God Archives - Page 5 of 11 - Shepherd of Faith

Christ the King

The King of the world. Did we forget? I often find myself trying to make people understand they are not in control, God is. My famous last words always seem to be ” just go with the flow.” I guess for people with a strong faith going with the flow comes easy.

A beautiful song by Natalie Grant was recently shared in one of my discussion groups and I wanted to share it with you. I also thought it was fitting to post as we approach the end of the liturgical year this weekend.

I hope you enjoy The King of the World by Natalie Grant. Ponder her words. Think deeply about the limitations we place on God when we do not surrender to His will.

God bless you!

Gratitude!

My last two posts have been about contemplation and its effect on our lives. In true majestic fashion, the Spirit continues to guide me and provide food for thought. First my own thoughts, then a meditation from Richard Rohr and then came this – an email with Joan Chittister’s weekly e-newsletter Vision and Viewpoint. The topic? You guessed it – contemplation!

Life’s essential goodness

We so often think that those who refuse under any conditions to deny the essential goodness of life are mad. Look at the suffering. Look at the evil. Be real, we say. We are so often inclined to think that those who continue to see life where life seems to be empty and futile are, at best, foolish. Be sensible, we say. But we may be the ones who are mad. The truth is that contemplation, the ability to see behind the obvious to the soul of life, is the ultimate sanity. The contemplative sees life as it really is under all the struggle and pain: imbued with God, glowing with eternity, full of energy, and so overflowing with good that evil never totally triumphs.

Contemplation keeps the inner eye focused on Goodness. The desert monastics put it this way: As he was dying, Abba Benjamin taught his disciples his last lesson. “Do this,” he said, “and you will be saved: Rejoice always, pray constantly, and in all circumstance give thanks.”

In the end, joy, praise and gratitude live in the hearts of those who live in God. It is not the joy of fools. The contemplative knows evil when it rears its head. It is not the praise of the ingratiating. The contemplative knows struggle when difficulties come. It is not the gratitude of the obtuse. The contemplative recognizes the difference between chaff and grain. The contemplative knows that grain is for bread, but the contemplative also knows that chaff is for heat. The contemplative realizes that everything in life has for its purpose the kindling of the God-life within us. And so the contemplative goes on with joy and resounds with praise and lives in gratitude. Always.

—from Illuminated Life by Joan Chittister (Orbis)