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The Pope Understands Me, Thank God

9/20/2013

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Those who have opened their hearts to God’s love, heard his voice and received his light, cannot keep this gift to themselves.  ~ Pope Francis
Amen! Amen! Amen! What a joy, what a gift my heart has received from reading this message of God's Eternal Love delivered by the Pope Francis, the Holy Father of the Catholic Church. He speaks my language, the language of my heart. I have not heard this Truth, which I know so intimately, proclaimed by the Voice of the Catholic Church so blatantly. This is the Truth that we have failed to see. This is the Light we have failed to seek. But, alas It remains to be found by the ardent seeker. Yes, God's Love is True, just like I have been telling you for I can not remain silent. God's Love within me begs me to speak.

The following are excerpts from the encyclical letter Lumen Fidei of the Supreme Pontiff Francis which particularly speak to me and my own experience finding and following the Divine Light of God through Christ's Love most Divine. The complete Lumen Fidei discourse is available at this link.

- Debra Clemente, author of LISTEN HEAR, A Divine Love Story


A light this powerful cannot come from ourselves but from a more primordial source: in a word, it must come from God. Faith is born of an encounter with the living God who calls us and reveals his love, a love which precedes us and upon which we can lean for security and for building our lives. Transformed by this love, we gain fresh vision, new eyes to see; we realize that it contains a great promise of fulfillment, and that a vision of the future opens up before us. Faith, received from God as a supernatural gift, becomes a light for our way, guiding our journey through time.   4. Lumen Fidei
The word which God speaks to us in Jesus is not simply one word among many, but his eternal Word (cf. Heb 1:1-2). God can give no greater guarantee of his love, as Saint Paul reminds us (cf. Rom 8:31-39). Christian faith is thus faith in a perfect love, in its decisive power, in its ability to transform the world and to unfold its history. "We know and believe the love that God has for us" (1 Jn 4:16). In the love of God revealed in Jesus, faith perceives the foundation on which all reality and its final destiny rest.  15. Lumen Fidei
Our culture has lost its sense of God’s tangible presence and activity in our world. We think that God is to be found in the beyond, on another level of reality, far removed from our everyday relationships. But if this were the case, if God could not act in the world, his love would not be truly powerful, truly real, and thus not even true, a love capable of delivering the bliss that it promises. It would make no difference at all whether we believed in him or not. Christians, on the contrary, profess their faith in God’s tangible and powerful love which really does act in history and determines its final destiny: a love that can be encountered, a love fully revealed in Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. 17. Lumen Fidei
In faith, Christ is not simply the one in whom we believe, the supreme manifestation of God’s love; he is also the one with whom we are united precisely in order to believe. Faith does not merely gaze at Jesus, but sees things as Jesus himself sees them, with his own eyes: it is a participation in his way of seeing. In many areas in our lives we trust others who know more than we do. We trust the architect who builds our home, the pharmacist who gives us medicine for healing, the lawyer who defends us in court. We also need someone trustworthy and knowledgeable where God is concerned. Jesus, the Son of God, is the one who makes God known to us (cf. Jn 1:18). Christ’s life, his way of knowing the Father and living in complete and constant relationship with him, opens up new and inviting vistas for human experience.  18. Lumen Fidei
The beginning of salvation is openness to something prior to ourselves, to a primordial gift that affirms life and sustains it in being. Only by being open to and acknowledging this gift can we be transformed, experience salvation and bear good fruit. Salvation by faith means recognizing the primacy of God’s gift. As Saint Paul puts it: "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). 19. Lumen Fidei
Faith’s new way of seeing things is centered on Christ. Faith in Christ brings salvation because in him our lives become radically open to a love that precedes us, a love that transforms us from within, acting in us and through us... Christ came down to earth and rose from the dead; by his incarnation and resurrection, the Son of God embraced the whole of human life and history, and now dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Faith knows that God has drawn close to us, that Christ has been given to us as a great gift which inwardly transforms us, dwells within us and thus bestows on us the light that illumines the origin and the end of life.  20. Lumen Fidei
We come to see the difference, then, which faith makes for us. Those who believe are transformed by the love to which they have opened their hearts in faith. By their openness to this offer of primordial love, their lives are enlarged and expanded. "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20). "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith" (Eph 3:17). The self-awareness of the believer now expands because of the presence of another; it now lives in this other and thus, in love, life takes on a whole new breadth. Here we see the Holy Spirit at work. The Christian can see with the eyes of Jesus and share in his mind, his filial disposition, because he or she shares in his love, which is the Spirit. In the love of Jesus, we receive in a certain way his vision. Without being conformed to him in love, without the presence of the Spirit, it is impossible to confess him as Lord (cf. 1 Cor 12:3). 21. Lumen Fidei

