Greetings, Sisters, Brothers, and Friends of the Community!
July 4th has been set aside as a day to celebrate the birth of America, to celebrate independence not only for us, but to express a hope that one day all peoples of the world will have freedom.
I can’t help wonder, though, if by wishing for this we get a bit off track.
Wanting to be independent, to be free, rather than being interdependent, was the mistake made back in the Garden of Eden. When we become truly independent, we disconnect ourselves from God, from others, and from nature, not realizing how very much interconnected we all really are. What one person does really affects another, what one person does really affects nature. It’s unmistakable when we look at the record of mankind throughout history.
Becoming truly independent actually brings us into a state of slavery. We become more easily susceptible to the influences of culture and societal norms that may or may not be good for us. We become ensnared in the desires, attachments and prejudices of our runaway egos, causing these scales to build up over our eyes very much like what happened to Saul. The prominence of false values become the norm to which all aspire.
True freedom rests in living a life with God, interconnected with each other. It comes when we shed the shackle of these scales, like Saul did in Acts 9:17-18, and allowing the truth of the Holy Spirit to flow through us. True freedom comes when we finally shed our false self and begin to live the life that God meant us to live, serving Him in our own unique way – a way that no one else could ever possibly do. As Psalm 137:4 asks, “How can we sing the Lord’s song (being who we really are) in a strange land?” (A land where although we think we’re independent we are actually under the influence of a misguided system.)
As Richard Rohr states, “It’s quite clear that in the final analysis it’s the grace of God that liberates us. It’s the experience of divine and unconditional love that really sets us free. No political system can offer us this inner liberty.”
Let us worship the Father in spirit and truth, for it is the truth that shall set you free.
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
What Good Work Should I Do?
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends of the Community!
A rainy Saturday here, with temperatures in the low 50s. Certainly not tomato-growing weather!
From the Sayings of the [Desert] Fathers (Verba Seniorum), we find yet another affirmation of our quest as seekers to serve God in our own unique way, in the way that He made each one of us. In Book 1, Of the Perfecting of the Fathers, it is recorded that the great abbot Nistero was asked by a friend, “What good work should I do?” The abbot responded, “The Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable, and God was with him. And Elias loved quiet, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. What therefore you find that your soul desires in following God, that do, and keep your heart.”
Note that the abbot did not say what your ego desires; but what your soul desires. Your soul is the real you, the part connected with God. The examples of great works mentioned above are those that please God: hospitality, solitude, and humility, because they came from the person’s soul. There are numerous other examples. What does your soul desire? Music? Reflection? Art? Helping? Building? Numbers? Appreciation of nature?
To become who you were made to be is to glorify God.
Have a blessed Trinity Sunday!
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
A rainy Saturday here, with temperatures in the low 50s. Certainly not tomato-growing weather!
From the Sayings of the [Desert] Fathers (Verba Seniorum), we find yet another affirmation of our quest as seekers to serve God in our own unique way, in the way that He made each one of us. In Book 1, Of the Perfecting of the Fathers, it is recorded that the great abbot Nistero was asked by a friend, “What good work should I do?” The abbot responded, “The Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable, and God was with him. And Elias loved quiet, and God was with him. And David was humble, and God was with him. What therefore you find that your soul desires in following God, that do, and keep your heart.”
Note that the abbot did not say what your ego desires; but what your soul desires. Your soul is the real you, the part connected with God. The examples of great works mentioned above are those that please God: hospitality, solitude, and humility, because they came from the person’s soul. There are numerous other examples. What does your soul desire? Music? Reflection? Art? Helping? Building? Numbers? Appreciation of nature?
To become who you were made to be is to glorify God.
Have a blessed Trinity Sunday!
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
Sunday, May 17, 2009
A New Song
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers, and Friends of the Community!
I pray you are all well!
The first verse in Psalm 98 brought to mind what we, as a Community, and all of us, as Children of God, try to focus on: “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”
And what is this “new song”?
Our daily movements and words are the spiritual notes we play on each measure (each moment) of God’s symphony of life. We are His instruments, each playing a part in his orchestra. Every thing we do and say sends out the sounds of love or the sounds of discord. Are we in tune with Him? Who is actually singing – our true self or our ego?
