To create beauty is to testify to God's restoration; living beautifully facilitates justice. Check out this testimony from an artist exploring the role of spirituality, art, and justice:
A video from workofthepeople.com
Abiding in love: entering the sixth and final stage
Continued from a previous series of posts on the stages of spiritual growth . . . These stages certainly can be thought of and experienced as an upward path. But there are dangers in viewing the spiritual life as an ascent. In our world, people tend to scratch and claw over each other to get the top of the corporate ladder, or look down with a sense of superiority over those below them. Spiritual growth does require disciple and courage, but exertion and effort and self-will nearly always end in spiritual disaster. Remember, the effort to reach the heavens with the Tower of Babel was a colossal mistake of human hubris (Genesis 11).
If Christ teaches us anything, it’s that the way up is down, the way to greatness is through humility, the way to possess All is to let go of everything.
Stage six, what I call, “abiding in love,” is the end point in the journey, the goal of the spiritual quest. When you arrive here, you realize that you’ve not been traveling up but in, to the depths of your being; you’ve been traveling down, into the fullness of your humanity. You’ve become a fully integrated person.
To be continued . . .
Central Valley Prayer of the Heart Conference, this weekend in Fresno!
"Moment by Moment: Contemplation for Active People" PRE-REGISTER NOW! Call 559.439.8807
Living an alert spiritual life is demanding, and we need helpful models to show us how to live it well. Contemplation is sometimes dismissed as escapist or elitist. But in fact, the opposite is true. Contemplation is about learning to live your life more fully aware of life around you: more productive, more focused, more spiritually alive, more happy. Our teaching this year will focus on four ordinary people from various walks of life who lived remarkably active and meaningful lives because of their contemplative practice: Elizabeth of Hungary, Dorothy Day, Teilhard de Cardin, and Howard Thurman. In addition to the taught sessions, the retreat will provide you with several intentional contemplative periods for prayer. Spiritual guides will be available during those times for those who may wish to speak with a spiritual guide for companioning and perspective.
Speakers: Dr. Karen Crozier, Fr. Robert Hale, Cindy Correia, Dr. Chris Neufeld-Erdman
Begins Friday evening February 10th, 7pm
Saturday morning through mid-afternoon the 11th
$35 includes lunch; please pre-register to help us plan for lunch ($45 fee at the door). Mail your check by February 1st to University Presbyterian Church, 1776 E. Roberts Ave. Fresno, CA 93710.
Contact the church office at 559.439.8807 for more information and to register.
PDF brochure available, click here. Please forward to friends!
Monastery Bookstore with books, candles, icons, and other handcrafts from around the world.
This conference is open to the community, so please invite a friend and spread the word.
University Presbyterian Church of Fresno 1776 E. Roberts Ave, Fresno, CA 93710
Advancing in the spiritual life: twin perils
Toward the Sixth Stage of Spiritual Growth: Abiding in Love Continued from a previous series of posts on the stages of spiritual growth . . .
Most people tend to think of a goal, even a spiritual goal as an ascent from a lower level to a higher one, as if one is climbing a ladder or a mountain. There are biblical precedents for this. Jacob dreamed of a ladder between heaven and earth. Moses climbed Mt. Sinai to meet with God. So did Elijah. Jesus climbed Mt. Tabor with his disciples and at the top was revealed as the supreme Lord in shimmering glory while all below was shrouded in mist.
Chances are, you too have considered these stages of spiritual growth as steps on a journey into heightened intimacy with the Divine. You may be trying to climb the steps upward, exerting yourself spiritually in an effort to find the fullness of God. On the other hand, you may not be trying at all because it sounds like too much work or your resist what appears to be some kind of spiritual elitism.
Working hard as you climb the mountain or avoiding it altogether: these are twin perils as you advance in the spiritual life.
To be continued . . .
Enter the cathedral of creation
Once a visiting philosopher asked St Anthony (the Great, 251-356 CE) how such a sage spiritual advisor survived in the desert without any books. Anthony replied, "My book is the Creation, and as often as I need to read the words of God, the book is always nearby." St. Athanasius (297 - 373 CE) also taught, "the creatures are like letters proclaiming in loud voices to their Divine Master and Creator the harmony and order of things."
The Lord Jesus says, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say to you that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these" (Matthew 6:28-29).
Take a moment, friend-so-distracted-by-the-noise-of-the-age, and enter the Cathedral of Creation:
Yosemite HD from Project Yosemite on Vimeo.