A word from us...
The Living Spirit - December 9th
We persist in saying that we keep vigil in expectation of the Master. But in reality we should have to admit, if we were sincere, that we no longer expect anything. The flame must be revived at all costs. At all costs we must renew ourselves in the desire of and the hope for the great coming. But where are we to look for the source of this rejuvenation? From the perception of a more intimate connection, between the victory of Christ and the outcome of the work, which our human effort here below is seeking to construct.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
From Isaiah 40:
"Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint."
We persist in saying that we keep vigil in expectation of the Master. But in reality we should have to admit, if we were sincere, that we no longer expect anything. The flame must be revived at all costs. At all costs we must renew ourselves in the desire of and the hope for the great coming. But where are we to look for the source of this rejuvenation? From the perception of a more intimate connection, between the victory of Christ and the outcome of the work, which our human effort here below is seeking to construct.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
From Isaiah 40:
"Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God'? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they that wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint."
The Living Spirit - December 2nd
God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason. Dag Hammarskjold
From 2 Corinthians:
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies...that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence."
God does not die on the day when we cease to believe in a personal deity, but we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a wonder, the source of which is beyond all reason. Dag Hammarskjold
From 2 Corinthians:
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies...that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence."
The Living Spirit - November 25th
“...To live without hope is to cease to live."
Fyodor Dostoevsky
From Titus 2:
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
“...To live without hope is to cease to live."
Fyodor Dostoevsky
From Titus 2:
"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."
The Living Spirit - November 11th
On prayer - But it really is because ‘nothing happens’ that you can be sure that you are on the right path, the path of simplicity, of poverty, of an empowering surrender. Jesus has told us that his Spirit is to be found in our hearts.
[Prayer] is uncovering this truth as a present reality deep within ourselves at the centre of our lives. The Spirit that we are invited to discover in our hearts is the power source that enriches every aspect and every part of our life.
The Spirit is the eternal Spirit of life and the eternal Spirit of love. The call of Christians is not to be half-alive, which means being half-dead, but to be fully alive, alive with the dynamos of the Spirit.
From Romans 4:
"For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law - indeed it cannot and those who are in the flesh cannot please God... Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him."
On prayer - But it really is because ‘nothing happens’ that you can be sure that you are on the right path, the path of simplicity, of poverty, of an empowering surrender. Jesus has told us that his Spirit is to be found in our hearts.
[Prayer] is uncovering this truth as a present reality deep within ourselves at the centre of our lives. The Spirit that we are invited to discover in our hearts is the power source that enriches every aspect and every part of our life.
The Spirit is the eternal Spirit of life and the eternal Spirit of love. The call of Christians is not to be half-alive, which means being half-dead, but to be fully alive, alive with the dynamos of the Spirit.
From Romans 4:
"For those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on things of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's law - indeed it cannot and those who are in the flesh cannot please God... Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him."