Wisdom from the east

“You were born with potential. 
You were born with goodness and trust. 
You were born with ideals and dreams. 
You were born with greatness. 
You were born with wings. 
You are not meant for crawling, so don't. 
You have wings. 
Learn to use them and fly." 
- Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī (30 September 1207 – 17 December 1273)

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Philip Yancey wisdom

"Christians get very angry

 toward other Christians 

who sin differently than they do." 

~ Philip Yancey


 Image "Modern Cross On The Sanctuary Of Fatima" courtesy of  by artur84 /FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Richard Rohr wisdom

God does not love us if we change,

God loves us so that we can change

- Richard Rohr

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Jesuit wisdom

After I heard that the new pope was a member of the Jesuit order I looked up the internet to find a succinct summary of Jesuit wisdom. I found the following...

Fr James Martin SJ suggests the following five points to summerise Jesuit wisdom...

“Allow yourself to be human.  You’re a human being with a body, after all, and sometimes bodies get sick.  So why not just allow yourself to be human?”

“You don’t have to be someone else to be holy. Just be yourself.  That’s the person God called into the Jesuits, after all.” 

“You’re not married to everyone. There’s no need to please everyone.  Plus, you couldn’t if you tried.  Just be kind and generous and the rest will take care of itself.” 

“Don’t let anyone prevent you from becoming the person you want to be. God desires you to become loving and charitable.  Don’t let the way anyone else is distract you.” 

“You’re not Jesus. No one person can do everything.  And even Jesus didn’t heal everyone in Palestine.  Accepting your limitations helps you to do your best and leave the rest up to God.”

This was written by American priest James Martin, SJ, who is a contributing editor to America magazine and author of "Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor and Laughter are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life," and "The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything." 

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Blessing

On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.

When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.

May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Your inner life..

“No one else has access to the world you carry around within yourself; you are its custodian and entrance. No one else can see the world the way you see it. No one else can feel your life the way you feel it. Thus it is impossible to ever compare two people because each stands on such different ground. When you compare yourself to others, you are inviting envy into your consciousness; it can be a dangerous and destructive guest.”
― John O'Donohue, Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom

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Giving love away

"If you send out goodness from yourself, or if you share that which is happy or good within you, it will all come back to you multiplied ten thousand times. In the kingdom of love there is no competition; there is no possessiveness or control. The more love you give away, the more love you will have." 

- John O'Donohue, 'Anam Cara: A Book of Celtic Wisdom'

 

 

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Wisdom from Niebuhr

Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime;
therefore, we are saved by hope.

Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we are saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone;
therefore, we are saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
therefore, we are saved by the final form of love, which is forgiveness.

Reinhold Niebuhr in 'The Irony of American History'

 

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True greatness

"The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively." 

- Bob Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981)

 Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Celtic saints on how to live a Christian life.... (2)

If you persevere unhindered in meditation and prayer to the blessed Trinity, God will be ever with you. ~ St. Ita

Three things that please God are true faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a greatful spirit, and generosity inspired by charity. ~ St. Ita 

It is better to rejoice than to mourn. ~ St. Brendan

 

Live in mutual harmony with all other servants of Christ. ~ St. Cuthbert

 

Do not despise those faithful who come to you seeking hospitality. Receive them, put them up, and set them on their way with kindness, treating them as one of yourselves. ~ St. Cuthbert

Do not ever think yourselves better than the rest of your companions who share the same faith. ~ St. Cuthbert

Image "Necropolis, Glasgow, Scotland" courtesy of  Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net 

Friendship

'Friendship creates hope, hope defeats fear, and we can handle any future so long as we do it together, made stronger not weaker by our differences.' 

- The Chief Rabbi Lord Sacks

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Wisdom from Charlie Chaplin....

"We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness — not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another." ~ Charlie Chaplin (The Great Dictator)

 

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Poem - on the simple life

I Taught Myself to Live Simply

I taught myself to live simply and wisely,
to look at the sky and pray to God,
and to wander long before evening
to tire my superfluous worries.
When the burdocks rustle in the ravine
and the yellow-red rowanberry cluster droops
I compose happy verses
about life's decay, decay and beauty.
I come back. The fluffy cat
licks my palm, purrs so sweetly
and the fire flares bright
on the saw-mill turret by the lake.
Only the cry of a stork landing on the roof
occasionally breaks the silence.
If you knock on my door
I may not even hear.

 Anna Akhmatova (1889–1966)

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Quaker wisdom...

"I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it for I shall not pass this way again."

~Quaker saying

A Hasidic Tale

'How can we determine the hour or dawn, when the night ends and the day begins?' asked the Teacher.
'When from a distance you can distinguish between a dog and a sheep' suggested one of the students.
'No' was the answer.
'Is is when one can distinguish between a fig tree and a grapevine?' asked a second student.

'No.'
'Please tell us the answer then.'
'It is, then,' said the Teacher, 'when you can look in the face of a human being and you have enough light to recognise in him or her your brother or sister. Up till then it is night and darkness is still with us.'

 

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The best...

The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up!

The best time to repair your roof is when the sun is shining.