Oh my- I do not experience the Christian religion as dry bones. To know Christ I read His word, in the Scriptures, which comes alive in me! And this has led me to direct encounters with Him, which seem to be of the quality of paradise. I wonder if direct encounters are a matter of destiny….Your destiny, dear writer, your mission, seems very unique. I am so deeply grateful for the Roman Catholic Church and all She has made available to me, as imperfect as Her servants are. I am amazed by the holiness of Her Priests, and the power of Her Sacraments! Without Her, millions would be lost. The most perfect image of Love, for me, is the image (Reality) of The Crucified One. THE message of the Gospels is: our salvation was made possible through His Crucifixion. That changed everything. I pray that this message is never lost as we move into the future. ❤️ His Sacred Heart still beats for us. One can actually feel it at certain times in certain places, like Paray le Monial, France.
Key Lioness, thank you so much for reading my reflections and sharing your thoughts. What a humbling experience it is for me to have complete strangers take time to listen.
Though my book will not address the topic of religion very deeply (perhaps in a future work), I believe that how we understand the purpose of religion is so important. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul described the Mosaic Law as a “custodian,” taking care of the Israelites until "the time had fully come” and they were mature enough to receive the Word made flesh. Paul’s words show how the ancient Jewish religion functioned as a Mother, nurturing spiritual infants until they could take the next step in their spiritual development.
I view the Christian religious tradition the same way. As you so beautifully stated, everything changed with the crucifixion. What it meant to be a man and woman on Earth was different from that moment onward. And yet, this milestone in the spiritual development of mankind still demanded a Mother to guide and nourish us until we became mature enough to independently embody this new spiritual reality. The Christian Church is that Mother. And her beauty and love has remained for two thousand years despite the many flaws of her children.
But as all mothers know, there comes a time when her children must leave the shelter of her wings. In my heart, I have seen that we stand in the midst of an unprecedented transition period in the development of mankind. And it is at this moment—when the time has fully come—that the developmental need for religion is beginning to fall away. The reason our churches and parishes are losing their spiritual vitality (this, from my perspective, is a spiritual fact that can be observed through spiritual perception) is because our wise and loving Mother is pulling back in order to allow us to step out on our own.
It is my sense that no creed, liturgy, text, or sacred site will heal the divisions and hatred that seem to be growing ever day. Rather, now is the time to worship God “in spirit and in truth.” We must learn how to live sacramentally by choosing to feast every moment on the Light and Love of God deep within our own hearts.
I will pause here and conclude by saying again how grateful I am that you are here, and I hope that the subsequent chapters of this book will nourish you as you labor in faith to transform your own heart into the Sacred Heart of Christ.
Oh my- I do not experience the Christian religion as dry bones. To know Christ I read His word, in the Scriptures, which comes alive in me! And this has led me to direct encounters with Him, which seem to be of the quality of paradise. I wonder if direct encounters are a matter of destiny….Your destiny, dear writer, your mission, seems very unique. I am so deeply grateful for the Roman Catholic Church and all She has made available to me, as imperfect as Her servants are. I am amazed by the holiness of Her Priests, and the power of Her Sacraments! Without Her, millions would be lost. The most perfect image of Love, for me, is the image (Reality) of The Crucified One. THE message of the Gospels is: our salvation was made possible through His Crucifixion. That changed everything. I pray that this message is never lost as we move into the future. ❤️ His Sacred Heart still beats for us. One can actually feel it at certain times in certain places, like Paray le Monial, France.
Key Lioness, thank you so much for reading my reflections and sharing your thoughts. What a humbling experience it is for me to have complete strangers take time to listen.
Though my book will not address the topic of religion very deeply (perhaps in a future work), I believe that how we understand the purpose of religion is so important. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul described the Mosaic Law as a “custodian,” taking care of the Israelites until "the time had fully come” and they were mature enough to receive the Word made flesh. Paul’s words show how the ancient Jewish religion functioned as a Mother, nurturing spiritual infants until they could take the next step in their spiritual development.
I view the Christian religious tradition the same way. As you so beautifully stated, everything changed with the crucifixion. What it meant to be a man and woman on Earth was different from that moment onward. And yet, this milestone in the spiritual development of mankind still demanded a Mother to guide and nourish us until we became mature enough to independently embody this new spiritual reality. The Christian Church is that Mother. And her beauty and love has remained for two thousand years despite the many flaws of her children.
But as all mothers know, there comes a time when her children must leave the shelter of her wings. In my heart, I have seen that we stand in the midst of an unprecedented transition period in the development of mankind. And it is at this moment—when the time has fully come—that the developmental need for religion is beginning to fall away. The reason our churches and parishes are losing their spiritual vitality (this, from my perspective, is a spiritual fact that can be observed through spiritual perception) is because our wise and loving Mother is pulling back in order to allow us to step out on our own.
It is my sense that no creed, liturgy, text, or sacred site will heal the divisions and hatred that seem to be growing ever day. Rather, now is the time to worship God “in spirit and in truth.” We must learn how to live sacramentally by choosing to feast every moment on the Light and Love of God deep within our own hearts.
I will pause here and conclude by saying again how grateful I am that you are here, and I hope that the subsequent chapters of this book will nourish you as you labor in faith to transform your own heart into the Sacred Heart of Christ.