Aisling on Earth

  Holy and mercy-full,  Spirit, help me to believe the truth about myself, no matter how beautiful it is. These must be familiar words to you, I use them often enough. I am using them here, and will again, D.V., in the coming weeks so as to encourage all to have the faith-filled  courage to believe the awe-filled mystery laying in your depths. From eternity this moment has been planned. This Mystery can and as a result of our free response be brought to consciousness. Then to  be embraced as the life changing  power of change. 

     As we approach the coming seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany we need to take, as we say in Ireland, a "serious run at it"!!!!!. May I say, a very serious ,reflective run at it, otherwise we will miss the message and suffer through another ho-hum, very ordinary time. To begin with, here quoting John O'Donoghue, " there is a place in you where you have never been wounded, where ther's still a sureness in you, where there is a seamlessness in you, and there is a confidence and tranquility in you. And I think the intention of prayer and spirituality and love is now and again to visit that inner kind of sanctuary.".

  At first read ,do you ever actually believe this mysterious truth about your true identity? There is in our depths a sanctuary where the One Whose coming we are preparing ourselves to welcome, is now and always here present. The more we enter this awe-filled reality, will our preparations have depth of meaning, rather than mere meaningless and boring  routine. Like everything  else in life we are empowered to make a free  faithless or faith filled , response.   Our coming Guest invites us to " come rest in Me, as I do in you" and discover ever anew, the sanctuary of confidence and tranquility. This is a gift truly worth being prepared for.

 I particularly like those words "now and again." What are your honest feelings ? The truth will set you free, but first they will tee you off. " Lord, that I may see", "the new beginnings..... of that which is new' lying beyond the safety of sameness'. This will take us beyond what we have outgrown, and are being prepared for gifts far beyond our wildest imagination. Maybe we will slowly grow into the truth that " our lives are unique stones, in the mosaic of human existence." ( Nouwen)