Thursday, June 23, 2011
Morning everyone, I'm having a rather relaxed morning at work and so I would like to share this article I read a few days back. I subscribe to his twice-weekly newsletter and the articles are really good. Anyway, this article reminded me of the Church's true mission and how our larger mission (individual or community) should flow from and be aligned to this.
RELIGION'S TRUE BIRTHRIGHT (Ron Rolheiser)
1993-05-26
Recently I was part of a panel which was interviewing people who were hoping to enter full-time ministry in the church. One of the questions we asked everyone we interviewed was: "What, in your mind, is the greatest task facing the church today? What, in your dream of ministry, do you most want to accomplish?"
One man, when asked this, answered without hesitation: "The major task of ministry today is to bring people to accept Vatican II. Too many people are blocked in terms of renewal."
That is a laudable answer, though, in my opinion, an unfortunate one. Too many of us, people who can still remember the pre-Vatican II church, are people who are dealing more with the past, our own and our church's, than with the present and its real needs. Because of this we tend to confuse our own religious issues and wounds with the real religious needs of the world and most often end up missing the forest for the trees. Let me try to explain:
What is the greatest task facing the church today? What should ministry strive to bring about?
Long before Vatican II (or, indeed, the Vatican) is ever mentioned our task is to try to awaken within people the sense that God exists, that God is alive, and that, because of this, there is a challenge and a consolation that is deeper than they have ever imagined. Our first task in ministry is to tell people that they are being held, unconditionally and inescapably, in the hands of a living and loving God and that this God is delighting in them. Before anything else, we need to remind people that God is real and that, because of that, there is a deep goodness and sense to everything, including their own desires, temptations, and tortured sensitivies.
The rest of ministry flows from that. Somewhere, down the line, there will need to be talk, important talk, of church, of dogma, of denominational boundaries, of moral codes, of liturgy and worship, of authority structures and about who should be ordained, and perhaps even of Vatican II. But these latter things, all of them, are parasitical by nature, they take their blood out of some other life, in this case, from the life which appears when people realize that they are unconditionally loved and held by the source and origin of all life. As that realization sinks in, it will bring with it, slowly, the awareness that it is, after all, a demanding thing to fall into the hands of a living God and many of the things that Vatican II talked about will then become important issues. But that comes later.
Thus, the task of religion is to evangelize desire, to make the whole world and everyone in it understand existentially the truth and the implications of Augustine's famous prayer: "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
As we look at our world today (and at our own children!) we need to be clear that this is our most important religious task. We need to evangelize our world's desires by revealing the consolation and the challenge of God; otherwise the irresistible physicality, lure, and wildness of pagan beauty will continue to take away both the world's breath and most of its capacity for virtue and worship.
The last quarter century has produced libraries full of valuable scriptural exegesis, good historical correctives to bad theology and corrupt ecclesiology, sensitive moral insights, and every kind of useful suggestion regarding theology and programs for sacraments and liturgy. What it hasn't produced are an effective missiology and effective missionaries for a first-world context.
Yet that is what is perhaps most needed today, missionaries who can evangelize first-world desire. The harvest is ripe, but the Christian labourers (who are on the right track) are few ... as is evident from the fact that more and more people are turning to New Age spiritualities, pagan philosophies, and various ideologies in an attempt to make sense out of their eroticism, their restlessness, their innate moral promptings, and their innate grandiosity and religiosity.
The human heart today, as much as in any other age, sincerely yearns for to feel both the consolation and the challenge of God. Offering that is religion's birthright ...and it is our first task as a church.
I hope this spoke to you in some way or another! Have a great day ahead, hope to see you as we serve as a community at St Bern's tomorrow. Our little effort in the Church's mission, may we be signposts that point people to God.
Love, Jess
Sunday, June 12, 2011
hi guys eh my blog has locked posts sometimes. e most recent one is e one abt my silent retreat. a bit too private to let general public read. so just ask me for pw k if u wanna read. i'm ok most of e times to share w community =)
mel
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
omg i took forever to pack for camp. hur. so tmr's awaken, and i thot maybe i'll just share smtg here. its been quite long since i attended a camp where i am the participant and not facil or log team or intercessory... not that i ever chionged for church camps like i did for poly camps. anyhow, i dont know if its a good or bad thing, but i have expectations of this camp. i really hope i can be awakened. ive been with log since it was 'born', but somehow i nv felt like i gave back anything significant to the community. when i look at pple like liver, soo, mark tang, jess, i feel so proud of them. and guilty/ashamed at myself. and i often qn why, how come im not doing as much. (realise i didnt even facil this yr's camp) its not like i dont understand that i shld receive and give back. i rmb when log was still young, i was the one who advocated for social work (go out and do stuff) over formation for sessions. and yet, i always find myself not available, not willing to take up sessions or get involved etc. im the kind who will either go all out or not at all. but i also realise community living is a social thing, there are a lot of social factors involved. so maybe its not my time yet? just that day at bible sharing, i listened to cherisse say the opening prayer and i recognised it asimmature premature. i realised i havent verbalised prayer for the longest time and i wondered and actually feared if this gift had degenerated (random: i think jess's gift for verbalising prayer is awesomest in log, its damn melodious). i lifted a prayer for awaken during intercessions and thank god it hadnt. so yea, im not using my gifts wisely. maybe im not using it at all. doesnt help that i am spiritually bipolar. but perhaps after this camp it will be my turn soon...
von.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Hey Log :)
The Will of God
Morning everyone, I'm having a rather relaxed morning at work and so I would like to share this article I read a few days back. I subscribe to his twice-weekly newsletter and the articles are really good. Anyway, this article reminded me of the Church's true mission and how our larger mission (individual or community) should flow from and be aligned to this.
