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Persons in Communion: The Disciplines of Communion (Part I)

We can now give an outline of the disciplines of communion. The first thing, before love is even mentioned, is humility, and what humility becomes when it is exercised towards another person, that is, respect. Respect rejects all self-interested curiosity, all possession of souls. Some people undergo a strict regime of self-denial to free themselves from carnal desire, only to fall prey to a more exquisite desire, that for souls. This must be identified and

Signposts on the Way to God

Signposts on the Way to God How do we know about God’s love, God’s generosity, God’s kindness, God’s forgiveness? Through our parents, our friends, our teachers, our pastors, our spouses, our children— they all reveal God to us. But as we come to know them, we realize that each of them can reveal only a little bit of God. God’s love is greater than theirs; God’s goodness is greater than theirs; God’s beauty is greater

PLUCK OUT THE EYE (Part II)

AND IF YOUR HAND CAUSES YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF, IT IS BETTER TO ENTER LIFE MAIMED THAN WITH TWO HANDS TO GO TO HELL . . . AND IF YOUR EYE CAUSES YOU TO SIN, PLUCK IT OUT; IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH ONE EYE THAN WITH TWO EYES TO BE THROWN INTO HELL. —MARK 9:43ff. What must you be aware of? Three things: First, you

PLUCK OUT THE EYE (Part I)

AND IF YOUR HAND CAUSES YOU TO SIN, CUT IT OFF, IT IS BETTER TO ENTER LIFE MAIMED THAN WITH TWO HANDS TO GO TO HELL . . . AND IF YOUR EYE CAUSES YOU TO SIN, PLUCK IT OUT; IT IS BETTER FOR YOU TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD WITH ONE EYE THAN WITH TWO EYES TO BE THROWN INTO HELL. —MARK 9:43ff. When you deal with blind people it dawns on you

Making Our Lives Available to Others

Making Our Lives Available to Others One of the arguments we often use for not writing is this: “I have nothing original to say. Whatever I might say, someone else has already said it, and better than I will ever be able to.” This, however, is not a good argument for not writing. Each human being is unique and original, and nobody has lived what we have lived. Furthermore, what we have lived, we have

JUDGE NOT

JUDGE NOT, THAT YOU BE NOT JUDGED. –MATTHEW 7:1 It is a sobering thought that the finest act of love you can perform is not an act of service but an act of contemplation, of seeing. When you serve people you help, support, comfort, alleviate pain. When you see them in their inner beauty and goodness you transform and create. Think of some of the people you like and are drawn to you. Now attempt

THE MOUNTAIN OF PRAYER (Part II)

AND AFTER HE HAD DISMISSED THE CROWDS, HE WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN BY HIMSELF TO PRAY. —MATTHEW 14:23 It is only in this aloneness, this utter solitude, that dependence and desire will die, and the capacity to love is born. For one no longer sees others as means to satisfy one’s addiction. Only someone who has attempted this knows the terror of the process. It is like inviting yourself to die. It is like

THE MOUNTAIN OF PRAYER (Part I)

AND AFTER HE HAD DISMISSED THE CROWDS, HE WENT UP ON THE MOUNTAIN BY HIMSELF TO PRAY. —MATTHEW 14:23 Has it ever occurred to you that you can only love when you are alone? What does it mean to love? It means to see a person, a thing, a situation, as it really is and not as you imagine it to be, and to give it the response it deserves. You cannot love what you

Who do you say that I am?

Jesus practically begs for a profession of faith from his disciples, even after they’ve witnessed His miracles and heard His profound teaching. Jesus put this question to them: “Who do you say that I am?” Don’t give me your theologies. Who is the Jesus you know? That’s the only Jesus that can really touch you and liberate you. Finally, Peter responds: “You are the Christ!” (Mark 8:29). “And Jesus gave him strict orders not to

BE AWAKE

BLESSED ARE THOSE SERVANTS WHOM THE MASTER FINDS AWAKE WHEN HE COMES. —LUKE 12:37 Everywhere in the world people are in search of love, for everyone is convinced that love alone can save the world, love alone can make life meaningful and worth living. But how very few understand what love really is, and how it arises in the human heart. It is so frequently equated with good feelings toward others, with benevolence or nonviolence