October 2024 – Paul's Blog

Are We in Love With God’s Creation?

Do we love creation with the same love with which God loves creation?

That is a very high standard, an exquisite opportunity, and a grace for which we can pray daily.

Behind the Behavior

When someone does something that really winds us up, what do we learn if we get curious and ask: “What’s behind the behavior?”

If the behavior is particularly perplexing, chances are there’s fear behind it.

When we realize this, and realize our own capacity for fear, it becomes easier to get close enough to love.

Time and Temperature

I saw this graphic this week. It achieves its purpose well.

It’s not too late. What if we get it right?

Triple Maximum Speed!

Our sons love to run in a circuit through our apartment. As they do, the younger one loudly reports their movement from “maximum speed!” to “DOUBLE maximum speed” to “TRIPLE MAXIMUM SPEED!”

This is a harmless (so far!) game for them, but for most adults “triple maximum speed” is the uncritically accepted norm of life. We are too often stretched to breaking and do not consider that there is another way. When we do this, we miss the things of greatest value.

These are urgent times we live in… so, let us slow down.

Moving from the Moral to the Mystical

The assembly for the Synod on Synodality opened yesterday. Let’s pray for the folks in the mix… pray for the grace to embody this outstanding passage by Henri Nouwen.

“Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them.

Dealing with burning issues without being rooted in a deep personal relationship with God easily leads to divisiveness because, before we know it, our sense of self is caught up in our opinion about a given subject. But when we are securely rooted in personal intimacy with the source of life, it will be possible to remain flexible without being relativistic, convinced without being rigid, willing to confront without being offensive, gentle and forgiving without being soft, and true witnesses without being manipulative.

For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required.”

(In the Name of Jesus, Page 45-46)