a " Death, is not the putting extinguishing of the light, it is only putting out the light,                                                                                                                                        "                                                                                          because dawn has come." R.Tagore.                               "                    "Death is but a comma in the sentence of existence, NOT, a period." Anonymous.                      "Stay awake, and be ready........ for The Son of Man is coming at a time you least expect." Matt 24 : 44

"Once entangled with The Risen Christ, your fundamental life-force is anchored, in an immortal system."

    In the immediate past, we had two days set aside for the celebrations, of two different sides of the same coin. The celebration of The Feast of All Saints, and The Feast All  Souls.  They are not, to my present sate of mind, two different feasts, they are but one celebration of two sides of the same coin.  Life and death are not words in separate sentences, they together are, companion words that cannot be separated. When we are born, we begin to live life, but with each moment lived, we are closer to death. As we read in, The Preface Of Funeral masses, " Death, is not an end, death is a, beginning." These words were a great help in the pastoral dealings with death Joe was not eased into the realities of  birthing and, dying.

    As a young priest I was chaplain to The Old Maricopa County ,Hospital, 35th Ave. and Durango. What an experience that was. In one day, I got called out to celebrate five Baptisms, and four Sacramental Celebration of The Anointing of The Sick. That demanded 9, separate trips. At night there would be an emergency call, which was immediately answered. One night I got out of bed. Drove to the hospital. Celebrated the sacrament, and returned to bed. Three times I was back in bed, when almost immediately there was another, call. Peaceful Ireland, and uneventful, seminary life, fast receded, into, memory. I was not eased into pastoral life. Expectations were blown out of the ballpark. Do I have stories to tell !!!!! In the old days Joe could say I will tell you in Heaven. In the afterlife you will know me, as I will know you.

   Those words " Death is not an end, death is a beginning," were the foundation of radical changes in my pastoral approach to death, dying, and the  celebration of new life. New life for the person who has passed through the door of death, and those left behind who are also experiencing a new way of living life. Thank The Gracious Creative Spirit Who, has been The Guide, to us being released from past gut wrenching sermons on the horrors of Hell. we are now being called to a fuller understanding of life, and the unconditioned love of our Prodigal Father.  How we see, understand, and practice in the moment to moment live events lived, will rave a radical effect on our relationship with The Prodigal Mother/Father.

 We have come to understand that there death and birth to be experienced in every moment, a nanosecond, we are privileged to live !! Pope Paul The Second, in 1999 A.D., wrote that there are no physical realities to be encountered after the passing over from physical life. to Eternal life.. There is one deeper participation in, The Eternal Mystery. We will then enter the fullest participation in the life of The Holy Trinity. When we work on developing a relationship with The Sacred Trinity in this life we are setting ourselves up for an even deeper experience of our promised participation with The Resurrected, Cosmic Christ as He lives in a Community of loA few blogs ago, I think, there was an encouragement to turn your vision this life, as the work of a foursome.

 You, we, never journey alone. Working on an ever deepening understanding of the infinite love relationship, which began at Baptism, and will continue into Eternal life, is our live's work. Remember ?? " I baptize you, in the name of The Father, the Son and Holy Spirit'. There were initiated into The Triune Life of The Divinity, as the white garment was placed on you these words were uttered, "see in this garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity." You have been chosen to a lived entrance, into The Paschal Mystery.  How and where is your developing understand of this "entrance"which you been chosen, from eternity, to make an ever deepening reality in your sacramental living. There is an entrance, but no exit sign. Eternal is your beginning, and in eternity, there will be no end. Participation in The Triune Presence, was the place of our birth. The place of your death is....... ???

 Pope Benedict, XVI wrote there was no " subterranean furnace in the after life". Hell is the result of choices we freely, and consciously, make in the right, now. We create our own Hells. When we deliberately choose to reject love, and freely imprison ourselves in the hellish prisons of guilt, fear, and shame, that existential place is hell. But, wait awhile all is not lost, all is not darkness. We are so lucky to have the teachings of those who have gone before, and the newer evolving teachings of our present mystics. Pope Francis saw " vengeful Hell, as a tool, to coerce people," into obedience. I was a victim of the coercion for decades of my life. Even when Pope Benedict and Pope Francis taught there was " no furnace in the afterlife " that has not deterred some control addicts from parroting the old "PARTY LINE." I wonder how many of today's Catholics have been exposed to the Pope's teachings.

