Friday, 06 July 2012
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The Path and Faith I Profess
I often wonder what life would be like if I were more stable in my efforts to follow the path and faith I profess. I always hit ‘chaos land’ after a plateau of peace. I come to an intersection with five points and it seems that my energy takes off into all of them at the same time. I can’t seem to focus, am restless, can’t sit for any length of time, and seek some entertainment to offset the inner maelstrom. Things do settle of course. Perhaps one of the good things about aging is that I can get a better idea of what lies ahead because I can see so far behind. Now the cycle of chaos still hits me, but I can handle it a little bit better than when I was younger. When in a bad spot, the illusion is that this experience, this pain and emptiness, is permanent and will only end if some kind of escape is looked for, or planned. Of course no one can escape from life or it’s up and downs. My center is becoming clearer and even in the midst of the inner storm or perhaps the flip side of that -- the inner deadness and calm that leads to lethargy, I can still experience, even if only darkly, that inner place where Christ Jesus awaits me. Perhaps I never leave that place, my wanderings just another illusion to remind me of my dependence on the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
I am slowly learning to trust the process of my life and the ups and downs, even my failures and sins will bring me ever deeper into the mystery of my relationship with the Father through his Son. It is all about surrender, trust and love in the end. Trust being a conscious choice, just as faith often is. Such is the gift of aging, allowing what needs to healed to come to the surface. There is much I don’t understand, yet my faith and my trust allows me to continue on my journey, with all of its stops and starts and at times wandering off the road for a while. Then, grace becomes apparent, the light beckons and I feel a healing of my inner pain and chaos.
The path for the Christian is about becoming childlike, which I believe is the highest form of maturity. It is about embracing life, its pain and joys and deep sorrows, without seeking to escape from the experience. It is about allowing the heart to expand and to not constrict into cynicism or the numbing embrace of despair. It is in trying to escape that we wound ourselves more fully, allowing the evils and injustices done to us to gain power and control over our lives -- it is called fear. I am speaking of my own struggles, my getting up and falling down, my trying to escape through actions that only slow down the growth into new life that I believe we are called to. It is about love, all else is secondary. To love ones-self, others and most of all, to love God, with ones whole mind, heart and soul and to be open to the loving response that is experienced in ways that we need and not always want.
Do you sometimes feel like there's chaos in your life that prevents you from walking down a path of faith? What are you learning as you walk down the path?
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About the Author
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- From: markdohle
- Name: markdohle
- Location: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
- About Me: I am a Roman Catholic, who seeks to ever deepen my love of Jesus Christ.
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Comments (33)
this is beautiful, a certain gift to write!
sounds similar to my life thoughts along this provaking road of faith.
genuin, sincere... hopeful =]
My pain generally leads me back to my faith and grows it immensly, recently, however... it is damaged, but I am still sure my God is teaching me something worth going through and I hold tight to that as I heal.
@xXrEMmUsXx@xanga -
Thank you for your comment, you are wise, the Spirit is working within you.
Peace
Mark
Peace
mark
OK I will give a big thumbs up to this post! You are wiser then most!
I'm no doctor, but have seen some of what you describe in others I know. Have you checked out adult ADHD? Rather than feeling that you have spiritual pain, that you haven't accomplished a Godly goal, it could simply be something physical, and not in the spiritual realm. Your restlessness is easily welcomed by God, when turned over to him, but we also have to use our own inner senses to "row" for the shore, if you will.
@LadyboyRevolution@xanga -
LOL, thank you.
Peace
marki
@Pollypinks@xanga -
Thank you, I will llook that up.
Peace
Mark
@Pollypinks@xanga - Anyone who believes that by eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a Jewish Zombie will help you live forever definitely in need of professional help.
I don't think anyone here, except perhaps our catholic friends, believes the taking of communion helps us live forever. If I mis-spoke about the catholic reference, I apologize. The taking of communion is simply a reminder of Christ's gift for us through his life, causing us to give pause at what we feel we have benefited from him.
Great reminder that hobbies don't fix things. I think it has gotten easier and easier for us to think that way as new hobbies come about.
@Captric@xanga -
Do Christians really believe they are eating the body and drinking the blood of Christ when they receive Communion?