Faith becomes operative in the Christian on the basis of the gift received, the love which attracts our hearts to Christ (cf. Gal 5:6), and enables us to become part of the Church’s great pilgrimage through history until the end of the world. For those who have been transformed in this way, a new way of seeing opens up, faith becomes light for their eyes.  22. Lumen Fidei
The question of truth is really a question of memory, deep memory, for it deals with something prior to ourselves and can succeed in uniting us in a way that transcends our petty and limited individual consciousness. It is a question about the origin of all that is, in whose light we can glimpse the goal and thus the meaning of our common path. 25. Lumen Fidei
This being the case, can Christian faith provide a service to the common good with regard to the right way of understanding truth? To answer this question, we need to reflect on the kind of knowledge involved in faith. Here a saying of Saint Paul can help us: "One believes with the heart" (Rom 10:10). In the Bible, the heart is the core of the human person, where all his or her different dimensions intersect: body and spirit, interiority and openness to the world and to others, intellect, will and affectivity. If the heart is capable of holding all these dimensions together, it is because it is where we become open to truth and love, where we let them touch us and deeply transform us. Faith transforms the whole person precisely to the extent that he or she becomes open to love. Through this blending of faith and love we come to see the kind of knowledge which faith entails, its power to convince and its ability to illumine our steps. Faith knows because it is tied to love, because love itself brings enlightenment. Faith’s understanding is born when we receive the immense love of God which transforms us inwardly and enables us to see reality with new eyes. 26. Lumen Fidei
The bond between seeing and hearing in faith-knowledge is most clearly evident in John’s Gospel. For the Fourth Gospel, to believe is both to hear and to see. Faith’s hearing emerges as a form of knowing proper to love: it is a personal hearing, one which recognizes the voice of the Good Shepherd (cf. Jn 10:3-5) 30. Lumen Fidei
 As a truth of love, it is not one that can be imposed by force; it is not a truth that stifles the individual. Since it is born of love, it can penetrate to the heart, to the personal core of each man and woman. Clearly, then, faith is not intransigent, but grows in respectful coexistence with others. One who believes may not be presumptuous; on the contrary, truth leads to humility, since believers know that, rather than ourselves possessing truth, it is truth which embraces and possesses us. Far from making us inflexible, the security of faith sets us on a journey; it enables witness and dialogue with all. 34. Lumen Fidei
Of Enoch "it was attested that he had pleased God" (Heb 11:5), something impossible apart from faith, for "whoever would approach God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Heb 11:6). We can see from this that the path of religious man passes through the acknowledgment of a God who cares for us and is not impossible to find. What other reward can God give to those who seek him, if not to let himself be found? Even earlier, we encounter Abel, whose faith was praised and whose gifts, his offering of the firstlings of his flock (cf. Heb 11:4), were therefore pleasing to God. Religious man strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the movement of the cosmos. God is light and he can be found also by those who seek him with a sincere heart. 35. Lumen Fidei
An image of this seeking can be seen in the Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star (cf. Mt 2:1-12). For them God’s light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of God’s patience with our eyes which need to grow accustomed to his brightness. Religious man is a wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led, to come out of himself and to find the God of perpetual surprises. This respect on God’s part for our human eyes shows us that when we draw near to God, our human lights are not dissolved in the immensity of his light, as a star is engulfed by the dawn, but shine all the more brightly the closer they approach the primordial fire, like a mirror which reflects light. Christian faith in Jesus, the one Saviour of the world, proclaims that all God’s light is concentrated in him, in his "luminous life" which discloses the origin and the end of history.[31] There is no human experience, no journey of man to God, which cannot be taken up, illumined and purified by this light. The more Christians immerse themselves in the circle of Christ’s light, the more capable they become of understanding and accompanying the path of every man and woman towards God.

