I was taken by the post Exuding Nunliness at A Nun’s Life. Not so much for the discussion about habits, although that’s always an interesting one, but for her comment about Jesus.
He certainly didn’t have on glowing white robes (except maybe at his baptism in the Jordan or the Transfiguration) or a sign around his neck saying, “I’m the Messiah.” What was it about Jesus that exuded God’s love, that made people seek his presence and reach out to him? How did people know that Jesus was there to minister to/with them?
That really made me think. I mean, wouldn’t you just have known? And being surrounded by a whole gang of disciples would be a pretty big clue! But the more I think about it, the more I realise my ideas of Jesus in Galilee are gleaned from the “movie” idea of Jesus, not what the real man may have been.
Antony is back with a bang, I’m glad to see. I particularly enjoyed his repeat of an older post, about the saints. What he says about – well I was trying to find a short bit to quote, but do yourselves a favour, just go in and read the whole of the third paragraph. The saints were not flawless. Benedictine vows are: obedience, stability and conversion of life. The latter was once described to me as a continuous turning of the attention back to God. You deal with everyday life as best you can and then you return your attention to God. Again and again and again. Are the saints holier than us? Almost certainly. Are we able to become as holy as the saints? Almost certainly. We just have to keep at it and demand enough of ourselves. Dear me, what a task!
And talking of keeping at it, I enjoyed A small victory at Soul Food. Jo talks about the need to stop being scared and/or lazy. She says:
We hear the whisper ‘you can’t do this’ or ‘it’s too complicated’ and instead of confronting that lie, we retreat to safer territory where we don’t have to think or consider it anymore.
More food for thought.
And finally:
I’m a man. No, I’m a woman. No, I’m a man. Well whatever, I sure am confused! Check your blogging gender over at The Gender Genie. Just paste in a substantial chunk of your blog writing and find out if you write like a bloke or a girlie.
Have a wonderful week everyone.
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