   Years ago, Thomas Merton wrote in a letter to Henri Nowen:" At the center of our being is a point of nothingness which is untouched by sin and by illusion, a point of pure truth, a point or spark which belongs entirely to God, which is never at our disposal, from which God disposes our lives, which is inaccessible to the fantasies of our mind or the brutalities of our will. This little point of nothingness and of absolute poverty IS THE PURE GLORY OF GOD IN US.......It is like a pure diamond, blazing with the  invisible light of heaven. It is in everybody" Yes !! that point is within each person that has been ever created. Here is a quote from my quotes, that trigger sadness : " We have made it so difficult to get to Heaven, and so easy to go to hell, whereas the truth is the reverse. Which belief is controlling your thoughts, as you return to you destiny, The Eternal Womb, The Womb of infinite, unconditioned, Love. Your Divine Mother "cannot forget the child of Her Womb". We may wander, we may stray, but we are NEVER lost from the sight of Her Son, The Eternal Good Shepherd, Who will lead the strays home.

   Paul teaches us in Romans 8 38:39 " For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present or the future,  nor any powers, neither hight nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus."                                     This is too long. But Joe was on a roll, and you suffer the consequences. You have my deepest apologies. One of these days, I will be confined to what I will be able to accomplish. Love, and blessings. Gramps.

  

 

  " You shall not molest or oppress an alien...you shall not wrong any widow or orphan." Exodus 22.                                     "You shall love your neighbor, as, YOURSELF"                                                         " The first thing to secure, is to secure, is to save the unfortunate, from the cruelty of men of greed....where the fragile are silenced, take a stand. To hope, is to take a stand. " Pope Leo X:14.

                      " How blessed are the poor in spirit, there's, IS, the kingdom of heaven."

   Remember you were encouraged to become very familiar with the Scripture Reading for Sunday October 25. I had not read the scripture lessons for Nov 1st. Now that both are in his senior, senior mind,  wondering Joe finds himself, facing another smorgasbord. This will not result in the addition of anything, it will challenge us to, let go. To become less, so, we are led to the emptiness of, desiring more. We have been told, unfortunately, " more is better".  This is the challenge of  spiritual journey. It is all about subtraction not, ADDITION. The false self is horrified at the prospect, The less, and the fight is joined, endlessly. The fight is endless, ending, only, with our last breath. Our ultimate, surrender. The egotistical ego the false self is all about, "power, property, and prestige. (Rohr), and it does not care who has to be victimized, exploited, dehumanized along the way to achieving the destructive, ultimate goal. Where are you seeing this in yourself and rampant in our supposedly Christian nation ? Honesty is progressive. We can only be as honest as we are brave enough to be, at any given moment. We are NOT PERFECT, we are perfectly imperfect !!!! We pray for the courage to be honest. Cash honesty is on thing, emotional honesty is a greater challenge. Become aware of the challenge of emotional sobriety, and the great challenge inherent in it's pursuit. I encourage all to seek out emotional sobriety, if you are willing to work hard !!

   Pope Leo is encouraging us to hope, and take an active stand to counter the exploitation, rampant in our time. Just one of the many destructive forces that are to be annihilated. The manifestations of the false self are legion, maybe that can explain why the war, the battle is endless. Then, " Where sin abounds, "Grace abounds even more fully."  " Here there is no love , sew love and your will find Love has already been awaiting discovery, or the awakening. Ineffable Grace, is, the guarantee that we can never be forgotten, rejected, or disowned. On top of that we are "never be tempted beyond our strength." The strength is not mine, it is always, ours  Is this the power of we, appearing again to encourage perseverance on, the slog. We are never alone, but who is the companion, we are choosing to be our companion ?  The answer is essential for a healthy noon binary spiritual journey. To help us in our ever deepening journey, into silence, emptiness, and nothingness we have been give thee aids. The three movements of grace are, purgation, illumination, and union, our constant, nanosecond companions. Are you making friends with them ?  Is it worth it ?  The more we know, the easier it will be to trust, and let go. This is where excitement bubbles up, as the result of honest reflection. Letting go of our  illusion , and grow into honest prayer is  a " Nouwen step " The he journey from illusion to prayer, is repeated, endlessly.   We are challenged, never compare our prayer life, with anyone else's. We are by that, rejecting our uniqueness. As beloved daughters/sons we are truly loved, uniquely. This Eternal Love has been ours from before the beginning of Time. 

