“Do not surrender life nor death, but too much of what lies between.”
People say, “I am spiritual, but not religious.” I take this to mean that one does not affiliate with an institutional church/ religion with its authority, dogma, doctrine, and ritual. I get that. But, …
Research the term “religion,” and you will find its etymological derivation is from Religare: re (meaning “again”) + ligare (“bind” or “connect”). For example, the term “ligare” is where we get “ligaments,” which bind muscle to the bone.
So, think about religion as that which “binds” your personal beliefs, ethics, and rituals to your actions in daily life.
What is it that you hold sacred within your mind, body, and soul that binds you in decisions and actions that you actually live out – day to day? This is your unique personal religion (regardless of what church you may belong to). Religion is external only in the sense of how you live out your life – and the only truthful accounting of your religion. Anything else is either ego or someone else’s religion.
Like one’s religious path, the spiritual journey is essentially the same. It is like the overall container of my belief system acted out in the context of eternity.
Conceived from mystery by love, through Love. First to crawl, then climb: clutching, clawing, and crying. Reaching the summit and resting awhile before my descent. Others continue climbing, more and more. Finally, mystery returns to strip away all that remains. No choice, no more, like it or not; for evermore.
Christian theology speaks of “God essence” as Trinitarian: Creator, Redeemer, and Lover. It is how I choose to contemplate, discern, and participate in Divine Will.
GOD THE CREATOR
I imagine the outermost edges of the cosmos down to its molecular mass and biological organic functioning as a mystery and miracle for which I am essentially ignorant. And yet, the best anything that creation can be or do is point to the Creator. This includes any thought of man, woman, or institution.
To deny “that which is greater than I” feeds the ego and sensual attachments, which ultimately become our idols and god(s). Our created origin (good and holy) has the innate capacity to manifest God because we already are that image by virtue of being created. Still, we are also subject to human pride, and its outcome is addiction.
As a prelude to silent prayer, I stand in gratitude for life and breath by gesturing a blessing to my hearing, thinking, seeing, breathing, taste, and touch. I then sit for twenty minutes in consent to Divine Presence and Action.
GOD THE REDEEMER
Life and death are a package deal. We do not get one without the other, and both exist in our participation in the divine life. Yes, there is great joy in life but also suffering, death, and from a Christian perspective, resurrection (new life), …the over-arching life and message of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. The good news is that we get to live this in the sacrament of the present moment.
Not just when our bodies pass from this life, but throughout life, our attachments must be let go if we are to live fully. Sometimes, letting go is a choice of our free will; other times, it is painfully against our will. Regardless, the more profound the loss, the deeper our grief and the deeper our pain.
We can choose to ignore it, suppress it, or choose the hard work through grief and death. With this life-giving path comes new (resurrected) life. When we fail this choice, we keep the pain hidden, ultimately projecting it onto others, causing even more significant harm.
There is a life-giving gift of (Love, Creativity, and Generativity) from our Creator in each of us, and by nurturing and honoring it, we heal. And by this, we honor life in others. Being open and honest and sharing my literary and visual creations are my (religious) means of healing, speaking, and sharing in life.
GOD THE LOVER
Divine Love is not transactional like most human love. To experience Divine Will, and follow, is to experience this love. To be embraced as a child of God, we often act as if we must be doing, which is contrary to our western cultural mindset where we believe our personal worthiness is tied to what we accomplish and own, which is a form of self-pride and envy.
If we are to believe anything about Grace is that it is fully and freely given through eternity. Or to say, it comes to you, and all there is to do is consent to its presence and action in your life. It can’t be any easier, yet it is so distant in so many.
This awareness comes to me every so often in the deepest of Silence. And when it does, it is unlike anything on this earth. In my spiritual/ religious practice, I seek this Love. And by it, I know I am loved and intuit this love, and because of it can love myself in totality.
Amen.
Personal Reflection: Imagine
How did our Creator speak and embrace us as children before the first Mass was ever said and the living word of God was unwritten?
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