Because faith is a way, it also has to do with the lives of those men and women who, though not believers, nonetheless desire to believe and continue to seek. To the extent that they are sincerely open to love and set out with whatever light they can find, they are already, even without knowing it, on the path leading to faith. They strive to act as if God existed, at times because they realize how important he is for finding a sure compass for our life in common or because they experience a desire for light amid darkness, but also because in perceiving life’s grandeur and beauty they intuit that the presence of God would make it all the more beautiful. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons tells how Abraham, before hearing God’s voice, had already sought him "in the ardent desire of his heart" and "went throughout the whole world, asking himself where God was to be found", until "God had pity on him who, all alone, had sought him in silence". [32] Any-one who sets off on the path of doing good to others is already drawing near to God, is already sustained by his help, for it is characteristic of the divine light to brighten our eyes whenever we walk towards the fullness of love. 35. Lumen Fidei
Right faith orients reason to open itself to the light which comes from God, so that reason, guided by love of the truth, can come to a deeper knowledge of God. The great medieval theologians and teachers rightly held that theology, as a science of faith, is a participation in God’s own knowledge of himself. It is not just our discourse about God, but first and foremost the acceptance and the pursuit of a deeper understanding of the word which God speaks to us, the word which God speaks about himself, for he is an eternal dialogue of communion, and he allows us to enter into this dialogue.[33] 36. Lumen Fidei
Those who have opened their hearts to God’s love, heard his voice and received his light, cannot keep this gift to themselves. 37. Lumen Fidei
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Can You See What I See?

6/12/2013

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Picture
Picture
From the pages of my journal
November 2007

I’m constantly studying the light.

I notice how the light falls across the land, sparkles through the trees and colors the sky. It takes me twice as long as most people to get from A to B, when I drive through the rural countryside. I can hardly drive as I am so distracted. I’m constantly pulling over and getting out of my car with my camera in hand in an attempt to make some record of what is inspiring me.

I find inspiration everywhere. It happened again today. I was just driving along minding my own business when I saw it. “Oh my”, I gasp and took a deep breath. I had to stop. Things like this can not be ignored, at least not by me. This is exactly why I keep a camera in my purse, one just never knows. I pulled my car safely to the side of the road, grabbed my keys and camera and got out. I had to walk a ways before I found the spot again. 

Tall grass and weeds brushed across my calves and as I walked a safe distance from the highway’s shoulder, remembering to watch my step so I didn’t tumble down the hillside. “I really should be more prepared. Why don’t I remember to keep better walking shoes in the car or at least bug repellent?” I berated myself. Then I saw it. “Oh yes this is wonderful!” My heart silently screamed in delight. “This is what it is all about”. Click, click, click, click went my camera. This digital stuff is great, not worried about wasting film I can shoot to my hearts content. Thinking I’ve got it, I start back to my car, yet when I have just taken a few steps it happens again. “Oh wow! Click, click, click, click. Okay now, that good.”

Time stands still, as I am engulfed in the beauty which surrounds me. Once again my heart has been lulled by nature’s love song. This time it was the way the morning light danced through a tall patch of native grasses and spindly cattails tucked between a busy highway and rural America, Kansas to be exact. Next time it might be the snaking S pattern of a young crop of soybeans, the golden glisten of a wheat field ready for harvest, or the way the evening light filters through the trees. One just never knows so I am constantly at watch. “Whish, whish, whish”, it’s the sound of cars rushing by. I wanted to yell at all the people to tell them to stop and look. “Can’t they see what I see?” I say out loud to myself.

I get back in my car and head on to my appointment in Kansas City. “Dang it”, I keep seeing things. “How am I ever going to get anywhere like this?” I ask myself as I once again pull to the shoulder. It takes me much longer than anyone else I know to get anywhere, especially, if a rural vista is involved. It really drives me crazy to ride in the car with my husband. He never stops, even when I beg him. So I have to be satisfied with clicking my camera as he whizzes along. Other times I paint. I’m not talking about propping a canvas against the front dash. I just paint with my eyes and my heart. Imagining how I could capture the scene in paint so others could understand and feel as I feel.

~ Debra Clemente


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The Short Path

6/2/2013

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A Quiet Spot, by Debra Clemente



Though I had no idea at the time I was on any path at all, as I look back I can see that I was on the "Short Path" indeed. ~ Debra Clemente 
Are you familiar with the works of Paul Brunton? He has just recently been brought to my attention. He, as me, was inspired to continually write spiritually inspired sayings which came to his mind. Brunton speaks of two different paths to awakening. I have included below some of his notes which outline them to some degree the two paths to awakening, The Long Path and the Short Path.

* * *
The basis of the Short Path is that we are always divine. It is with us already, it is no new thing, and we only have to try to recognize what is already there.

Meditation has two parts. The lower one belongs to the Long Path. Also, the religions are for the beginners and popular masses. They, too, belong to the Long Path. To the Short Path belong Christian Science, Ramana Maharshi's teachings, Vedanta, Krishnamurti's teaching, and Zen. They all say You Are GOD. The Long Path says instead: You are only a man. The one says that you are man and the other says that you are also really rooted in God.