      I have had to learn to grow in acceptance of the evolving relationship with the  shadow side.  We all have a shadow side. The parts of us we hide away, and will not reveal to almost, anybody. I  have been a great number of kind companions who by loving, and accepting Joe as Joe, I have very gradually blessed with the lens of evolving honesty, and the acceptance of the reality of both, light and shadow. I am in the process of accepting my compulsivity, my perfectionism, my great desire to people please, just to own up to the few, among, the many. The journey into the acceptance of light and shadow, cannot happen apart from grace.Continuous shadow work, is essential for lasting, peace, You have heard it said, or experienced this reality, the two people most like each other, there is a constant war, strife. They are battling their shadows, but in each other. This war, and all wars, are the result of transference. That was first introduced to me, in the early 70's. That introduction has resulted in unplanned , but essential changes, one being the following. Whatever Joe do not like, accept, in himself, when this personal unacceptability is seen in another, Joe will go to war with that person. When Joe becomes aware of his dysfunctional behavior , and took responsibility for his unhealthy actions, change happened. The Sacrament of Reconciliation was a gigantic help.  Without reconciling grace, all there is left for us is transference. Also known as scapegoating, another name for the dynamic, of transference.  The essential reconciliation cannot happen without the mysterious workings of Mercy-full love. The action of Mercy-full in our lives, heals, soothes, comforts, strengthens, transfigures and transforms, all progressively. The harder we work, the more inner peace we experience, and so become " Channels of peace". Our chosen destiny, from eternity.

         The dynamic of scapegoating is alive, and so visible in our contemporary, current existence, which is mistaken for real life, and mercy-full living. Where do you see scapegoating alive and active within your daily life ? In the inner and outer lives !!! The migrant, the alien, the trans person, the poor and powerless, ( todays widows and orphans), people of nations whose chosen destiny was not to be an American. The Creative Creator "places each person in the place The Infinite Loving Creator freely chooses for them" Paul. There are no mistakes in all of creation. Through quantum theory, all creation  is one integral whole. Paul in his teaching on The Mystical Body of Christ says the same," We are all one." Division, is the result of blurred vision, or crass ignorance on the part of human participants in the creative, creating process. Until transference of the shadow, to the vulnerable, becomes less as a practice in our the human experience, there will be no peace and harmony. Peace, as the result of reconciliation, can last, as long as honest shadow work, is operative in  us, and our greater communal home.. For this you and I are responsible. " The state of the individual soul, is, reflected in the state of the greater society."

    The movement into the acceptance of our "poverty  spirit" will see a gradual change. Here we have to be more accepting  of who we are, and where we are at, at any given moment. Paul teaches us, " We are, who we are, (in unconditional love) in, this, moment". How sacramental every unique moment is. " Now is the acceptable, now, is the time of salvation,"  Paul writes to the Corinthians. The acceptance of mercy-full grace allows us to move from defensive boundaries, and competitiveness , towards an open safe, welcoming space, for others." Not maybe, but really, for ourselves first, then for others. " We cannot give, what we have not got." There is a great deal, I was going to say " a mountain" of work for all to do. There are no unique exceptions, to this process of transformation and transfiguration. We must remember the words, "the kingdom, IS, within you". The kingdom is within you right now, but the realization and acceptance of this awe-full reality is a very slow process. We are blessed with glimpses, for our encouragement. If " the kingdom is to come" it will of necessity have to find a home in each one of us , FIRST ???? 

 Finally, a lasting thought and challenge. I came across the following in my research  "Viewing " how blessed are the poor of Spirit, there's is the kingdom of heaven," through quantum lens " bridges ancient spiritual wisdom, with modern theoretical physics." That is a quote to be treasured long, after I have ended this part of my journey. " 

     " Gracious, and mercy-full Giver of all that is good, bless us. Strengthen us, Your  weakened beloved daughters and sons, with the the courage to be open to this ongoing challenges we are facing, in our cosmic home. The feelings of uncertainty, as the result of endless, war,  and resulting changes are rampant. Strengthen us to meet the endless challenge of change. Open our eyes, to the All, that is already present and endlessly active.  Bringing all things into an evolving wholeness, Holiness. You are forever drawing us deeper into, mystery. As we journey, may You, as, The Mystery awaken us to all that is already, present, as Your Presence unfolds."   Love and blessings. Great gramps.

