Monday, February 18, 2013
Becket, W. sr (2007) Sister Wendy on Prayer. Continuum
God wants you to be the fullness of what you could be. You cannot become this if you do not allow Him to enter into you. You do your feeble search for Him, and He will do His mighty search for you. 'seek and ye shall find' The 'you' God seeks may not be the 'you' of whom you are aware. it is the essential you, the real you, the fullness of your potential. The transformation from one to the other, the realising of that potential you, may take a lifetime. Few of us will ever wholly achieve this complete surrender. But all God needs is your desire. 22
Prayer is essential an attitude. We trust God, we believe in Him, we turn to Him. An attitude is something permanent. So how could prayer stop when we , as it were , stop praying? It would be as if your relationship with your parents only existed when you were in actual contact with them 29
Having God as our Father does not relegate us to the position of perpetual children. Children do expect that their parents will 'put things right', and it can be a shattering experience to realize that parents are weak and human. But, from the shards, we build up a more adult personality. bad things happen, sometimes for no apparent reason. we have to accept them and grow through them and never let them damage us. They will wound us, yes, but damage is another matter, and that is precisely what prayer guards against. 41
What prayer does is alert us to its presence so that we are always making the best of things and not the worst. Tragedy and frustration remain their painful selves, but prayer in accepting them changes the pain into something redemptive. 43
To be mere automatons for whom God arranges the world to cause us us no suffering would mean we never have a self. We could not make choices... We can never become fuly human if we are protected from life. We have to learn and understand our vulnerability 45
GOd - this is essentially a meaningless word. no thoughts can encompass God. There is no box into which you can put Him. He, or for that matter she, completely transcends any human concepts. When we say 'god' we are doing no more than pointing a finger. It is a directional word. Forced to give a definition, all I could say is that god is Reality so absolute that all other realities are relative 64
Sometimes I blush for those who think themselves Christian and yet the God they worship is cruel, suspicious, punitive and watchful. who could love such a God? If that is your idea of God, you are obliged by all the rules of morality and common sense to become an atheist. 73
Humility is nothing to do with having a low opinion of our qualities; it is all to do with not being interested in them, not gazing long and devoted at yourself 91
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One of the effects of prayer is that it exposes us to ourselves. If we pray, that comfortable cloak that assures us of our virtue begins to fray, to dissipate, to uncover the sorry nakedness of what we really are. 98
Simple faith - what they are referring to is an almost rote reception of mass and sacraments based on pitifully slight know ledge... What they are really describing is ignorant faith, last faith, a refusal to engage the revelation of God with the full dimensions of what we are or what we can be. 118
We must bring our minds to our faith, not just our hearts. Faith does not mean ticking off our assent to dogma, although that may pass for faith. True faith, the virtue of faith, entails a profound involvement with the truth of jesus. We have to understand it. Unless we know what 'the Gospel' really is and the fullness of what Jesus had to tell us, our faith can be a surface thing 119
Hope accepts all disaster, understands it as disaster, but knows that fundamentally it is irrelevant. It is so convinced of the goodness of God, of His compassionate love, that it will always remain steadfast... Body and soul may feel we ar wasting our time. Hope smiles and ignores them 123
We who cling to Jesus believe in possession by God, the Holy Spirit. However poor and humble our prayer, this is it's aim: that God will take possession of us, live within us, give His love to the world through us. 132
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Prayer is essential an attitude. We trust God, we believe in Him, we turn to Him. An attitude is something permanent. So how could prayer stop when we , as it were , stop praying? It would be as if your relationship with your parents only existed when you were in actual contact with them 29
Having God as our Father does not relegate us to the position of perpetual children. Children do expect that their parents will 'put things right', and it can be a shattering experience to realize that parents are weak and human. But, from the shards, we build up a more adult personality. bad things happen, sometimes for no apparent reason. we have to accept them and grow through them and never let them damage us. They will wound us, yes, but damage is another matter, and that is precisely what prayer guards against. 41
What prayer does is alert us to its presence so that we are always making the best of things and not the worst. Tragedy and frustration remain their painful selves, but prayer in accepting them changes the pain into something redemptive. 43
To be mere automatons for whom God arranges the world to cause us us no suffering would mean we never have a self. We could not make choices... We can never become fuly human if we are protected from life. We have to learn and understand our vulnerability 45
GOd - this is essentially a meaningless word. no thoughts can encompass God. There is no box into which you can put Him. He, or for that matter she, completely transcends any human concepts. When we say 'god' we are doing no more than pointing a finger. It is a directional word. Forced to give a definition, all I could say is that god is Reality so absolute that all other realities are relative 64
