“In essence, shedding opens us to self-transformation. Paradox- ically, those of us who refuse such renewal will, sooner or later, be forced to undergo transformation anyway as a result of being broken or eroded by the world” (Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening  quoted in the Inward Outward website).

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“The single and true purpose of mature religion is to lead you to ever new experiences of your True Self. If religion does not do this, it is junk religion. Every sacrament, every Bible story, every church service, every sermon, every hymn, every bit of priesthood, ministry, or liturgy is for one purpose: to allow you to experience your True Self—who you are in God and who God is in you—and to live a generous and just life from that Infinite Source” (Richard Rohr in Daily Meditations, June 20).

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“Jesus, the Blessed Son of God, hungers and thirsts for uprightness. He abhors injustice. He resists those who try to gather wealth and influence by oppression and exploitation. His whole being yearns for people to treat one another as brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of the same God. With fervor he proclaims that the way to the Kingdom is not saying many prayers or offering many sacrifices but in feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick and the prisoners (see Matthew 25:31-46). He longs for a just world. He wants us to live with the same hunger and thirst” (Henri Nouwen in Bread for the Journey).

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“You have to be able to imagine lives that are not yours” ( Wendell Berry)

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“Scripture uses two Greek names for our ancient foe, the first is Diabolos (Devil), which is derived from the word dia-balein, to throw apart, to scatter. The Devil is someone who throws things apart and craves disorder. He hungers for disarray and thirsts for disunity. His target is the interior life of the soul, the part of us that organically and automatically governs our existence. It’s this disordering that gives him a kind of spoiled satisfaction and dark pleasure” (Jon Bailey, http://www.jonathanbailey.com, May 27, 2018).  [Editor’s note:  it seems as if the devil is having a field day in America in 2018.]

“One night, God spoke to Paul, telling him not to be afraid to go on preaching, and promising to be with him. That must have been wonderfully encouraging for Paul to hear.  But what came next was even better – “for I have many in this city [Corinth] who are my people.”  Notice the tense of the verb. It’s present tense, not future. God says I have many people here. Not I will have many – once your evangelism program starts to bear fruit.” . . . If you are a Christian, you don’t belong to God because you believe in Christ; you believe in Christ because you belong to God” (David Bast in Words of Hope, April 20, 2018).