 

   

       

           

  

x          "The mystery of love, is greater, than the mystery of death." Oscar Wilde.                                                                              " Love leads us to ourselves--this is the mystery of love." Lenz.                              " Anyone who loves, must also love.. sister and brother." 1John 4:21.                                                        " We love, because He first loved us" 1 John 4:19.

      " Love, is patient, love is kind, love takes no offense, and is not resentful." 1Corinthians 13:4

 Many eons ago, 1960 A.D. to be exact, I was lucky enough to enter  The School of Theology. The passage from Philosophy to Theology, was always in doubt, because of my challenges with Latin. I was lucky enough to scrape by, and so entered, with trepidation, the domains of Moral, and Dogmatic Theology. The first warning I received was to be really prepared for the challenges that were in store, when grace was the main subject, that was going to be the, challenge. How right they were !!!! There is trepidation as the mystery of grace, the mystery of love, The Mystery of Divinity is encountered. We will NEVER solve The Mystery. The Mystery is inexhaustible.We are going to meet that last word, again, and again.... We however are forever, by the workings of Spirit, being mysteriously drawn, into unknowing and a deeper understanding of, The Unknown Divinity. Our journey directed by The Holy Spirit, will of its essence, demand,  silence, emptiness, and nothingness. There is work to be done in the slow acceptance of the power of this, trinity, which allows us to be embraced, unconditionally, by The Community of, The Holy Trinity.This gradual surrender into The Embrace, is the essence of a healthy spirituality. What is your GUT reaction to all that is being, proposed ? That is, your deepest truth endlessly bubbling up from, the tabernacle, in your depths. Visit that Tabernacle, your home !!!

     When it comes the mystery of The Holy Spirit's mysterious action and love, and grace they are, interchangeable. Wherever you see grace, love can be substituted.  Where love, Love appears we are in the presence of Divinity.To day we see the two words, whole and holiness, are also interchangeable. This, may, will challenge, binary thinking. We are always in need of challenges, to the, status quo. The very word mystery challenges us to enter the, unknown. That is for me scary. At my age I do not need any new challenges. The safety of the familiar, of certainty, has been a secure home for me. Now, here Joe is, at the deep twilight of his day, facing ever evolving challenges. The words, " life is not a problem, to be solved. It is a mystery to be lived." have been a source of, consolation. Consolation charged with the challenge, "the only thing certain, is uncertainty," and  "Faith, is a journey into the darkness of uncertainty, not certainty." Is another constant blinking light, lightening the way into The Dark Unknown, into Mystery. Again, two interchangeable words for, The Ineffable. Not easy to grasp, that is why the spiritual journey demands, persistence. Yes!!! Basically it demands hard work, endlessly ????

As Quantum thought is explored, and its outreach to mysticism is continued, an explosion of interchangeable words awaiting. For this generation, and the generations to come, there are great challenges awaiting, way beyond our present understandings. Yes, we are living in the presence of continuous mystery, and, being blessed by its fruitfulness  When we stay in our comfort zone, we go nowhere. Heaven, for the false, self !!!!! Really a hell, to be discovered, and dwelt within. Freedom ?

For about 60 plus years, I was blessed to be, a witness, to the exchange of vows. that is at the heart of every celebration, of the Sacrament of Matrimony. The Christic Presence, is a Presence to ever so slowly awaken to. The discovery of The Paschal Mystery, ever present, does not come without encounter The Mystery's inherent suffering and pain. ( Have you ever written out where you encounter The Suffering, and Resurrecting Christ in yourself, and your beloved ? Here is a truth, that came to consciousness in the 60's and 70's, sexuality and spirituality enhance the mystery,  being lived, ONE MOMENT AT A TIME.) are loving couple, confer the sacrament on one another, and will continue to do so.  As they grow in the acceptance of their priesthood, and all that. is to be discovered, and lived through. There are no, "good old days", there is a living encounter with the sacramentality of, the present sacred, eternal, moment. The sacramentality of the present moment, like all mystery, cannot be exhausted. Life ,is the lived process, the sacramental moments of drawn, into. " Life is not a problem to be salved, it is a mystery to be lived"