Yes and No! One of the central characteristics of faith is mystery. We, with our human minds, simply cannot fully comprehend the "mysteries" of God. If God were such that He could be encapsulated in a book or in a formula or in words, and there was no mystery about God, we certainly would not be better off. If God were "linear," if God could be comprehended and apprehended on a computer, God would not be greater than His Creation; God would be just another part of the world.
That said, many hold the spiritual power of the Eucharist truly to be a mystery. How can a wafer and a sip of wine make us stronger for coping with life? How can taking Communion be part of the disciplines that make us stronger "inside"? To try to respond to the question more directly: We believe that the wafer, or the bread, and the wine, once "consecrated (blessed)" ("set aside for God's use") are the Body of Christ and the Blood of Christ, which can feed us spiritually in our body. But we also believe that the wafer is still a wafer and the wine is still the fruit of the grape; we do not deny the evidence of that which God has given us eyes to see. The Lord's Supper is truly a wonderful mystery.
--The Rev. William A. Kolb
What is Holy Eucharist and why is it so significant?
You are asking about one of the Church’s major sacraments, the Holy Eucharist. Just as our bodies require food and drink for physical nurture and growth, so for nurture and growth our souls need “soul” food. Sensing this deep need of the human soul, and aware of his approaching death on a cross, Jesus shared a farewell meal with his beloved companions. This meal, called the Last Supper, becomes the First Supper for the Christian Church. In this sacred meal, Jesus takes ordinary table bread and wine, gives God thanks (Eucharist is a Greek word for thanksgiving), beseeches God to bless it, and distributes it with these astounding and eternal words: “This bread is my body. This wine is my blood. Every time you eat this bread and drink this wine in my name, I will be present with you.”
And, so it is for people of faith. Ordinary bread and the wine become, by the grace of God, the body and blood of the Christ. In this timeless, eternal food, the Christ of faith is present with us. It is his spiritual "Real Presence." How does that happen, exactly? I don’t know. It is Holy Mystery. But this I can say. For 2000 years, since that First Supper, Christ has touched and fed and revealed himself in the breaking of bread. By grace that is amazing, souls are fed and nurtured and changed by this sacrament of his Holy and Risen Presence.
--The Rev. Dr. Douglass M. Bailey
I truly appreciate the comment about the holy eucharist, but I disagree with that church's specific interpretation of communion. When you get into reformed churches, all are welcome at the table of Christ, regardless of affiliation, and nobody thinks it is actually, in literal sense, the body of Christ.
@Pollypinks@xanga - At the Last Supper Jesus took the bread, offered thanks and said, "Take it. This is my body."
He took the wine, gave thanks and said, "This is my blood which will be shed for many."The very words of Jesus do not need reformation.
The Catholic Mass centers itself around the Last Supper where Jesus said exactly, "This is body." This is my blood."
Why do so many people take everything in the Bible literally except the very thing Jesus came into the world to do?
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga -
LOL I don't know, it is a mystery to me my friend.
Peace
mark
@markdohle - The "mystery" of Jesus is not a mystery at all - it is a myth. The stories attributed to the so called Jesus character were pliagerized from pagan religions as much as 3000 years before Jesus was ever born. You cannot keep fooling people in to buying in to your mythology through false linkages and failed anologies to REAL phenomena such as the "soul needs nourishment" just as the body needs nourishment. It is a scientific certainty that if I do not eat I will die - but I have not partaken in the bloddy cult ritual of communion since I was about 13 years old and I am just fine --- happy- successful - and a fastinating career where people LITERALLY out their lives in my hands and based on MY decisions - not Gods - will live or die due totally to my actions.
There is no God - Jesus is a Myth - there is no soul - and Christianity is the oldest con in Western culture.
@Captric@xanga -
Thank you my friend for sharing your beliefs in such an honest manner, You take on the Christian faith is somewhat dated, not sure any modern scholars would agree with what you said by Jesus and paganinsm. In anycase I wish you a fruitful and pleasant life.