Sometimes I blush for those who think themselves Christian and yet the God they worship is cruel, suspicious, punitive and watchful. who could love such a God? If that is your idea of God, you are obliged by all the rules of morality and common sense to become an atheist. 73
Humility is nothing to do with having a low opinion of our qualities; it is all to do with not being interested in them, not gazing long and devoted at yourself 91
01159448777
One of the effects of prayer is that it exposes us to ourselves. If we pray, that comfortable cloak that assures us of our virtue begins to fray, to dissipate, to uncover the sorry nakedness of what we really are. 98
Simple faith - what they are referring to is an almost rote reception of mass and sacraments based on pitifully slight know ledge... What they are really describing is ignorant faith, last faith, a refusal to engage the revelation of God with the full dimensions of what we are or what we can be. 118
We must bring our minds to our faith, not just our hearts. Faith does not mean ticking off our assent to dogma, although that may pass for faith. True faith, the virtue of faith, entails a profound involvement with the truth of jesus. We have to understand it. Unless we know what 'the Gospel' really is and the fullness of what Jesus had to tell us, our faith can be a surface thing 119
Hope accepts all disaster, understands it as disaster, but knows that fundamentally it is irrelevant. It is so convinced of the goodness of God, of His compassionate love, that it will always remain steadfast... Body and soul may feel we ar wasting our time. Hope smiles and ignores them 123
We who cling to Jesus believe in possession by God, the Holy Spirit. However poor and humble our prayer, this is it's aim: that God will take possession of us, live within us, give His love to the world through us. 132
Saturday, February 09, 2013
Ashbrook, R.T (2009) Mansions of the Heart: exploring the seven stages of spiritual growth.jossey-bass
Norrisey, M and norrisey, m. (1984) Prayer and temperament 223
Vision values for spiritual formation
Spiritual leadership
Authentic community and spiritual formation groups
Whole journey discipleship training
Spiritual formation mapping
Abiding prayer
Support in spiritual warfare
Resource centre for reading and study
Counselling healing spiritual direction and coaching
Ryle of life and initial disciplines
Spiritual for action retreats
Evangelism and missions from a spiritual formation perspective 239
Two dimensions of our community life that must become intentional as a minimum. we need to instill a 'climate' of openess, vulnerability and journey - requiring transparency from leadership
We need to be intentional about helping people establish meaningful relationships. 241
Ausculta - give ear to 253
John Ackerman spiritual awakening
Rohr, R. (2011) falling upward: a spirituality for the two halves of life.
UDenial of the pattern seems to be a kind of practical daily atheism or chosen ignorance amoung many believers and clergy. Many have opted for the soft religion of easy ego consolations, the human growth model, or the prosperity gospel. Xxv
Steps and stages 8
In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity pope John xxiii 13
First half of life
You need a very strong container to hold the contents and contradictions that arrive later in life. you ironically need a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. You need to struggle with the rules more than a bit before you throw them out. You only internalise values by butting up against values for a while.... This is an important paradox for most of us 26
The first half of life container, nevertheless is constructed through impulse controls; traditions; group symbols; family loyalties; basic respect for authority; cilvil and church laws and a sense of the goodness 27
When some have not been able to do the task of the first half of life well, they go back and try to do it again - and then often can over do it! 40
The result is a generation of seminarians and young clergy who are cognitively rigid and risk adverse; who want to circle the wagons around their imagined secure and superior group; who seen preoccupied with clothing, titles, perks and externals of religion and frankly have little use forty world beyond their own control or explanation 42
Discharging your loyal soldier - the kind of closure is much needed for most of us at the end of all transitions in life... No one shows us the stunted and limited character of the worldview of the first half of life, so we just continue with more of the same. :44
Paradoxically your loyal soldier gives you so much security and validation that you may confuse his voice with the very voice of God 46
When you discharge your loyal soldier it will feel like a loss of faith or loss of self. But it is only the death of the false self, and is often the very birth of the soul 50
Anam chara 50
Just the existence of a single mentally challenges or mentally ill person should make us change any of our theories about the necessity of some kind of correct thinking as the definition of 'salvation'
Paraclete defense attorney
The saint is precisely one who has no I to protect or project. His or her 'I' is in conscious union with the 'I am' of God, and that is more than enough 132
Invariably when something upsets you and y have a strong emotional reaction out of proportion to the moment, your shadow self has been exposed 133