Here are just a few of the mysterious expressions we are blessed to be exposed to, in the  becoming as we journey through our unique experience of The  Paschal Journey.  Writing your gospel ? The unique gospel we have been chosen to live and by our actions, write. "The way we love ourselves, is the way we allow others to love us." The way we love ourselves, is the way we ALLOW, Love, to love us." " The eye with which we see The Divine, is the same eye through which Divinity, see us." A healthy love of The Divinity, and a healthy love of of another person, BEGINS, with a healthy love of self." " I do not see a person as they are, I see the other, as I am, this moment". " When I point my finger at another, there are. FOUR pointing back at me." "When a person gets angry at you, they are already angry at, themselves." My presence is an already uncomfortable presence, as yet unrecognized. " We are NOT made to feel any feeling, we choose to feel the feeling." "Growth begins, when the blaming end." That was, and is a continuing discomfort  for me. This demands that Joe grows !! Growing up has been, and is, a serious pain !!!! Thank The Gracious Creator's foresight in the revelation of Creative Love, endless creating grace. Reverence, the evolving mystery your presence really is.

We all know, without mercy-full grace, we are incapable of loving in a healthy manner. This does not excuse us from making the effort. I just love, " we do our best, Grace, The Holy Creative, does the rest, freely" because of a love that is" unconditioned, unlimited, and unrestricted."(Rohr)  There is nothing complete, in our present experience of, creative living. Quantum Theory reveals a connectedness between all creation, there are no exceptions.  Here there is the suggestion of entanglement,  that is, no disconnectedness. We are thought , we are never alone. The False self may tell us the lie, we are free to disconnect from those voices. That takes PRACTICE. Again, work !!! We may feel it, because the false self does not want us to experience, comfort, The union of everything is powered by, The Cosmic Christ. We also believe, we are carried by our being, in The Mystical Body's  There is an evolution in the sacramental awareness essential for the acceptance of the limitations of our wounded  humanity, our temporary, home. This is a blessing, Yes !! a blessing. "We have not here, a lasting city,"

        Got to stop here. In preparation for the next effort become conversant with the scriptures of Sunday the 25 th. of October. Therein lies an uncomfortable truth. An uncomfortable truth that we are challenged to face with rigorous honesty. There is an innate discomfort to be experienced on, in-depth reflection(s). " "He who says he loves God, and hates his neighbor, is, a liar. " Rabbi Jesus.                                                             

    There will always be, The Beyond, in the mysterious endlessness of the beyond.         Love Gramps.   

 

   

                     "The endurance of darkness, is, preparation for, great light." John of The Cross.                         "                                   " If a person wishes to be sure of the road he treads on, he must close his eyes and                                                                   walk in the dark."          " To the saints, slumber is prayer." John of The Cross

" Cyrus, my anointed one, I have called you by name, giving you a title, though you knew Me not" Is. 45   Well, how are you doing, now that you know, your limitations are sacramental ? They are always drawing you ever deeper into the mystery of " Who you are, Who, it is, you are becoming, called to be, called to do, and Who it is that is doing the calling." These are really tough questions, but they must be answered. Why? so there will be a gradual unfolding of the call,  each received in eternity. You are NOT some biological accident. You existence, and the universal plan have the same beginning. That is why there is within you the eternal. You were created outside of time, but destined to find life in this " fullness of time." Your unique creation was the creation of The Infinite Creative Spirit. So there must be a certain presence, of The Creative Spirit within you. Our life's destiny is to discover the uniqueness of The Presence within, and not settle for anything less. Settling for less only brings disquiet, and unhappiness.

      Your sacramental uniqueness , is what your true self is fighting, every nanosecond, to reveal to you. Your path is not anybody else's path. When we want to imitate another's path, we are told that is, THE WRONG, Path. How many of us make that mistake ? Joe, for one, travelled the wrong path for decades. It took gigantic upheavals for me to see, and then accept, I was on the wrong path. Externally Joe was doing pretty good, for a time. Then the inevitable happened. There was great fear, and great pain involved. That is true to this present, yes, nanosecond. The false self is bombastic, to say the least. The true self is quiet. That is why we must stop, be silent, pay attention to what, is. Writers tell us the secret lies in our embrace and understanding of what, is. Issness, look it up. I will, just screw it up.