Peace
Mark
I truly appreciate your approach. I am not a Roman Catholic myself, and do not believe I ever will be, but I certainly believe Roman Catholics are part of the body of Christ. My one main caveat is that with Roman Catholicism comes a great deal of unnecessary religious baggage, but then we're all carrying some of that, aren't we? There are many rich treasures to be found within the Roman Catholic Church as well, and protestant believers are very foolish to attack our brothers and sisters in Christ, within the Roman Catholic approach to our faith. Jesus didn't command us to agree with one another, he commanded us to love one another. It is very sad that we've disobeyed God, on the grounds of disagreement.
May you continue to grow in God's great grace and wisdom, and may he richly bless you.
@Captric@xanga - Judeo-Christianity is its own religious tradition. Everything Christianity is, is based on Judaism.
Jesus, who really existed was a Jew, not a pagan. He spent 3 years, 24/7 teaching the Revelation that began with Moses, to his disciples.As the Greco-Roman culture decayed, Christianity rose up to fill the breach.
I recommend you study Christianity formally at the university level instead of relying on a diet of books written by frauds.
These books are simply concocted stories aimed at people who have fallen away from Christianity. They have no authentic historical value.
@Such_are_you@xanga -
Thank you very much my friend, a love filled and very wise post.
Peace
mark
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga -
I agree with you, but I doubt he will do that. He is very focused.
Peace
mark
@markdohle - And peace to you, as well, my friend.
Since the catholics feel they are actually, literally, eating Christ's body, drinking his blood, because of the scripture you quoted, then here's another question that I even ask of my own church. Why the baptism of infants, when Christ himself totally had himself immersed, and then stated, "Go and do likewise." That's right, the apostles were immersing people for baptism. Not sprinkling a baby's head, which we've managed to create to fit our own policies. It was done for the remission of sins, and for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and now, with fundamentalists, as a public proclamation of their Christian faith.
@Pollypinks@xanga -
Here is a site that will explain the Catholic position my friend. http://www.catholic.com/tracts/infant-baptism.
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I hope this helps
Peace
mark
I agree with much of what you have stated about infant baptism. I disagree with some of it. That is what makes us unique, no? I am a Presbyterian, and they use the verse about letting the little children come as well. Frankly, that's a stretch, but I don't get into it with anyone at church. We also use other symbolism as well in our baptism ceremony, not verbally stated, but understood by those more knowledgable than I. Such as, the waters of the Red sea being parted are symbolically part of the baptism, unknown to most. I think for us, the baptism is a commitment of the whole church in proclaiming support in the child's Christian life and growth. Questions are asked of the congregation, to which affirmative response is given. So I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad, wrong thing. And I don't like the way you have to prove to fundamentalists that you follow Christ by stating their magic words before they accept you as one of them. God knows our hearts and minds, and the idea of having to state, "I accept Jesus into my heart" is quite frankly, a bit fuzzy. If we accepted him into our hearts, we'd take better care of each other. The catholic church has it over the others where social justice is concerned, I'll give you that one. My daughter would not have her medication she needs to survive were it not for catholic social ministries here in my town. That alone has made me give pause to how I used to think about the dogma of catholics. I just think everyone should be welcome at the Lord's table.
@PrisonerxOfxLove@xanga - Study Christianity at WHAT University?! LIBERTY? I studied religion formally in college at a University but it was not my major. I was also raised in a Christian family - confirmed in a Lutheran Church and attended a religious primary school. I have also "studied" religions on my own all over the world.
There was a real Jesus (not his real name) and he was a Jew. However the magical attributes assigned to him are MYTH - BORROWED from ancient "religions" (I added "pagan" earlier for the sake of Christians who believe - just like every other religion that THEIR GOD is the only true God). Stories of God/Men - Born of Virgins - turning water in to wine - healing the blind with spit - raising young girls from the dead - were in ALL of the religions at the time of Jesus and in fact are understood to just be MYTHS. UNLESS of course these magical attributes are assigned to YOUR brand of religion and then suddenly they are competely and unalterably TRUE!
Perhaps you should study Mythology at a REAL university that has credentials and uses a scietific approach to the truth.
@Captric@xanga - Here are a few authentic professors of religion from whom I have benefitted:
Gary Rendsburg Rutgers University
Prof. Father Joseph Koterski, S.J. Fordham University
Kenneth Harl Tulane University
Daniel Robinson Oxford University.
I could go on and on.