Most groups and institutions are first half structures ... I say it to keep you from being depressed or losing all hope by having false expectations. Don't expect or demand from grous what they usually can. T give. Doing so will make y needlessly angry and reactionary. They must and will be concerned with identity, boundaries, self- maintenance, self- perpetuation, and self congratulation.this is their nature and purpose. The most y can hope for is a few enlightened leaders and policies now and then 141
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Steps and stages 8
In essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, and in all things charity pope John xxiii 13
First half of life
You need a very strong container to hold the contents and contradictions that arrive later in life. you ironically need a very strong ego structure to let go of your ego. You need to struggle with the rules more than a bit before you throw them out. You only internalise values by butting up against values for a while.... This is an important paradox for most of us 26
The first half of life container, nevertheless is constructed through impulse controls; traditions; group symbols; family loyalties; basic respect for authority; cilvil and church laws and a sense of the goodness 27
When some have not been able to do the task of the first half of life well, they go back and try to do it again - and then often can over do it! 40
The result is a generation of seminarians and young clergy who are cognitively rigid and risk adverse; who want to circle the wagons around their imagined secure and superior group; who seen preoccupied with clothing, titles, perks and externals of religion and frankly have little use forty world beyond their own control or explanation 42
Discharging your loyal soldier - the kind of closure is much needed for most of us at the end of all transitions in life... No one shows us the stunted and limited character of the worldview of the first half of life, so we just continue with more of the same. :44
Paradoxically your loyal soldier gives you so much security and validation that you may confuse his voice with the very voice of God 46
When you discharge your loyal soldier it will feel like a loss of faith or loss of self. But it is only the death of the false self, and is often the very birth of the soul 50
Anam chara 50
Even Pope John Paul II said at a Vatican conference on June 28, 1999 that heaven and hell were primarily eternal states of consciousness more than geographical places of later reward and punishment. We seem to be our own worst enemies, and we forget or deny things that are just too good to be true. The ego clearly prefers an economy of merit, where we can divide the world into winners and losers, to any economy of grace, where merit and worthiness lose all meaning.
In the first case, at least a few of us good guys attain glory, although the vast majority of all of human history seems to be mere collateral damage to a God who is supposed to be merciful and compassionate. In the second case, God actually is as merciful and compassionate as the world Scriptures and saints seem to agree upon. A notion of hell has to be theoretically maintained, or humans have no freedom—and most religions have a similar concept—but it is interesting to me that the Roman Catholic Church has never declared a single person to be there, while it has declared tens of thousands to be in heaven!
Just the existence of a single mentally challenges or mentally ill person should make us change any of our theories about the necessity of some kind of correct thinking as the definition of 'salvation'
Paraclete defense attorney
The saint is precisely one who has no I to protect or project. His or her 'I' is in conscious union with the 'I am' of God, and that is more than enough 132
Invariably when something upsets you and y have a strong emotional reaction out of proportion to the moment, your shadow self has been exposed 133
Most groups and institutions are first half structures ... I say it to keep you from being depressed or losing all hope by having false expectations. Don't expect or demand from grous what they usually can. T give. Doing so will make y needlessly angry and reactionary. They must and will be concerned with identity, boundaries, self- maintenance, self- perpetuation, and self congratulation.this is their nature and purpose. The most y can hope for is a few enlightened leaders and policies now and then 141
Anderson, K.R and Reese, R.D (1999) Spiritual Mentoring: a guide for seeking and giving direction. IVP
There are times we may simply try to increase our devotional disciplines to satisfy our longings by reading more and doing more but discover that the longing remains unsatisfied. 18
the glory of God is a human person fully alive. Iranaeus
describe a key experience in your life.
Describe a key relationship in your life
What do you perceive to be a personal fear or weakness
If you could wave a wand what would you love to do with your life?
What keeps you from believing your life can be a blessing?
Where do you long for a blessing in your life?
Who needs a blessing from your hands?
Who has given you a blessing for your life? recently? In the past? 140
'let us understand that true perfection consists in love of God and neighbour; the more perfectly we keep these two commandments the perfect we will be' Teresa of Avila 169
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the glory of God is a human person fully alive. Iranaeus
describe a key experience in your life.
Describe a key relationship in your life
What do you perceive to be a personal fear or weakness
If you could wave a wand what would you love to do with your life?
What keeps you from believing your life can be a blessing?
Where do you long for a blessing in your life?
Who needs a blessing from your hands?
Who has given you a blessing for your life? recently? In the past? 140
'let us understand that true perfection consists in love of God and neighbour; the more perfectly we keep these two commandments the perfect we will be' Teresa of Avila 169
