The Host as Host-ess

I started to read this article—got halfway through—and said, “Gee, what a bore. If this is what ministers of Religion think, I can see why there is a growing desire to move away from it.” (and I can see now why my friend told me he stopped reading The New York Times).

Ms. Daniel, by contrast, makes the case forcefully, seemingly unworried about those she might offend.

“Being privately spiritual but not religious just doesn’t interest me,” she writes. “There is nothing challenging about having deep thoughts all by oneself. What is interesting is doing this work in community, where other people might call you on stuff or, heaven forbid, disagree with you. Where life with God gets rich and provocative is when you dig into a tradition that you did not invent all for yourself.”

 

I wonder if I should ask Ms Daniel if she would like to ripen the Spiritual Intellect with this:

 

Text 47. As you are a monk, such things may happen to you. If they do, you may still feel a great desire and eagerness for perfection, longing to fulfill all God’s commandments and not wanting to err or sin even by uttering a single idle word (cf. Matt. 12:36), or to fall short of the saints of old in the practice of virtue, in spiritual knowledge and in contemplation. But then you may find yourself hampered by someone who sows tares of despondency. He tries to prevent you from climbing such heights of holiness by discouraging you with various thoughts. For instance, he will tell you that it is impossible for you to be saved and to keep every single one of God’s commandments while you live in this world. When this happens you should sit down in a solitary place by yourself, collect yourself, concentrate your thoughts and give good council to your soul, saying: ‘Why, my soul, are you dejected, and why do you trouble me? Put your hope in God, for I will give you thanks to Him; for my salvation lies not in my actions but in God (cf. Psalm 42:5) …

Symeon / THE PHILOKALIA

 

Warning: This should make happy those whining that I am picking on them. I said before, and I will say again: Pay attention. Those who demand(ed) the spotlight will feel the heat.

 

Fire and Ice (in the process)

 

MOVING ON …

I left off in the last essay with the following, saying that I would get back to it, and so I shall.

“I think the Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox view the Christ as “Groom” but as I have shared extensively in SPIR, it is the ESSENCE that is the fixed “ordination” for coming TO THE FATHER.”

 

I don’t want to get into Vladimir Lossky’s Theology on Energy and Essence because it looks to me like he got lost in himself. Like a guppy inside a fish bowl, he noticed every spot and reflection from within a capsized mind. It is an interesting mind, to say the least, but recall I said that high intellect is not the same as high art. Was his Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church his speaking in tongues (although I am tempted to call it his magical mystery tour)? Certainly something to ponder away from the eyes of those having you sign contracts and swear oaths. Although astutely aware in the Mystical Science on God-ness, was he too insulated in manner?  He mowed within the same yard over and over and over again, and missed the Energy and Essence as THE PARADOX ON LOVE.

The Ordination of the Elect

How does one attain ordination within the elect? The elect are not the popes, bishops and priests swearing oaths to positions within set Doctrine. If the religious doctors, theologians, and teachers are picking and choosing their Scripture and rendering it in bondage to men of religious title, or those favoring these, they are falling short in Truth on the Word. It is one thing to seek Wisdom, or Knowledge, quite another to blaspheme through “doctrinal” dissertation, for it is not doctrine that serves Truth, nor is Truth to serve doctrine. Doctrine accommodates man’s thoughts and words. Truth exists for God recognition. What serves AS PRE-ORDINATION for Worth in true Spiritual Knowledge is “the state or process of becoming” ordained. This is not a who, but a what, for it has everything to do with Spirit Gift. This is not Calvin’s theory. We are not puppets, nor is God a puppeteer (this should also be a WARNING to those in major leadership positions). The elect clarify and unify in God Purpose, and this requires movement. Actually, the better way to garner this is through following … No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6.24

 

For many are invited; but few are chosen. Matthew 22. 14

 

