As I explore transformation as a process of letting go of the ego’s needs and accomplishments, you may think I’m overemphasizing detachment. But when you look at Jesus on the cross, you see that Christianity also fosters attachment. Jesus tells us to love and to pay the price for loving. The heart and the soul are the first to attach to things and fall in love. When we attach, when we fall in love, we
If we have been involved in charismatic prayer for some time, we should not be surprised or disappointed if this style of prayer calms down over the years to a simple resting in the presence of God. The traditional role of God the Holy Spirit is to conform us to God the Word, Who then ushers us into the silent depths of God the Father. This Trinitarian simplification happens at God’s own initiative. In early
By Father Stephen Freeman The genius of Dostoevsky lies in the profound theological insight of his tumbled novels. They can be difficult reads for many people – particularly in our modern setting. He has “too many characters” and they “talk a lot.” His characters are complex: I was a scoundrel, and yet, I loved God… Good and evil are in a monstrous coexistence within man. So says Dmitri Karamazov. And this statement describes all of
After conversion, self-consciousness (in the negative sense) slowly falls away and is replaced by what the mystics call pure consciousness or unitive consciousness–which is love. Self-consciousness implies a dualistic split. There is me over here, judging, analyzing, labeling that or me over there. The mind is largely dualistic before spiritual conversion and even foolishly calls such argumentation “thinking.” In true conversion the subject-object split is overcome at least for a moment. You can’t maintain this
Jesus said to His Disciples, “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me. The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them, that they may be one
Jesus said to His Disciples, ”If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35 (From the First Gospel on Holy Thursday Evening) Everyone lives busy lives. We even call our lives “crazy busy” at times. Christ knows that our lives are busy. If you envision
Many scholars over the years have pointed out that what is usually translated in Paul’s letters as “faith in Christ” would be more accurately translated as “the faith of Christ.” It’s more than a change of prepositions. It means we are all participating in the faith journey that Jesus has already walked. We are forever carried inside of the “Corporate Personality” that Jesus always is for Paul (citations too numerous to count!). That’s a very
Paul says some pretty extraordinary things in 1 Corinthians 13. Let’s look at some of his points carefully. If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. This hits close to home for me. Paul points out that I might give a wonderful sermon, but if I don’t do it out of God’s love for the people right
Contemplation as a Path of Healing A person can’t be healed within simply through discipline. Dealing with thoughts, along with concrete exercises, helps to calm the passions and make the soul healthy. But it takes contemplation to actually achieve that health. That was the monks’ experience, and that is how Evagrius Ponticus described it. Contemplation is pure prayer, prayer without respite, praying beyond thoughts and feelings, praying as oneness with God. Evagrius never tires of
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