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

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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.

In stage five: both spiritual abundance and need

Continued from a previous series of posts on the stages of spiritual growth . . . In Stage Five, you are now moved by the Spirit outward again in love, a love that compels you into an experience of abundance you've not know up to this point. In the past, it was mostly your head that directed you--"shoulds" and "oughts" kept you moving forward, caring for others, keeping your practices. But now, in Stage Five, your heart directs you, and your head serves your heart of love. There is, as Jesus promised, a "stream of living water welling up inside you" (John 7.38).

In this stage, spiritual guidance is necessary to help you discern what this Power within your is impelling you to be and do. You sense God's greater purpose for you, but what exactly that means may not be clear to you.

You will still suffer in this stage as much (or even more) that you did before. But now you draw strength from the unfathomable resources of the Spirit, and from your real experience of ongoing union with Christ. You may even sense an "unceasing prayer" (1 Thessalonians 5.17) beginning to form in your heart--an expression of communion with the Trinity that flows within you without your effort.

Lastly, you may find yourself struggling with a nagging frustration despite the presence of God's love in your heart. Your love for God and others, combined with your commitment to God's righteousness and justice, may lead you to do things that are perceived as odd, dangerous, and sometimes counter to the mainstream of the society around you. In addition, you may be disinterested in things that interest most other people, and your passions and interests will probably not be shared by most of those around you. This can lead to a sense of loneliness and isolation even in the midst of a strong community.

In this stage, you will need to seek out others who are emerging from Stage Four and the Wall, people who share your experiences and who can serve as companions as you journey deeper into the fullness of Christ.

To be continued . . .

The Fifth Stage of Spiritual Growth: Moving Outward (Again)

Continued from a previous series of posts on the stages of spiritual growth . . . The fifth of the six stages that characterize our spiritual growth as Christians is marked by a new turn outward toward others and the creation. In this stage, your life expresses an integration of your growth so far, a deep rootedness in your intimacy with God through the Spirit.

In the previous stage, Stage Four, you turned inward after years of active and outward service and leadership (Stage Three). You were seeking more of God than you'd known before--a real experience of encounter with God that neither doctrine nor evangelical service could give you. Doctrine and service were vitally important for your journey, but there came a point when crisis or spiritual hunger made you deeply aware of an emptiness within that nothing but God could satisfy.

Your turn inward--toward more of Christ--was no easy path. Once determined to seek Christ above all things, you collided with "the Wall" of your sin and self will; you came face to face with a deep, inner resistance to God. But if you participated in this experience as a gift of God's severe mercy; if you deepened your spiritual practices of intimacy with God through prayer and meditation (or contemplation); and if you partnered with a spiritual director or guide who helped you face your sin, confront your demons, and who held you in Christ; then you emerged into a new dawning in your Christian experience. Stage Five is this dawning--it is your emergence into a morning bright with the light of Christ.

To be continued . . .