I happen to believe that “if you are looking for God, God will find you.” Ignatius of Loyola or Mother Teresa would have likewise believed that even as we are looking, and even when we mostly feel lost, God is somehow finding us, whether or not it feels that way to us. Ignatius believed (as I do) that when we set ourselves toward some worthy purpose that transcends our meager strength, we tap into a source of meaning, strength, peace, and courage that is beyond us. We come to realize, in a graced moment, that we are called to some great purpose, that we cannot do it on our own, but that we don’t have to do it on our own. That’s why Ignatius urges, in one after another of his Spiritual Exercises, that we speak to Jesus “in the way one friend speaks to another.” —Excerpted from Heroic Leadership by Chris Lowney … [Read more...]
Let Us Run to God – Quote of the Week
You never go away from us, yet we have difficulty in returning to you. Come, Lord, stir us up and call us back. Kindle and seize us. Be our fire and our sweetness. Let us love. Let us run. -Augustine … [Read more...]
How We Spend Our Lives – Evelyn Underhill – Quote of the Week
We mostly spend our lives conjugating three verbs: to Want, to Have and to Do. Craving, clutching, and fussing, on the material, political, social, emotional, intellectual, even on the religious plane, we are kept in perpetual unrest, forgetting that none of these verbs have any ultimate significance, except so far as they are transcended by and included in the fundamental verb, to Be, and that Being, not wanting, having and doing, is the essence of the spiritual life. Evelyn Underhill … [Read more...]
Soften Us – Prayer – Edwina Gateley
O living God, soften us! Let the fire of your love thaw the frost within us. Let the light of your justice sear away our blindness, Let the grace of your compassion heal our hardened spirits. O living God, soften us! That, flowing with your grace, we be impelled to face the world in bold compassion, that, driven to justice, we may dare to cry aloud for the little ones, the raped, the beaten the imprisoned, and the hungry. O living God, soften us! Sweep us forward in a Mighty Wave of Mercy to heal our darkened world. Edwina Gateley … [Read more...]
God’s Work – Quote by Oscar Romero
"It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work. We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future that is not our own." -Archbishop Oscar Romero … [Read more...]
Loving Our Neighbors – Quote – Frederick Buechner
Loving our neighbors - What does this mean? If we are to love our neighbors, before doing anything else we must see our neighbors. With our imagination as well as our eyes, that is to say like artists, we must see not just their faces but the life behind and within their faces. Here it is love that is the frame we see them in. -Frederick Buechner … [Read more...]
God’s Artistry in Autumn – Thoughts and 9 Quotes
The colors drew my eyes to the display in the corner of the store. What is it about fall colors that attract us? I want the summer to linger on longer, yet the coziness, warmth and eye delight of burnt oranges, mellow yellows, deep reds and crisp browns invite my heart into autumn. Part of me screams to stop the calendar from turning from August to September, yet when I saw those autumn colors my will to fight this change flutter away like the leaves will also soon do. God is quite an artist this time of year. His hues hints of hope and a purpose to the changes we often struggle with on our path. I used to fight fall, dreading the coming winter. Now in the second half of life, I am learning to embrace its beauty as part of the transforming process and rhythm of life. I found some neat quotes about fall to share with you today: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time … [Read more...]
Why Pray? Quote by C. S. Lewis
Why pray? Why do you pray? How does prayer affect your life? These thought-provoking questions help us dig deeper into the purpose of prayer in our live. Think about it. Ponder the quote below from C. S. Lewis about why we pray. Journal your reasons for prayer. Ask others and engage in a conversation about prayer. I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God, it changes me. -C.S. Lewis What do you think as you read this quote? Certain words jump out to me and I love the passion in the first line about "because I can't help myself." I know what he means but often my prayer life isn't at that level of humble thirst for God. The word "flow" touches me. The concept of prayer flowing freely between this tiny human spirit and the Holy Spirit of God - all the time, in all circumstances - inspires me to want that depth of prayer in my life. And that prayer … [Read more...]