A very important point: because the ego lives in its own darkness, it cannot give light. The light may come only from the Overself, which is the Sun and Light of human existence. With the reason we can control the ego to some extent, but it is not possible to control the Overself. As regards Enlightenment, this is not coming from self-willed effort; it is coming only by what the Overself does to him. It is a matter of Grace--unpredictable--and it is the last secret. It is like the wind that comes you do not know where from and goes you do not know where to. It is a mystery. At the end we have to be like little children and leave our Enlightenment to the Father and give up our lives to him. On the Long Path the aspirant tries to improve himself. He experiences successes and failures, ups and downs. When he is disappointed, he gets melancholy. On the Short Path such a situation cannot arise, because he has faith like a little child. He has given up all his future to Overself-God and he has enough faith to trust to it. He knows he has made the right decision and therefore is always happy. He depends on this GRACE, he knows It, that It comes from the wisest being behind the world. Whatever will come, it will be the best. He is always relying on the Overself and having the joy in it.

The Short Path is a cheerful Path, a Path of happiness. Just before this begins, the aspirant may experience the Dark Night of the Soul. He feels utterly helpless, has no feeling of spiritual Reality. It is a melancholy time--no feeling of spirituality or longing for it. He is neither worldly nor spiritual. He feels alone and abandoned and separated by a wall from his Guru. He feels God has forgotten him. This dark night may last a short time or long years. He is unable to read spiritual things, or think about them. There is no desire for ordinary things either. He feels sad and disappointed and may even try suicide. In this unhappiness even those who love him cannot bring him comfort. In both hemispheres, Western and Eastern, there is a saying: the night is darkest just before dawn. He is on the lowest point. After that, the Short Path brings back the Joy--just like clouds moving away from the Sun.

The best advice is, first, that it will not last forever; he must have patience. Second, he must have hope. Then he reaches a better level than ever before. The Dark Night of the Soul does not come to every seeker. It is like a shadow thrown by the Sun. When the Sun appears in the subconscious, the shadows arise. But it is the beginning of a great inner change. It is not a wasted time; there is a great deal of work going on--but in the subconscious--to root out the ego. It is being done by the Overself. It is a sign of Grace, but the aspirant nevertheless feels unhappy.

In the Short Path there are usually much fewer exercises to practise. It is not necessary to sit down specially to meditate, but to try to be always in meditation. When you are busy outwardly, meditation naturally takes a different form than when you sit down for it. During the active part of the day, meditation takes the form of remembrance, always to try to remember the Overself: IT IS (That is enough). In the special meditation time our object is not to improve the character. During the meditation we have to empty our mind of thoughts as quickly as possible, let the mind become still. Ordinarily we live in our thoughts, in our little selves, even if the thoughts are spiritual. Therefore we have to keep away from all thoughts. If you want to think of the Overself, which is without any form, it is not possible. We try, but any idea, form, or shape is wrong. You cannot imagine it. So better not to try but to be still. You must not remain in the ego. "Be still [let go] and know that I AM GOD," says the Bible.

~ PB ~  Paul Brunton


http://www.paulbrunton.org/index.php.
http://wisdomsgoldenrod.org/notebooks/query=long+and+short+paths
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One Bright White Light

12/16/2012

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As the “other” attempts to force his hand and tell me what to do, I shake my head and say.  “You are not God. You can not tell me what to do” Thankfully, these words broke the tension that was building in the air. It made us both step back from the drama we were creating. And as I did a thought arose unto my consciousness, “Who exactly is there that has the right to declare what is exactly right for another to do?” “You are not God.” I had said to him, and yet that is not the truth my heart so wishes to declare, for we are all of God and are to be God for ourselves and each other.

My question is answered in the next moment as I hear...

Being God, is being Love. This is how one is to manifest the Will of God for all. By being Love and only Love, Love flowing freely from the depths of your being. This Love is pure. It is the pure White Light of Truth, not something that is censored by the individual consciousness. It is pure. It is White Light. It is without limit. It is within the possibility of your showing, for it is part of you, it is all of your innate knowing.

God’s Love is not shaded. It does not come in different hues, one for them and one for you. And yet, you may perceive God’s Love differently than your brother. You may see a totally different color than the others. And so it is, for each and all to come together shining this Light and Love of God, as each comprehends. You are to so flood the world with this Light that together you become One Bright White Light, you become the wholeness of the Light you are, always have been and
forever shall be.


Debra Clemente,
from the pages of my journal

Picture
Evening Light, oil painting by Debra Clemente
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    Debra Clemente

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