· 30 May 2004
St. Joan of Arc replied to a question posed as a trap by her ecclesiastical judges. Asked if she knew that she was in God’s grace, she replied: “If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.”
· 20 May 2004
You say: “It’s impossible.”
God says: All things are possible. (Luke 18:27)
You say: “I’m too tired.”
God says: I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: “Nobody really loves me.”
God says: I love you. (John 3:16, 3:34)
You say: “I can’t go on.”
God says: My grace is sufficient. (2 Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: “I can’t figure things out.”
God says: I will direct your steps. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say: “I can’t do it.”
God says: You can do all things. (Philippians 4:13)
You say: “I’m not able.”
God says: I am able. (2 Corinthians 9:8)
You say: “It’s not worth it.”
God says: It will be worth it. (Roman 8:28)
You say: “I can’t forgive myself”
God says: I forgive you. (1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: “I can’t manage.”
God says: I will supply all your needs. (Philippians 4:19)
You say: “I’m afraid.”
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear. (2 Timothy 1:7)
You say: “I’m always worried and frustrated.”
God says: Cast all your cares on ME. (1 Peter 5:7)
You say: “I don’t have enough faith.”
God says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)
You say: “I’m not smart enough.”
God says: I give you wisdom. (1 Corinthians 1:30)
You say: “I feel all alone.”
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)
A collection of one line sermons…
· 15 May 2004
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.
« πλ | Motivation »
· 14 May 2004
You have to unzip your heart before you unzip your pants.
In other words, if you cannot trust the secrets of your heart with someone, then why would you trust your most physical intimacy with them too?
« πλ | Observation, Spirituality »
· 13 May 2004
Then it was as if I suddenly saw the secret beauty of their hearts,
the depths where neither sin nor desire can reach,
the person that each one is in God’s eyes.
If only they could see themselves as they really are.
If only we could see each other that way
there would be no reason for war, for hatred, for cruelty,
we would fall down and worship each other.
« πλ | Spirituality »
· 13 May 2004
The most painful state of being is remembering the future, particularly one you can never have.
· 11 May 2004
The conventional ego, the false passport, is built up from an edited picture album of our past. The version often seems more real than we are in the present moment. That is because here/now we are in constant flux and flow, but what we have been is nicely and securely fixed.
The false identity is frozen throughout time, a final static noun. And just because it is unchanging we become more clearly identified with that identity card than we do with the real living, moment-to-moment entity.
In order to support the new false self we have to become more and more identified with the past, with old knowledge and a fixed belief system which continue to bolster up our historical selves. And we forget there was ever anything else.
Man becomes a historical animal preoccupied with the past and the future, and here we encounter the strangest of paradoxes. The historical idea of self, the ego, requires a constant re-living of memories in order to sustain a continuity of its own. It is only aware of itself as a repeatedly up-dated autobiography. The ego does not actually exist—it is an illusion of continuity.
From our perspective, our ego is the glue that links the events of our lives through the golden thread of time. But on the other hand, that “glue” seems to get in the way of us living in the present moment.
« πλ | Spirituality »
· 10 May 2004
To love someone is not first of all to do things for them, but to reveal to them their beauty and value, to say to them through our attitude: “You are beautiful. You are important. I trust you. You can trust yourself.” We all know well that we can do things for others and in the process crush them, making them feel that they are incapable of doing things by themselves. To love someone is to reveal to them their capacities for life, the light that is shining in them.
· 4 May 2004
God is at his greatest when I am at my least.
« πλ | Spirituality »
May God’s love,
peace, and energy
touch you in faith.
![[Jerusalem Cross with Heart]](http://cowpi.com/journal/grafiks/jerusalem-cross-heart.gif "Jerusalem Cross with Heart")