware of living in my lifetime, St. Theresa of Calcutta and Pope St. John Paul II, had different experiences. St. Theresa had a profound encounter in her youth, but then suffered decades of spiritual dryness. She continued her ministry and had great joy in helping the lowest of the low. She spent hours each day in prayer, and felt nothing in return, but did not stop. JPII had a great need for daily exposure to Christ in the Eucharist, and would write in front of the tabernacle each day on a small portable desk. When he was named bishop, he went to a convent and asked if they had reserved the Eucharist in a chapel. When they said they did, he spent 3 hours prostrate on the floor in deep prayer. If we can draw anything from these profoundly holy people, it is that even the devout are seldom favored with glimpses of the divine, but do what they were put on earth to do: serve their fellow man, their neighbors, and teach others to do the same.
I have known people who saw demons and devils in every miscreant. While they may be correct, I tend to think of human nature as fallen, and free will will steer us to very dark places indeed, Perhaps with our own personal Wormwood, but we have enough ingenuity to screw things up on our own.
Dreams are sometimes clarifying, and is frequently used in scripture to denote communication with the divine.
The interview with Rod Dreher was truly eye opening for me. I wonder whether knowing an exorcist should be a more common experience. Certainly more frequent confession will be beneficial, certainly for me. It causes me to stop focusing on me, and more on my actions and harms I have done to myself and others.
I consider myself a data driven person, but know where the data comes from...I do the best I can with the tools I have, especially the Word, but always give it to God. I have so much less stress now.
"I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief..." has been my mantra for many years. I wrote it down once and stuck it to my mirror. The clarity of faithlessness must be so rewarding (it must be, otherwise who would be faithless?). But the reward for faith, at least in this life, are dreams and visions, and sacred cures. A beautiful thing....
How about change the word up a bit to: Be alive!
I believe you are right as usual, gentlemen. Sacramental rites & other religious practices serve the purpose of training your thinking toward the divine. One can live a spiritual life and yet not have spiritual experiences everyday. The mechanism is that perhaps, the spiritual disciplining of the mind through sacraments and other practices open the mind to the spiritual so that we can experience those God events more deeply than our iPhone apps would otherwise indicate.
Thank you for honesty and revealing your life to us, i hope, your friends. Looking for miracles, we will find them. Holiness in everyday life is a quest for a lifetime as we walk, talk and serve with God. Let us all pierce the veil of unbelief and access the power of God through faith and repentance. He was born for you.
I don't know about knowing the "sacred depths of life while actually living." I have always imagined death to be a sacrament or capstone of sorts that kind of ties all of your life together and gives it a greater meaning, even to others, than perhaps even when you were living. I just think some things can't be resolved or realized fully until after you are gone, however the memory of you and your life can still be life giving. But I digress...
My actual thought was that I think all Christians are called to be mystics because who is a mystic but the one who can see God through the veil of the human experience? It definitely takes some formation and habitual practice though to see the extraordinary in the ordinary, but once that good habit is developed, you can start seeing/experiencing it almost everywhere. Though I do think we all need the occasional experience of the direct supernatural to help us along. We are only human after all!
I’ve found that it is so easy to lose sight of the spiritual, and God moving in our world. It is times of intention, and devotion that I can see God moving. These efforts take discipline and quiet to yield fruit. It’s only in moments in which I unplug from the busy-ness that this is possible.
My conclusion:Miracles happen every day. God’s spirit is alive, and moving with vigor all around me. I pray that others will see what I see, and approach these extraordinary moments with gratitude.
This alone could change the world. God bless!
I can relate to: “I cannot bring myself to quite believe what I believe.” This is one of my favorite New Jerusalem posts.
The doctrine of christ is iterative. First faith (see and believe) which is temporal then Hope (learn to act instead of being acted upon -repentance) which bridges the lower and higher law , then charity ( overcoming the world, potential of covenant) what we BECOME as we embrace and are infused with light and truth. A "positive virtuous cycle" We learn and practice this in holy places and through ordinances but all of these represent us as God's children with potential to become sanctified. He taught us The Way through his own condescension.❤️🎄
I believe that experiencing the divine is rare. Experiencing the supernatural is less rare, but seldom an everyday occurrence. The two holiest people I am aware of living in my lifetime, St. Theresa of Calcutta and Pope St. John Paul II, had different experiences. St. Theresa had a profound encounter in her youth, but then suffered decades of spiritual dryness. She continued her ministry and had great joy in helping the lowest of the low. She spent hours each day in prayer, and felt nothing in return, but did not stop. JPII had a great need for daily exposure to Christ in the Eucharist, and would write in front of the tabernacle each day on a small portable desk. When he was named bishop, he went to a convent and asked if they had reserved the Eucharist in a chapel. When they said they did, he spent 3 hours prostrate on the floor in deep prayer. If we can draw anything from these profoundly holy people, it is that even the devout are seldom favored with glimpses of the divine, but do what they were put on earth to do: serve their fellow man, their neighbors, and teach others to do the same.
I have known people who saw demons and devils in every miscreant. While they may be correct, I tend to think of human nature as fallen, and free will will steer us to very dark places indeed, Perhaps with our own personal Wormwood, but we have enough ingenuity to screw things up on our own.
Dreams are sometimes clarifying, and is frequently used in scripture to denote communication with the divine.
The interview with Rod Dreher was truly eye opening for me. I wonder whether knowing an exorcist should be a more common experience. Certainly more frequent confession will be beneficial, certainly for me. It causes me to stop focusing on me, and more on my actions and harms I have done to myself and others.
2.0. LOL
“Within each human
being slumber faculties through which we can acquire for ourselves
knowledge of higher worlds. If we develop – deep within ourselves –
forces that are still slumbering there, we can perceive a world of soul
and spirit as real for us as what we see and touch physically with our
eyes and with our hands.“
—Rudolf Steiner
I consider myself a data driven person, but know where the data comes from...I do the best I can with the tools I have, especially the Word, but always give it to God. I have so much less stress now.
This is excellent. Thank you, Andrew!
I think it's like driving a car.