As we shed the false self from our souls (like Paul did on the road to Damascus), the Gifts of the Holy Spirit begin to flow through us out into the world like a finely tuned instrument. And, oh, what a sound this makes! Peace, joy, harmony, gentleness, understanding, compassion, generosity, self-control, patience… music to His ears. This is the new song!
Observe what “notes” you are playing as you go through the day. Did you hit a sour note? Reflect on it, so that the next time you play it, it will be more in tune.
Let me know how your week goes!
Your occasionally out-of-tune brother,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
I pray you are all well!
The first verse in Psalm 98 brought to mind what we, as a Community, and all of us, as Children of God, try to focus on: “O sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things.”
And what is this “new song”?
Our daily movements and words are the spiritual notes we play on each measure (each moment) of God’s symphony of life. We are His instruments, each playing a part in his orchestra. Every thing we do and say sends out the sounds of love or the sounds of discord. Are we in tune with Him? Who is actually singing – our true self or our ego?
As we shed the false self from our souls (like Paul did on the road to Damascus), the Gifts of the Holy Spirit begin to flow through us out into the world like a finely tuned instrument. And, oh, what a sound this makes! Peace, joy, harmony, gentleness, understanding, compassion, generosity, self-control, patience… music to His ears. This is the new song!
Observe what “notes” you are playing as you go through the day. Did you hit a sour note? Reflect on it, so that the next time you play it, it will be more in tune.
Let me know how your week goes!
Your occasionally out-of-tune brother,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Waking Gatha
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends,
I pray that this note finds you all weel and full of God’s joy!
Every day brings us hundreds of opportunities to live mindfulness lives; to return us gently to the present moment of awareness where all of life happens. Are you living in the past? Are you liivng in the future? Then, perhaps, you are missing out on the treasures and miracles happening before your very eyes.
There are many ways to awaken our attention to the present moment, to snap us back to reality, to pull the plug on mental movies that keep playing in our heads. One such technique is to use little “gathas.” Gathas are short verses which we recite during our daily activities to remind us of where we are. For example, this gatha can be used when you wake up:
Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.
A great way to start the day is with a smile. As Thich Nhat Hanh writes in “Present Moment, Wonderful Moment,” your smile affirms your awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.
Gathas, which can also be short verses from the Gospels or other scripture, are used for any of our daily activities; brushing our hair, washing the dishes, using the phone, sitting on a chair, getting the mail, opening a door, etc. All the little actions in our life become sacraments of movement revealing the miracles of life.
This week think about the sacredness of movement and being. Write a gatha or two for yourself, and share them if you feel moved to do so. Collect them! Trade them with your friends!
Know that you are loved by Our Lord!
Your gatha-seeking brother,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
I pray that this note finds you all weel and full of God’s joy!
Every day brings us hundreds of opportunities to live mindfulness lives; to return us gently to the present moment of awareness where all of life happens. Are you living in the past? Are you liivng in the future? Then, perhaps, you are missing out on the treasures and miracles happening before your very eyes.
There are many ways to awaken our attention to the present moment, to snap us back to reality, to pull the plug on mental movies that keep playing in our heads. One such technique is to use little “gathas.” Gathas are short verses which we recite during our daily activities to remind us of where we are. For example, this gatha can be used when you wake up:
Waking up this morning, I smile.
Twenty-four brand new hours are before me.
I vow to live fully in each moment
And to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.
A great way to start the day is with a smile. As Thich Nhat Hanh writes in “Present Moment, Wonderful Moment,” your smile affirms your awareness and determination to live in peace and joy. The source of a true smile is an awakened mind.
Gathas, which can also be short verses from the Gospels or other scripture, are used for any of our daily activities; brushing our hair, washing the dishes, using the phone, sitting on a chair, getting the mail, opening a door, etc. All the little actions in our life become sacraments of movement revealing the miracles of life.
This week think about the sacredness of movement and being. Write a gatha or two for yourself, and share them if you feel moved to do so. Collect them! Trade them with your friends!
Know that you are loved by Our Lord!
Your gatha-seeking brother,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Angels, or just Thunder?