There is a process whereby one chooses God or mammon. Once this has been received, the “becoming ordained” is Purpose unto God. Where the invited fall, which is also a divided: heart and mind, is in his choosing. You see—always choice. So, it is within this life that one chooses, because it is within this life that one must Become. Purgatory is a theory of man’s own infallible penance. It is not the Way. Love the Lord your God … and neighbor as yourself,  is within this stream, and the preeminence is the restorative fruit. I have shared that “by their fruits you will know them” is best understood in the streambed that follows. What has this to do with the purifying of self after USE has EXPIRED? It is through Human Hands that the Spirit is filtered. Remember:

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Luke 22.19

And when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 1 Corinthians 11.24

Jesus is speaking of the divided form in these passages. Essentially, He is saying, I chose to be in this two-part state (place) that I might Prophesy … teach … be of USE according to the Will of My Father. The Spirit is filtered through Human Hands. The elect do not “become of the Placement in God Purpose” after the flesh life. This defeats the body before its penance, and “the Body Language” I am referring is one being born of Light. Putting away the toys of a child is also remembering that you once had them, for in this exercise one begins the REASONING necessary for Truth. In order to enter the Realm of the Heavenly, one must first Become one within this Paradox on Love. This is a continuing metaphor on Light, but for the sojourner (believer called and in response), it is the continuance of effort, reflection, growing awareness, ecclesiastical celebration of Christ-imaging, and a coming into Gift of the Spirit. 

Man has diluted this process, tossed out the Prophet and the Mystic (again: a what, not a who), rejected the wine-dressers and those inspecting the vineyards, buried their “talent” and put layer after layer of adornment to glorify a system. Whether it’s TV extravaganza or a big domed cathedral with chubby cherubs flying about, it has moved beyond its perennial service. These once touched a nerve and energized, but like most periods … it desists. Why do you think this is? Religious get fogged in; he has forgotten the War, and knows not how spirits sees in patterns. You wonder why history repeats?

Now, in belief of Purgatory, people could easily think: I will do whatever I want in this life, for you see, I will be purified AFTER I die.” Ah, sorry, no, dearest, that is not what is of Christ, the Way unto Truth. That mindset awards NO urgency to seek … knock, and all signs, calls, even cries, go unheard, because those who believe this are not sharp in the Language of the Spirit. They cannot even see that their own leadership has done them wrong. Once your “placement of worth” for God Purpose is passed, why would the enemy bother with you? He has no use for you any longer. Now, one can say the same for Truth. It is important to understand that you cannot affectively heal another until you have been healed, however, do not confuse this with those chosen for specific Works in God Purpose. You can spend all of your days telling a Prophet on Truth that he is wrong, and lecture him on this or that, because you have not sharpened your Spiritual Intellect, all the while not seeing that YOU are being invited (called) to something greater than yourself. One thing I do value highly is where God says that He chastises those He loves. Religious often miss this Purpose. Look at James 1:

 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to ALL liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask IN FAITH, with NO DOUBTING, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

But what of the thief on the cross, the one at the last moment who chooses God? Now you see, here is another illustration of CHOICE while still within a vessel of flesh. There is much more in this illustration that is of Spiritual Symbology on Truth, and it does demonstrate choice—the filtering through Spiritual Humanity. He, like Jesus, endured … and this, for the naysayers and those of manmade law … and for those of you who feel there is no hope, that you might see. I once asked a group of  Roman Catholics (AND OTHERS OF SET DENOMINATIONS) on a Christianity Forum: What happens with one in prison never having received (religious) baptism, confirmation or communion? Can he be saved? I received no response.

God answers where Religious Doctrines fall silent. Thank God. If you think you are the one true church, the chosen people, the elect, the righteous, born-again, or find yourself saying, “forgive them Lord, they know not what they do” because you are ignorant in your chastising, or do not see that an invitation is before you to take up your mat, then it is you who will fall. There is not a day that goes by that I do not err in my questioning on self, and there is not a day that goes by that I am reminded of WHAT must be.