RELIGION'S TRUE BIRTHRIGHT (Ron Rolheiser)
1993-05-26
Recently I was part of a panel which was interviewing people who were hoping to enter full-time ministry in the church. One of the questions we asked everyone we interviewed was: "What, in your mind, is the greatest task facing the church today? What, in your dream of ministry, do you most want to accomplish?"
One man, when asked this, answered without hesitation: "The major task of ministry today is to bring people to accept Vatican II. Too many people are blocked in terms of renewal."
That is a laudable answer, though, in my opinion, an unfortunate one. Too many of us, people who can still remember the pre-Vatican II church, are people who are dealing more with the past, our own and our church's, than with the present and its real needs. Because of this we tend to confuse our own religious issues and wounds with the real religious needs of the world and most often end up missing the forest for the trees. Let me try to explain:
What is the greatest task facing the church today? What should ministry strive to bring about?
Long before Vatican II (or, indeed, the Vatican) is ever mentioned our task is to try to awaken within people the sense that God exists, that God is alive, and that, because of this, there is a challenge and a consolation that is deeper than they have ever imagined. Our first task in ministry is to tell people that they are being held, unconditionally and inescapably, in the hands of a living and loving God and that this God is delighting in them. Before anything else, we need to remind people that God is real and that, because of that, there is a deep goodness and sense to everything, including their own desires, temptations, and tortured sensitivies.
The rest of ministry flows from that. Somewhere, down the line, there will need to be talk, important talk, of church, of dogma, of denominational boundaries, of moral codes, of liturgy and worship, of authority structures and about who should be ordained, and perhaps even of Vatican II. But these latter things, all of them, are parasitical by nature, they take their blood out of some other life, in this case, from the life which appears when people realize that they are unconditionally loved and held by the source and origin of all life. As that realization sinks in, it will bring with it, slowly, the awareness that it is, after all, a demanding thing to fall into the hands of a living God and many of the things that Vatican II talked about will then become important issues. But that comes later.
Thus, the task of religion is to evangelize desire, to make the whole world and everyone in it understand existentially the truth and the implications of Augustine's famous prayer: "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you."
As we look at our world today (and at our own children!) we need to be clear that this is our most important religious task. We need to evangelize our world's desires by revealing the consolation and the challenge of God; otherwise the irresistible physicality, lure, and wildness of pagan beauty will continue to take away both the world's breath and most of its capacity for virtue and worship.
The last quarter century has produced libraries full of valuable scriptural exegesis, good historical correctives to bad theology and corrupt ecclesiology, sensitive moral insights, and every kind of useful suggestion regarding theology and programs for sacraments and liturgy. What it hasn't produced are an effective missiology and effective missionaries for a first-world context.
Yet that is what is perhaps most needed today, missionaries who can evangelize first-world desire. The harvest is ripe, but the Christian labourers (who are on the right track) are few ... as is evident from the fact that more and more people are turning to New Age spiritualities, pagan philosophies, and various ideologies in an attempt to make sense out of their eroticism, their restlessness, their innate moral promptings, and their innate grandiosity and religiosity.
The human heart today, as much as in any other age, sincerely yearns for to feel both the consolation and the challenge of God. Offering that is religion's birthright ...and it is our first task as a church.
I hope this spoke to you in some way or another! Have a great day ahead, hope to see you as we serve as a community at St Bern's tomorrow. Our little effort in the Church's mission, may we be signposts that point people to God.
Love, Jess
0 Comments:
______________________________________________Sunday, June 12, 2011
hi guys eh my blog has locked posts sometimes. e most recent one is e one abt my silent retreat. a bit too private to let general public read. so just ask me for pw k if u wanna read. i'm ok most of e times to share w community =)
mel
0 Comments:
______________________________________________Wednesday, June 08, 2011
omg i took forever to pack for camp. hur. so tmr's awaken, and i thot maybe i'll just share smtg here. its been quite long since i attended a camp where i am the participant and not facil or log team or intercessory... not that i ever chionged for church camps like i did for poly camps. anyhow, i dont know if its a good or bad thing, but i have expectations of this camp. i really hope i can be awakened. ive been with log since it was 'born', but somehow i nv felt like i gave back anything significant to the community. when i look at pple like liver, soo, mark tang, jess, i feel so proud of them. and guilty/ashamed at myself. and i often qn why, how come im not doing as much. (realise i didnt even facil this yr's camp) its not like i dont understand that i shld receive and give back. i rmb when log was still young, i was the one who advocated for social work (go out and do stuff) over formation for sessions. and yet, i always find myself not available, not willing to take up sessions or get involved etc. im the kind who will either go all out or not at all. but i also realise community living is a social thing, there are a lot of social factors involved. so maybe its not my time yet? just that day at bible sharing, i listened to cherisse say the opening prayer and i recognised it as
von.
