Day 12 - March 22, 2019


30 Days to a Vibrant Spirituality Online Retreat

Day 12 - March 22
A Mystical Experience

   If you read just a bit of the Bible every day, you will experience the conscious awareness of the mystery of God actually speaking to you, sharing with you the divine light of his own divine truth.
   This doesn’t “feel” like a mystical experience.  There is no sudden, blinding experience of illumination. It is too gradual for that. It is like sitting in your kitchen before dawn, drinking coffee in the dark and talking with someone. At some moment you become aware that, without your noticing it, the sun has gradually risen. Now you can see. And you are not sure exactly when that began.
   If you keep reading the Bible, one day (and it won’t take long) you will realize that now you are seeing things more clearly than before. You are understanding better what you read, understanding your religion better and with more appreciation. You will feel more in touch with yourself and with God, more aware of your relationship.
   If you do this, you will be able to accept as true, and receive with gratitude, what Jesus said about you—that, not only he, but you “are the light of the world” (read it for yourself: Matthew 5:14).

Stop now and think.  Does this make sense to me?
How can I respond to what Fr. Knight is saying?

Thirty Days Toward a Vibrant Spirituality is adapted from Nuts and Bolts of Daily Spirituality--Practical Steps to Draw Closer to God by David M. Knight. Copyright ©2013 David M. Knight. Published by Twenty-Third Publications.  Used with Permission.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 2 - March 8, 2019

Image
30 Days to a Vibrant Spirituality Online Retreat Day 2 - March 8 Just Words    The first degree of intimacy is the level of relationship we have with people we only talk to in clichés,   “pat phrases.” We pass someone in the hall or on the street and say, “Hi! How you doin’?”    When we say this, we aren’t really asking how the person is doing. Nor do we care. If he or she started   to tell us, we would get impatient. We aren’t paying attention to what the words mean. We are just using them to say that we notice the other person is there.    This is the level of intimacy we have with God when we say vocal prayers without really paying attention or meaning what we say. For example, we make the Sign of the Cross as if we were brushing flies off our face; or we rattle off   “Ourfatherwhoartinheavenhallowedbethyname….”   All we are really doing when we “say our prayers” like this is acknowledging that God exists. If this is our...
Read more

Day 27 - April 12, 2019

Image
30 Days to a Vibrant Spirituality Online Retreat Day 27 - April 12 Communion in the Holy Spirit    We have to be honest. The truth, the reality of Catholic life today, is that many people do not “experience community” in their parishes—at least, not that “communion in the Holy Spirit,” that mystical experience that we wish for each other at Mass.    What we call “Christian community” is not just a “common unity” of doctrine, morals, and cultural practices. Professing the same truths and keeping the same rules can unite people strongly to each other and violently against others, but it is not Christian community.    Communion in the Holy Spirit, is the experience, consciously recognized by all, of being alive with the life of God. It is the awareness of divine enlightenment. It is the discernment of divine empowerment present in oneself and others whose life and words and actions cannot be explained without it. It is the experience of Jesus ...
Read more

Day 14 - March 26, 2019

Image
30 Days to a Vibrant Spirituality Online Retreat Day 14 - March 26 The Nuts and Bolts of Meditation    There is nothing hard about meditating. You just follow the “three R’s”— Remembering, Reflecting, Responding.    Remembering can also be reading. Writings are just recorded memories. The first step in meditating on the gospel is to call to mind, by reading or remembering, something that Jesus said or did. Confront it. Look at it. Don’t let it just go in one ear and out the other. Take it seriously.    Reflecting is the way we take it seriously. We think about what the words mean, and especially about what they mean for us. This isn’t hard.    Responding is the most important step. Everything you do when you meditate is meant to lead you to decisions.    You can always find an answer if you think small enough. If you read what Jesus says, reflect on it (with or without getting any great thoughts), and respond in so...
Read more