ckm_a’s Reviews > Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit > Status Update

“The world says, “Just ignore it, be strong, don’t cry, get over it, move on.” But if you don’t mourn you can become bitter. All your grief can go right into your deepest self and sit there for the rest of your life.”

“Yes, you can mourn your losses. You cannot talk or act them away, but you can shed tears over them and allow yourself to grieve deeply. You can never get to the joy if you dare not cry, if you do not have the courage to weep, if you don’t take the opportunity to experience the pain.”

“Prayer is being unbusy with God instead of being busy with other things. Prayer is primarily to do nothing useful or productive in the presence of God. To not be useful is to remind myself that if anything important or fruitful happens through prayer, it is God who achieves the result.”

“If we think about prayer in terms of its usefulness to us—what prayer will do for us, what spiritual benefits we will gain, what insights we will gain, what divine presence we may feel—God cannot easily speak to us."

““Do you know why this tree is so tall, so huge, so gnarled, so old and beautiful?” The apprentice looked at his master and said: “No…why?”
“Well,” the carpenter said, “because it is useless. If it had been useful it would have been cut long ago and made into tables and chairs, but because it is useless it could grow so tall and so beautiful that you can sit in its shade and relax.””

“Ministry is how we make the world more transparent to the other so that the world speaks of God and people are enlightened by the love of God...What we have experienced in prayer, we proclaim to others: “You are a much more loving person than you realize. There is something more beautiful in nature than you may see. There is something more happening in your life than you might think, or be able to see right now.”

“When in contemplation we come to see all of life as a gift, we then recognize the people in our lives as the greatest gifts of God.”

““Our society makes it difficult to see people as transparent because we are conditioned to relate to persons as characters—different, interesting or not interesting—to use as we need or want...But if you see in me more than my character, if you see me as a unique person, then I can slowly communicate to you on a deeper level, and may even share my secrets.”

"...Once we discover that writing letters, attending classes, visiting friends, cooking food, and even doing the dishes are not a series of random activities but contain within themselves the transforming power of re-creation, we move from time lived as chronos to time lived as kairos (right time, the real moment, the opportunity for change, the chance of a lifetime)”

“To start seeing that the many events of our day, week, or year are not obstacles to a full and meaningful life, but the way to it, is a real experience of conversion...”