0 Comments:
______________________________________________Wednesday, June 01, 2011
Hey Log :)
This is a week overdue and I think its about time this went up. The words didn't seem to come to me until now.
Finally got around to writing out all my thoughts about camp (yes jes ask you thou shalt receive :P) and all but firstly I want to thank those of you who gave up your time to come for the camp and contribute. (And the group of you who came to see the mime) Seeing familiar faces during camp helped to put me more at ease and kind words of affirmation gave me strength to keep on going. Log <3 :)
This camp has really given me a lot to think about and reflect upon but most of all I am amazed at what I have received.
I think that this camp has truly been a time of great spiritual renewal for me and I have to say that on prep day I definitely was not prepared, least of all spiritually, for what was to come at all. Only close to midnight of that day did I finally realize the enormity of my task; of actually having to facilitate people, of having to somehow move their hearts and open their minds to show them the great love of this God who is just so wonderful and amazing. I was afraid. I wondered how I was supposed to bring His message to the hearts of the sec 2s, knowing first hand how hard my heart was back then, but I knew that all I could do was trust that some miracle would be worked; there was no backing out now.
Now that I think about it, there can really be no doubting God's perfect plan. Those left in my charge were more on the quiet side, but deep within there was no doubt they had the seed of desire to know more about their faith. Ok I definitely had doubts but God definitely put it there so He had no doubts. Sharings were not particularly eventful and not very encouraging. But I saw that they wrote a lot and deep within they reflected on what they were told. Touch time made me nervous but in the end things worked out well. After some period of reflection, they all suddenly reminded me of myself in one way of or another. I was truly comforted by that thought. I felt that God was giving me a cross that I could handle.
I am thankful that Gracemary was my co-facil; her greater experience with camps supplemented my ignorance or lack of words. I did not imagine that working with someone outside LoG would be as easy or as natural. So praise God for the expansion of my corner/bubble/hole.
Truly, He was amongst us during the camp and guided the hands, words and hearts of the service team to nurture that seed of faith He placed in their heats. The night of praying with was surprisingly more moving for me as a facil than I remember as a participant. Being able to bear witness to the great change of hearts and to see God work in so many people at the same time was one of the most inspiring things I have seen.
This is like 1 week since camp and everything is all fuzzy but warm and I think all the important bits are there so I'll cut short my storytelling here. I promise better recording for confi :) Regardless, there are profound lessons I have learnt from my camp experience.
1. 5 loaves and 2 fish aren't a lot but it's enough to feed 5k when offered to God with extras included. He will multiply your efforts and time spent to do the seemingly impossible and you end up more laden with grace than before.
2. His yoke is easy and burden light; He will not put for you a cross that you cannot carry. His plan is perfect.
3. When 2 of 3 are gathered in His name He will be there amongst them. Truly the power of combined, focused prayer is limitless and it is that which sharpens us to be instruments of His grace.
4. Milo powder is awesome.
Love,
Andrew
0 Comments:
______________________________________________The Will of God
The will of God will never take you,
Where the grace of God cannot keep you,
Where the arms of God cannot support you
Where the riches of God cannot supply your needs,
Where the power of God cannot endow you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the Spirit of God cannot work through you,
Where the wisdom of God cannot teach you,
Where the army of God cannot protect you,
Where the hands of God cannot mold you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the love of God cannot enfold you,
Where the mercies of God cannot sustain you,
Where the peace of God cannot calm your fears,
Where the authority of God cannot overrule for you.
The will of God will never take you,
Where the comfort of God cannot dry your tears,
Where the Word of God cannot feed you,
Where the miracles of God cannot be done for you,
Where the omnipresence of God cannot find you.
Everything happens for a purpose.
We may not see the wisdom of it all now,
but trust and believe in the Lord that everything is for the best.
i think i've been faced with a lot of struggles recently but i found this poem (an extension of mad's phrase!) which really reminds me to keep trusting in God through any darkness, to help me find His light when i have no light to shine of my own.
Recently, i had to confess a very painful truth. I didn't stand to gain anything from it and in fact it would cause a lot of conflict, guilt, and pain. My human nature told me that "if its only going to hurt you, then there's not reason to say it and nobody will be hurt." and thats usually how i act to these situations. But I asked the Holy Spirit for courage, and he really blessed me with the grace to go through with it. And even though i inevitably suffered through the pain and consequences of lying, I thank God for helping me through this. It happened for a reason, and my actions helped to bring me closer to Him in trust and repentance. Because confessing a lie, especially a lie that is easy to keep and would keep people from being hurt, has been especially difficult for me.
I just want to thank Him, for keeping me, supporting me, working through me, sustaining me, calming me, drying my tears and feeding me through His Word. praise God.
1 Comments:
who posted this?
nigel here
