On the one hand I felt the call of God; on the other, I continued to follow the
world. All the things of God gave me great pleasure, but I was held captive by
those of the world. I might have been said to be trying to reconcile these two
extremes, to bring contraries together: the spiritual life on the one hand and
worldly satisfactions,pleasures, and pastimes on the other.

----Saint Teresa of Avila


Saint Teresa of Avila was a remarkably spiritual woman. Even as a girl she could say passionately, "I want something that will last forever!" Yet this woman who was to become one of the world's greatest mystics went through twenty years of doubt and struggle before becoming "established" in God.
If Teresa took twenty years, can people like you and me think of doing it in less?
Her words can inspire all of us, for everyone begins with doubts and conflicts. Little people like us are likely to be haunted by them - and to feel frequently disheartened for a long,long time. When you have doubts about your capacity for spiritual progress, don't be defeatist. Remember these words ofSaint Teresa and keep striving, keep on trying. This is all we are expected to do.- Eswaran

__________________________

I am reminded that I get impatient with my own progress, especially after I have once again allowed the "world" to cause me to lose my discipline of self observation, and become attached to something someone said, or to an action taken by another. After ten years of contemplative seeking, I cannot seem to be there--to be "established in God".

Teresa is one of the key Christian mystical writers who chronicle her inner life in detail, revealing the many pitfalls that she encountered and in so doing, encourages me to trod on, in yoke, and not to faint or to give up...most of the time!

Her prosaic words give encouragement once more:


Let nothing trouble you.
Let nothing make you afraid.
All things pass away.
God never changes.
Patience obtains everything.
God alone suffices.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

You can do it! Yes you can.

Image
I claim to be an average man of less than average ability.I have not the shadow of a doubt that any man or woman can achieve what I have if he or she would make the same effort and cultivate the same hope and faith. -Mahatma Gandhi So, are you willing to give it your best? In this transformation of the small i's to the Real I, the essence, are you willing? to do the Work? Resolve to awaken to the inner motivations of the small self within. Observe yourself. Put some separation between you and your small self/ego. Observe your own behavior, thoughts, actions, motivations. Let the Spirit filter the way you respond to stresses from outside. For the Word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two edged sword, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart-----------your heart! Who is The Living Word? The logos? You know.
Read more

Baylor has need of Christ’s wisdom

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You can not serve both God and Mammon.” We ( Baylor - as a university community which says its follows Christ) have blindly served mammon, with the other schools in Texas…and look where it has taken us. Now money is driving the conference groupings even more than before- in 1995. Where will this lead? Texas—that is the University of Texas at Austin, is the driving force of the ‘we deserve more money’ movement. Fair enough, that is as it probably should be. UT is a dominant force in NCAA athletics. It is a secular school. It has absolutely no ties to the Gospel, other than the Gospel’s influence on our culture. Although far less in influence, the same goes for our militaristic land grant school, and our state’s other outpost, which defies description. But Baylor—why do we follow them? We say we are of Christ . I question that. Especially ...
Read more

Handling God's blessings with care

It is permissible to take life's blessings with both hands provided thou dost know thyself prepared in the opposite event to take them just as gladly. This applies to food and friends and kindred, to anything God gives and takes away. -Meister Eckhart In order to live in freedom, we must learn to accept a temporary disappointment, if necessary, when it is for our permanent well-being. Sometimes, when we want to eat something that appeals to us, or when we want to eat a little more than is necessary, we can't help feeling disappointment as we push away from the table. We cannot help thinking that we could as well have stayed on for five more minutes of pleasure, forgetting that it would probably be followed by five hours of stomachache at night. The right time to get up from the meal is when we want just a little more. This is real artistry, real gourmet judgment: when we find that everything is so good that we would like to have one more helping, we get up and walk away. ~Easwa...
Read more