Here is something to ponder: Religious Baptism

One Catholic tells me the Catholics are taught that a person does not need to be baptized in set doctrine to be saved. Another Catholic tells me her priest announced to the congregation that a person does not have to be baptized to be saved. Another Catholic writes on a forum that “you do not have to be baptized to be saved.” A worker at my house tells me that he and his wife do not want to have their child baptized because they do not believe this, but they are getting pressure from family to get the child baptized in the Catholic Tradition. Does the RCC demand that a person be baptized—is this part of the CONTRACT within their Doctrine of the Faith? It sounds to me as if there is more than one voice in the Catholic body. So, what will you support? Where will your hard-earned money go? Where and how will you advocate on Truth?

 

Anyhow …

Movement was necessary in the religious sectors, and movement did occur. Male and female broke from demanding authorities and spoke on Truth ( I said in a previous SPIR essay: Francis broke from set authority. Ignatius broke from a ‘station’ to build anew … Teresa broke from set principles). These few did not know all there was to know on God; these were known for the Purpose of God.

Now, let’s move past the ancients and get with a more recent member: Thomas Merton. The Trappists made a lot of money with Merton, but it appears as if the Institutional Head do not see him as an aspiring Art within the Spirit. Oh, but he is! And those who have been able to move beyond the flesh, see his journey in a Light unveiled. In the essay  Merton: Master of Antithenai, I discourse briefly on the art of Being: Human.

 MERTON: Master of Antithenai

The following is from John Klimacus: Ladder of Divine Ascent

God is the life of all free beings. He is the salvation of all, of believers and unbelievers, of the just or the unjust, of the pious or the impious, of those freed from the passions or caught up in them, of monks or those living in the world, of the educated or the illiterate, of the healthy or the sick, of the young or the very old. He is like the outpouring of light, the glimpse of the sun, or the changes of the weather, which are the same for everyone without exception.” For God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2.11).

This could have been Merton.
Thomas was … equal to the apostles. His man style was fully and gregariously autopilot. But, Amen, Sister! For he was a child not of Christianity, but of Humanity (this being a Spirit singular, not a race of mankind). In Humanity, there is God, undeniably. Or, we might say, there is Spirit presence: undeniable. Why do I align Thomas with Humanity, and take away his Christianity? Because Christianity wears the cloak of ruler and judge. Man in Christianity objectifies himself as literal ruler and judge. He classifies himself as tenet to the masses, and terminates the Essence of Conscience through ambiguous strain. The Essence of the Spirituality of Christ reigns Supreme in Galatians 5.22, which is deemed fallible in Christian Classical Ethics. Now, I am not saying that all peoples calling themselves Christian behave as ruler and judge, although, you know what they say: Christians give Christianity a bad name. Okay, so why give Thomas a bad name, or anyone else for that matter? No one seems to want to claim responsibility for the crimes against humanity by way of Christianity. So let’s be Eternally revolutionary and Eternally provocative.

 

If we look at 1 Corinthians 6.19 and 20, we have: Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. And to add to this: For accountability rests in the return to God Eternal through justification of self, through self, within self, as self is the knowledge from God. For to know self is to know Eternal Awareness, and within this shared Conscience reigns ruler and judge … our Creator.

 

Merton’s M in his writings … who was she? Who is she? He allowed his journals to be shared publicly twenty years after his passing. In these, he writes of M, and there are sharings where he was with M, naked, passionate, kissing. Alf did his Masters thesis on the art of Merton, and he has read all that is publicly available on him, but where he and I dialogued recently sheds light on a RENEWING personality. Those who are militant about the man Merton do not want him to show his Human necessity in God Purpose. These are the ones who see M as a flirtation, possibly a distraction. This makes me laugh. This is the old school puritan—Eve as sinner and defiler of innocence—stiff-necked, legalistic patron of the saintly … for they can NEVER ALLOW for woman to be his equal! Or to be one called to join in MYSTICAL MARRIAGE. To these, Merton must REMAIN monk … like a dog chained to the outhouse at the edge of the property owner’s yard. And then there are likely those who want Merton rolling in the sexual, sweaty, and stained by their own fantasies. Really now …

Consider this:

Merton writes of M: WE ARE MARRIED IN A STRANGE WAY. 