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends of the Community,
In today’s lectionary reading in John we learn of yet another voice speaking from heaven. This time it is to affirm that Jesus was indeed glorifying God’s name. In chapter 12, verse 28, Jesus raises a prayer to heaven: “Father, glorify your Name.” The voice responded from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
What was interesting to me about this exchange is the perception of it by the people. Verse 29 reads, “The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Why do people have such different interpretations of what they all experience together? Why do some people brush off the obviousness of God as just thunder, while others see it for the truth? Perhaps the answer comes to us a little later in this chapter when we read what the prophet Isaiah observed: “Who believes our message? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Some could not believe because of the hardness of their hearts – and this blinds their eyes and stuffs their ears.” They hear angelic voices only as blunt claps of thunder.
The messages of God’s love are everywhere – if we just have eyes to see and ears to hear. They are in the big things (the earth, the air, the stars) and they are in the little things (a bite of food, a flower, a smile and helping hand from a friend, the whisper of a “thank you”)
The hardness of our heart is another way of describing the dysfunctional ego that encapsulates our soul, clogging our ears and blinding our eyes. As we learn to pry these scales from our soul, as St. Paul did on his journey to Damascus, we begin to more clearly hear the loving angelic voices from heaven, and see the good works of love in our lives, moment by moment. Yes, life is tough, and there is pain, but it is made worse by those who only hear thunder. As more of us hear the angels’ voices, all things will improve.
As you journey through this coming week, watch for two things: First, observe what scales may be covering your heart, and see them for what they are – no good. Second, see more clearly the things that happen in your life, moment by moment, that are little miracles; continuous acts from a loving God trying to get your attention, “Hey you! I love you!”
(And I will try to see the additional snow we got this morning as a blessing. It is a blessing. It IS a blessing. Yes, it is. Well…I’ll keep working on it.)
Blessings to all,
Your brother,
Daniel-Joseph
In today’s lectionary reading in John we learn of yet another voice speaking from heaven. This time it is to affirm that Jesus was indeed glorifying God’s name. In chapter 12, verse 28, Jesus raises a prayer to heaven: “Father, glorify your Name.” The voice responded from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.”
What was interesting to me about this exchange is the perception of it by the people. Verse 29 reads, “The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.”
Why do people have such different interpretations of what they all experience together? Why do some people brush off the obviousness of God as just thunder, while others see it for the truth? Perhaps the answer comes to us a little later in this chapter when we read what the prophet Isaiah observed: “Who believes our message? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Some could not believe because of the hardness of their hearts – and this blinds their eyes and stuffs their ears.” They hear angelic voices only as blunt claps of thunder.
The messages of God’s love are everywhere – if we just have eyes to see and ears to hear. They are in the big things (the earth, the air, the stars) and they are in the little things (a bite of food, a flower, a smile and helping hand from a friend, the whisper of a “thank you”)
The hardness of our heart is another way of describing the dysfunctional ego that encapsulates our soul, clogging our ears and blinding our eyes. As we learn to pry these scales from our soul, as St. Paul did on his journey to Damascus, we begin to more clearly hear the loving angelic voices from heaven, and see the good works of love in our lives, moment by moment. Yes, life is tough, and there is pain, but it is made worse by those who only hear thunder. As more of us hear the angels’ voices, all things will improve.
As you journey through this coming week, watch for two things: First, observe what scales may be covering your heart, and see them for what they are – no good. Second, see more clearly the things that happen in your life, moment by moment, that are little miracles; continuous acts from a loving God trying to get your attention, “Hey you! I love you!”
(And I will try to see the additional snow we got this morning as a blessing. It is a blessing. It IS a blessing. Yes, it is. Well…I’ll keep working on it.)
Blessings to all,
Your brother,
Daniel-Joseph
Monday, March 16, 2009
A New World Economy
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers, and Friends of the Community,
I pray that this note finds you all well,
Sunday’s lectionary reading included a review of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17). These statues from God were intended to begin to put into words the love and compassion that would ultimately be fulfilled in the life of Christ. They have produced volumes of commentary over the years, and one could easily spend a lifetime of discussion on them. My thought today, however, is shorter than that, and focuses on verse 17: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female servant, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Anyone looking for a reason why we are in the middle of a global financial meltdown? This may be the root cause.
