Immunity

 

I noticed, amid the flurry of thoughts crowding my mind, that six cardinals were peacefully foraging in my yard. I remembered that another one, perhaps one of these, had nested with fledglings under the eave of my grill shed. My mind focused intently on these lovely, peaceful birds and, as if that awareness was a portal to a higher realm, my thoughts flew quickly and deeply into the grandeur of the universe, and I was immediately in touch with my freedom. Bringing my mind back to the birds, I imagined the idyllic lives they live—so peacefully simple. Immediately though I remembered that they have predators also—cats, snakes, hawks, owls, etc.. We feel relieved when we contemplate our rise above the ancient ones who lived in caves and feared the saber-toothed tiger. No material predators for us! We are at the apex of life on the planet! But, along with the microscopic predators that attack us, we realize that we have other unseen predators—predators of the soul. We have a certain darkness that lurks within us, like a virus. And we never know who is carrying it, or how much, or how it might manifest toward us or, worse, through us. We never know when there might be an outbreak—like Nazism or the Rowandan genocide. Historically, this predator has done some damage in the human family. And like flu or covid viruses, it never completely dies out; it just lies dormant in all our hearts, until the immune system gets weak—then it breaks out.

But we know now—some of us---about the Vaccine; the one that is 100% effective. It guards us against all spiritual predation, even the fear of an outbreak. We don’t need a mask. Our life is not hampered in any way; in fact we are freer than we ever were before the Vaccine. Those who have received the Vaccine know exactly what I’m speaking of. To those who haven’t I would say “Hey man! Receive the Vaccine. Protect yourself and your people. The virus is rampant.”

Spiritual Growth

 

A sure way to enhance your spiritual growth is to frequently ask God this question: “How am I doing at loving my people?” We ask this with the understanding that “my people” means everyone within the sphere of our influence. Everyone! And then we be still long enough to hear the still small voice of Truth telling us exactly what we most need to hear. The ones that usually come to mind, and rightfully so, are those we are having the most difficulty loving—those who have hurt us, abandoned us, broken our trust, misunderstood us. And we know that we must pray for them, as our Lord prayed from the Cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” What an incredibly wise and liberating prayer is this! To understand deeply that people who hurt or betray people do not know what they are doing. They are living outside the principle by which life works—the principle by which life is here; the principle of Love. And they desperately need to awaken, as we have, into this glorious Truth, else they will never be free in this life. They will always be a slave to their own passions and judgments. They may need confrontation [ministered only in Love] but they most certainly need compassion. This compassion—this prayer—is a manifestation of your true healing from the wounds that Satan inflicted upon your soul through them.

Wisdom

 

One of the wise elders was walking with a young man who was sincerely seeking the Truth. He said to the wise one, “Sir, you almost always seem so peaceful and serene. How is it that you maintain this state of being?” The wise one responded “Because I know, in the fullness of my being, that there is no higher perfection than the perfection of the universe, just as it is in this moment.” After a pause, the seeker said “But sir, children are dying of starvation, men are killing each other for no rational purpose, people are abandoning their families, there is corruption in politics, and even in the Church! How can this be perfect?”

The wise one replied with an air of deep concern, “All those tribulations and sufferings, and many more besides, are being allowed by a conscious Source Who is characterized by a greater Love than the human mind can grasp, as well as infinite Power and Wisdom—all clearly evident in the material world. In His domain, all is and ever shall be perfect. The universe is His domain. Therefore all this suffering has meaning, and we discover the deepest meaning of it when we work, motivated only by Love, to alleviate as much of it as we can without enabling weakness. We start by acknowledging our own suffering. We alleviate as much as we can within our realm of control; and we accept the rest as Christ accepted the Cross and Paul accepted the “thorn”--peacefully immersed in Grace. As we allow our suffering to be consumed and transcended in Faith, Hope and especially Love, we are bestowed with the gifts that enable us to alleviate suffering in others—more and more effectively. Peace dawns within us and begins its eternal journey toward the full Light of Day. And Joy bubbles up in little fountains all along the pathway. We still grieve, get frustrated, angry and hurt. We still suffer the perfect decay of the flesh. But we realize that these all arise and fall in the temporary world that we are IN but not OF. We know that they too are woven perfectly into the perfect Living Tapestry of this brief but very important earthly journey.”

At that point, the elder stopped abruptly, clutched his chest, fell to his knees and then to his side. The young man dropped and placed his arm under the elder’s neck. His face was contorted in pain, but just before his soul departed his body, he smiled and winked at the young man.