This is pivotal. First, I have shared in SPIR that the RCC (Trappist Order) did not allow for Merton to grow from his boyish manner. What I see, read, and understand is that Merton never really grew up. He was working on it, there is no doubt about this, and to be truthful here, few get the opportunities he did while being sworn to the monkhood. He played and played and played on his way to set place. Like Augustine of Hippo, he did not have to take responsibility for his first child (a daughter). I often wonder that if this child had been a boy, would things have been different? Anyhow, Merton writes, and writes, and draws and draws … and he is a hit! He has a special charisma that moves people, and because he is of this charisma, selling well, making loads of money, he can say things that others of the same ordination and denomination cannot. Most people overlook his flaws, and are not terribly offended when he calls them out in their hypocrisy, or their sluggishness, because he does it in a relevant, articulate and non patriarchal manner. He seems to enjoy the challenge put on him in this. He even wrote in his journal at one point: This morning I have finally really begun to dig the God is dead set. How true this is for the rich and famous, but Merton, as so very many would agree, is different—different in a way that few really know.

Merton was angelkind. You will know the tree by its fruit.

His expression of marriage towards M reads like this (in the Renewing personality and Spiritual Human-ness):

Thomas Merton as Mary. M as Martha. Christ is in the middle. In a previous essay, I share the Tramp and the Gamin, with the two running into each other (the Tramp walking and the Gamin running), while Gamin steals bread from the bakery window in Chaplin’s film Modern Times. I wrote that this is profound—as it is highly Spiritually Symbolic, but of course Chaplin often did this without realizing it. He was used in this way. Similarly, Thomas and M are the Mary and Martha in the bible story as Teaching.  Christ is in the middle. There is no doubt in this partnering of Spirit, but what happened? Did the contract sworn to the law of man get between these two sweet hearts (on both ends)? Did it push out the Spiritual Host as the PREEMINENT PURPOSE? There is no doubt that these two hearts desiring to grow as one to produce a “Child” as a Body of Worth … was to Become for the Work.

But why Merton as Mary and M as Martha? Merton was always in awe, and striving for awareness. He moved forward in his courtship of the Life with gusto and joy. He sat at the foot of Jesus, taking the good part. M was worried about things, but she was undoubtedly instrumental in Merton’s calling—his writing—his sharing. She helped set the table for what is to come.

Now, with these two couples in mind, we in the RETURN.

 

 

 

L Thiel: Re: manmade

I use this to establish the understanding that there are those possessed of man, and what satisfies man, as opposed to what is of and for God, and not Religion. I know that much of the Word was written by Spirit filtered through Human Hands. There is a difference between Human and man. Of course, not all Word entered in, and some words did because it was man’s advertising of his religious convictions. It was ABOUT the Roman Catholic Church, or it was ABOUT the Orthodox Church. Okay, if this is what they choose, then LET THEM LIVE BY IT. I see in at least 16 of those texts/gospels labeled “Gnostic” (Gospel of Thomas …) as instrumental in UNDERSTANDING both the Old and the New Testaments, and I see “books” in the bible that do not speak on Truth.

 

Re: Maccabees—-Purgatory

Does this purging involve self-mortification? Denying man or human a wife and fathering children? If so, I must say the the RCC has a very unhealthy view of “marriage” for its members.

 

 

L Thiel: Last Rights and Indulgences—what else has the RCC been off on? Transubstantiation? Or is this the big fig? Funny how fruit is generally thought of as FEMININE.

There is much being said in this essay, but I can still see few being attuned to its Purpose … but I do love a marvel … And if the skimmer receives nothing from this essay but that Thomas Merton, while a monk, broke just about ALL of the monkey rules, then I can smile and call it a day.

 

 

Peace and Love.