I found this reflection written by William Law, an Anglican priest, in the early 1700s:
“If you should see a man that had a large pond of water, yet living in continual thirst, not allowing himself to even drink half a cup for fear of lessening this pond, if you should see him wasting his time and strength in fetching more water to his hand, watching early and late to catch the drops of rain, gaping after every cloud and running greedily into every mire and mud in hopes of finding water and always studying how to make every ditch empty itself into his pond; if you should see him grow gray and old in this anxious labors and at last end a careful, thirsty life by falling into his own pond, would you not say that such a one was not only the author of all his own disquiets, but was foolish enough to be reckoned among idiots and madmen? But yet foolish and absurd as this character is, it does not represent half the follies and absurd disquiets of the covetous person.”
The commandments not to covet are designed to protect us as much as they are to protect our neighbor. Covetousness is a product of a dysfunctional ego. It is based on fear. It goes against the economic equity principles of Christ: If you have two coats, give one to him who has none. This may be a good principle for a new world economy.
Walk with God this coming week!
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
I pray that this note finds you all well,
Sunday’s lectionary reading included a review of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20:1-17). These statues from God were intended to begin to put into words the love and compassion that would ultimately be fulfilled in the life of Christ. They have produced volumes of commentary over the years, and one could easily spend a lifetime of discussion on them. My thought today, however, is shorter than that, and focuses on verse 17: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female servant, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Anyone looking for a reason why we are in the middle of a global financial meltdown? This may be the root cause.
I found this reflection written by William Law, an Anglican priest, in the early 1700s:
“If you should see a man that had a large pond of water, yet living in continual thirst, not allowing himself to even drink half a cup for fear of lessening this pond, if you should see him wasting his time and strength in fetching more water to his hand, watching early and late to catch the drops of rain, gaping after every cloud and running greedily into every mire and mud in hopes of finding water and always studying how to make every ditch empty itself into his pond; if you should see him grow gray and old in this anxious labors and at last end a careful, thirsty life by falling into his own pond, would you not say that such a one was not only the author of all his own disquiets, but was foolish enough to be reckoned among idiots and madmen? But yet foolish and absurd as this character is, it does not represent half the follies and absurd disquiets of the covetous person.”
The commandments not to covet are designed to protect us as much as they are to protect our neighbor. Covetousness is a product of a dysfunctional ego. It is based on fear. It goes against the economic equity principles of Christ: If you have two coats, give one to him who has none. This may be a good principle for a new world economy.
Walk with God this coming week!
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Love's Pursuit
Greetings, Sisters, Brothers and Friends of the Community!
What’s a good activity when you are getting 6-9” more of snow? Reading.
While exploring a book on Simone Weil, I came across this poem by George Herbert. It is about the relentless pursuit of God’s love and compassion of a person judging themselves unworthy of this Love. I thought it was worth sharing and spending some time reflecting on it:
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of envy and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
“Do you lack anything?”
“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here.”
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?’
“Truth, Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame
Go where it does deserve.”
“And know you not,” says Love, “Who bore the blame?”“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”
So I did sit and eat.
Nothing, says St. Paul, can separate us from the love of God. Remember this!
Blessings to you all,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
What’s a good activity when you are getting 6-9” more of snow? Reading.
While exploring a book on Simone Weil, I came across this poem by George Herbert. It is about the relentless pursuit of God’s love and compassion of a person judging themselves unworthy of this Love. I thought it was worth sharing and spending some time reflecting on it:
Love bade me welcome, yet my soul drew back,
Guilty of envy and sin.
But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack
From my first entrance in,
Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning,
“Do you lack anything?”
“A guest,” I answered, “worthy to be here.”
Love said, “You shall be he.”
“I the unkind, ungrateful? Ah my dear,
I cannot look on thee.”
Love took my hand, and smiling did reply,
“Who made the eyes but I?’
“Truth, Lord, but I have marred them: let my shame
Go where it does deserve.”
“And know you not,” says Love, “Who bore the blame?”“My dear, then I will serve.”
“You must sit down,” says Love, “and taste my meat.”
So I did sit and eat.
Nothing, says St. Paul, can separate us from the love of God. Remember this!
Blessings to you all,
Br. Daniel-Joseph, CTG
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