Companionship is the pathway to God

The fourth in a series of posts on companionship and the spiritual journey.   Please pass along to those you consider companions on your journey into the fullness of God.  This follows the post: "Being human can also make us miserable, but we must not flee from our humanity" . . . Good theology teaches us that relationships are the essence of God as Trinity—that divine mystery of eternal community and companionship.

Good science agrees; contemporary cosmology tells us that relationships weave the universe together.

So, oneness with the God of the cosmos does not obliterate the need we have for one another. Instead, intimacy with God, like intimacy with others, requires relationship.

It’ll only take a single good relationship, a true spiritual companion, and you’ll know what I mean.

Companionship is the pathway to God.

To be continued . . .

Being human can also make us miserable, but we must not flee from our humanity

The third in a series of posts on companionship and the spiritual journey.   Please pass along to those you consider companions on your journey into the fullness of God.  This follows a post: "Humanity is the cradle of divinity" . . . Humanity is the cradle of divinity; the Incarnation of God in Jesus is evidence for that.

But all is not bliss.  Being human can also make us miserable.

Our bodies break, and so do our relationships. The sheer inhumanity of human beings toward one another can seem like a just reason to run from our humanness.

But just because some people are rotten, and a good many of our relationships are dysfunctional, doesn’t mean the whole human enterprise is corrupt and the sooner we escape it, the better.

Some spiritual paths teach this, even Christian ones.  But this kind of thinking pushes against the relational current that flows from the Incarnation of God in Christ, and it’ll never carry you into the presence of the God you seek and who is ever seeking you.

We cannot flee from our humanity--not if we want God.

To be continued . . .

Humanity is the cradle of divinity

The second in a series of posts on companionship and the spiritual journey.   Please pass along to those you consider companions on your journey into the fullness of God.  This follows a post on "Companionship as part and parcel to the nature of God" . . .

Consider the Incarnation. In Christ, God isn’t merely thinking about humanity, God’s being humanity. In the person of Christ, divinity and humanity are woven together, and humanity’s made sacred in the weaving. The spiritual journey, then, is not a flight away from our humanity into divinity, an ascent onto the heights, leaving the stuff of earth behind. Rather, the Christian path is a downward path. Our journey follows Christ into the earth, into the body, into our full humanity—embracing ourselves and embracing others.

St. Irenaeus, one of Christianity’s earliest theologians said, “The glory of God is a human being fully alive.” Against every escapist notion that might tempt us toward independence and isolation, Irenaeus’s words invite us to see humanity as the cradle of divinity.

To be continued . . .

Companionship's part and parcel of the nature of God and key to your own journey

I'm beginning a new series of posts on companionship and the spiritual journey.  Here's the first of a handful of coming posts.  Please share them with those you consider companions on your journey into the fullness of God.

No one can take this journey for you. The journey into the fullness of God is yours—start to finish. Setting out has energized you, and following the Light you’ve glimpsed is the one thing you know you must do. To some degree you may fear this journey into the unknown, but you fear more staying put, staying where you were, stuck in the rut that’s been your life up till now.

The journey toward God is yours to take, but that doesn’t mean you have to walk it alone, nor should you.

It’s true, some have made this journey into union with the Beloved by walking a solitary path. Monastics and hermits in every spiritual tradition are witnesses to the way of utter renunciation. By liberating themselves from just about everything, even human relationships, they’ve walked a long and grueling ascent into the bliss of the unmediated presence of the Divine.

But it’s equally true that the deserts and mountaintops also own the bones of so many more who’ve tried this lonely path and failed. Frankly, most of us need companions along the way—for this journey is not entirely safe, nor is it easy.

Companions aren’t a mere crutch for us who are made of lesser stuff than those spiritual elites.

No, companionship’s part and parcel of the very nature of God.

To be continued . . .

The fruit of prayer: compassion

People often dismiss the contemplative life, the praying life, as disconnected from the realities of daily life. That's a terribly naive and myopic assessment.  This site is dedicated to a robust and compassionate life lived in public, sourced by Divine power.

Here's a recent book I've come across...an important work on the relationship between the contemplative and active life.  Contemplation ought to lead to the deepest forms of involvement in daily life--especially the struggle for all to live well on this increasingly trouble, yet beautiful planet.

"The key to compassion is conversion of self; prayer enkindles the grace of conversion. As Francis prayed, he became more deeply attuned to the experience of God in his own life which in turn deepened his compassion for others. Through prayer Francis reached the deepest oneness with God; he realized this oneness by sharing in the human poverty and humility of Christ. Compassion transformed Francis into another Christ 'because of the excess of his love.'"

There's a growing emergence of compassionate folks whose acts are sourced by prayer.  You're among them.

For stuff about the book, click on the image.