   Isiah, being The Divines mouthpiece, a prophet, foretold an event that was to happen approximately 150 years in the future. And it became a historical event.  Cyrus is a historical figure. He was a pain, yet The Divine call him anointed. For the Jewish that sounded blasphemous. Call a pagan anointed. You have been anointed as well. In The sacrament of Baptism you were, are anointed "priest, prophet and kink". As Cyrus, the kings, and priests were also anointed, chosen, set aside. To do what ? The prophet had many roles to play. In discovering what they were will provide an insight into the role of prophet, and your chosen calling, today. When anything is said or written concerning the past and contemporary prophets, it is all about you. 

   Yes you have been chosen, with your unique gifts, talents, abilities, and limitations to be the one who speaks truth. The one who will take the risk to confront the lies, injustices, spiritual and moral abuses. Prophets in The Hebrew Scriptures was a very high risk calling. The prophets in many circumstances were murdered.We That was true of The Prophet, Jesus, Who became The Christ of The Divine, through His death, and Resurrection. You are called to tread the same, Via Dolorosa !!! We follow in the same footsteps, so we are charged with a Mysterious Presence. NEVER, ALONE !!!!

   Take the prophetic actions of the residents of Minneapolis, what has been the effect of their actions, on your vision? Have their risky prophetic actions  had any effect on your actions, as you view this now moment?  What prophets we were gifted in the life and Papacy of Francis. His prophetic role, has been accepted by our, Pope Leo. How blessed we are to have such a prophet for our time. Look at the prophetic stances he has taken, and the extreme opposition he had to endure, in such a short time. He has not been reticent in challenging the most powerful figures. All the time being an advocate for the marginalized, all those who do not measure up to some "sacred" odious standard of those who are the self appointed judge and jury, of, the most vulnerable, the poorest of all. This is how "the least of the brethren are treated in this moment in time.In their disquiet they are using every means possible, and they do wield, financial and  secular power, have deliberately chosen to make sure their chosen victims, The contemporary  Crucified Christs, are consigned, destined to share their, HELL, and hellish living.

  The intent of Aisling On Earth is NOT to provide easy answers, directions, for your unique journey. The goal is to give inkling of some, Reality, existing way beyond my ability to express in finite words. Your essential reality, when gradually revealed, will lead you to your unique path of endless awakenings. A path chosen for you in eternity. You originated in a reality beyond time and space. You are called to live within the limits, confines of space. You challenge is to discover what you have been called to cocreat. After all Vatican Two has confirmed we are " cocreators and coperfectors, of creation." What injustices, do you see, need to be addressed. Start with your own life." They who have not been in the desert, are unable to lead others, out of the desert."Your desert experiences, they are sacramental. Love and blessings. Grandpa.

 The injustices, the deliberate, crass, lying, the exploitation, the acts marginalization, the acts of dehumanization, the deliberate starving of innocent children and their parents, must be addressed. Unlawful wars, are not to be under any circumstances tolerated. This is meant to echo the prophetic statements of  Pope Leo, X14. We did not cause any of these dehumanizing conditions, but each one of us is take responsibility of meeting and working on the solutions. This path is tread one step at a time. Each step guided by the promptings of The Creative, Creating Presence. That presence lies within the tabernacle of your depths. 

      We are to embrace silence, The Divinity's first language, emptiness, and loneliness for a connection that will be the channel of all necessary guidance, strength and nourishment. We will then encounter the mysterious workings of grace. "as it was, so, it is, and ever shall be." " We are called, we are chosen, we are Christ for one another" how often was that sung. We do not choose " the other". The "other" is always chosen for us. Then we meet the sacramentality of The Other, present in the wounded, sacred, other. "The least of the brethren" are crying out and ....... ?????  " We are to let go of the images, we have created to contain the Divine,"( St. John of The Cross), otherwise, the result is ...St. John of The Cross.                     Love, prayers and blessings. Great gramps.

               "  Let go of the images, through which you contain, the Divine." Meister Eckhart.                                                 " To come to the knowledge of all, desire the knowledge of nothing." John of the Cross.                                                  " The most beautiful experience we can have , is, the mysterious." Albert Einstein.

