Abandonment, Contemplation, Detachment
Forgiveness and Trust
“Give freely of thy spirit and judge not; be longsuffering and patient, for when you are kind with the kindness of the spirit to those who are unregenerate, the act frees your own unregeneracy as well. Blessed is he that sees and understands and forgives.”
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“Do not take on too much the suffering of the world, for the concept is not only too large to understand but is now beyond us. Trusting is part of your role; trusting in high hope, in peace and confidence. Wear these garments of joy without fearful anticipation, look upon the quiet of the hills, of a candle untroubled by the wind; be very, very simple, very uncomplex, very natural in the eternal sense. Keep in the storm center, safe, a power for victory, healing and peace.”
[From: Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood, edited by Mary Strong, 1948]
26 Jun 2008 gabrielle
As usual, Gabrielle, you have chosen well.
Forgiveness is so important and since it is part of the Lord’s Prayer we can know clearly how important it is to Him.
The first line of the second excerpt contains sound advice. We would go insane were to attempt to shoulder the worries of the world, for we must learn to trust all to God, not for one minute caring less about all that happens, but hoping more that prayer’s power will be enough to bring about peace or resolution of whatever kind is necessary.
Thank you for all the wonderful posts that bring contemplation to our lives. You are a gem for many parched souls.
Something similar in the Nouwen book I’m reading, “As long as we continue to live as if we are what we do, what we have, and what other people think about us, we will remain filled with judgments, opinions, evaluations, and condemnations. We will remain addicted to the need to put people and things in their “right” place. To the degree that we embrace the truth that our identity is not rooted in our success, power, or popularity, but in God’s infinite love, to that degree can we let go of our need to judge.” He quotes the desert fathers from the fourth century: Judging others is a heavy burden.” He said he had a few moments in his life when he felt free from all judgments about others, and that one of those moments always led to a deep solidarity with all people, especially after a 7-month stay at a Trappist monastery, “I was so full of God’s goodness that I saw goodness wherever I went, even behind facades of violence, destruction, and crime. I had to restrain myself from embracing the women and men who sold me groceries, flowers, and a new suit. They all seemed like saints to me!” He finishes up the short passage with something incredibly profound: “We can oly let go of the burden of judging others when we don’t mind carrying the light burden of being judged.”
As for the second part from Mary Strong, all I can say is that even my plastic dolls and stuffed animal “waifs” broke my heart.. I don’t see that vulnerability (but for real people, now) changing. It did once… I never want to be that cold again. But it’s to God that it all goes, now.
MC, thanks; it’s so nice to see you! We all need the cooling stream from the Water of Life, don’t we…I’m happy you can find a little refreshment here from time to time…
Ann and Carol, your comments leave me with more food for thought, as usual. They bring to mind the importance of focus. If we are focused on God, we won’t be judging others or minding others’ business - and if we are focused on God, on His Attributes for instance, then forgiveness will be flowing from us. The second quote was sort of a little lead-up to a post or two I’ll try to do this week concerning some previous comments, where Mike had left us with a quote I wanted to talk about a little more.