  "  The Lord, is my Shepherd, there is nothing that I shall, need.... even though I walk in the dark valley                                                                              I shall not fear, for, You are  with me." Psalm 23.                                                

Welcome all you, foursomes ? Have you already forgot your "four-someness" How is your new emerging reality, of being a foursome, effecting your  every, hour, moment, and nanosecond?  It is so awe-full to experience what happens when a nanosecond spirituality is being developed, as the result of discovering the sacramentality of moment to moment actions. One action laying the mysterious foundation, for the next experience of reality. That reality, recognized and reverenced, will lead us,  to an ever deeper understanding and relationship with, The Real. Gradually we will be lead to the mysterious discovery that The Creative Guiding Spirit is ever and always, nanosecond by nanosecond,  operating in unseen ways. Joe, always wishes The Gracious Creative would become more transparent, agree ?? This would make our dark journey of faith a little easier, the false self, loves this !!!

 Nano-spirituality  is the key to a mysterious new way of seeing, being and acting.  Are you beginning to experience, in a little way, a mysterious exciting newness ?  This is where my three emerging friends are a great help. Joe is being slowly lead to this realization,  Silence, Emptiness and Nothingness are three essential realities to be reverenced  for our spiritual journey, into the, sacramental, the sacred. S.E.N. will not become a friend, friendly,  with, the false self. S.E.N. are deeply challenging to the binary lens, darkness, uncertainty are not welcomed.  Remember we are actively involved in an everlasting battle between spirituality and religiosity. How long can you expect it to last ? The battle royal will cease with, the final breath taken and exhaled !!!!! Then we will enter eternal, peace, joy and love, death and darkness will have no hold. Remember you and I meet this challenge as a,  FOURSOME. There is no, I, or, me, only wee. The  Triune Divinity is be  seen as a  community of active, ever creating fruitful, Love . Where One is, there all Three are waiting, for ?? 

   As spiritual beings, immersed in the human experience, we are always going to encounter, limitations. Encountering limitations is an essential experience of us a spiritual beings immersed in, the human condition.We must gradually envision, the word encounter as essential, on this journey through  liminal dark valleys, and transformational mountain top experiences. Remember how Pope Francis was always emphasizing our need to be present to each reality we encounter. These are  privileges to experience. These encounters are unique, as they are reserved to enhance, and reveal our chosenness . "We are called we are chosen", to be the place of encounter, as Christ, meets, Christ ??? Each encounter is unique. Never again to be repeated. There is also an essential uniqueness to the experience. Hint !! Remember  we enter the river of life, only once. Why is that? There are two circumstances ,involved. Hint 2 !!!

In these my senior, senior, senior days it recently dawned on me, there is a sacramental dimension to limitations. Over the years the theology of, sacraments, and sacramentality has change. There is a sacrament, with a small "s", and Sacrament with a capital "S". For now, we will deal with sacrament, small "s". There are billions of them, why ? Every person, place, event, action, that brings us into contact with the deeper realities of live, and ultimately with The Divine Reality, is a sacrament. (Sacrament with a capital will, HOPEFULLY, appear at a later date.) For our purpose today, do you view your limitations as sacramental ? Hitting the wall of our limitations, takes us on a voyage of discovery. ETERNAL, discovery. Can we see it this way: "wall becomes  a question, a question becomes a search, a search becomes a relationship,  relationships foster community." Are we a broad community mysteriously linked because of limitations ? Limitations reveal possibilities we could not see, while relying on our, alone !!!

     This is where our developing relationship with The Cosmic Good Shepherd, is essential. This is where I have nothing easy to offer. "It would not be good for you." This was a favorite response of Pat Hennessy. So from Dad to you !!! By accepting  the limitation of not knowing, you are led into a personal search which will take you way beyond the threshold of these present limitations, into a vastness, a void, pregnant with gifts, unimagined right now. Threshold ,reverence is essential. Now see your thresholds as sacramental. Not easy. The spiritual journey is not," a walk in the park." Far from it. That is why you are a foursome. My foursome, Prodigal Father, Cosmic Good Shepherd, Amazing Grace, and wondering, wandering Joe. I can honestly say, limitations are truly sacramental. Agree ??