A Weighty Choice~

It is much easier to live with an illusion than with reality, . . . with a belief than with a fact. 

Wisdom ~

Only the man who is able to stand alone can see reality as it is, free from the opinion of others.   

Atmosphere~

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  When at the altar, you walk differently.  

Looking into the Future ~

The old monk said: Keep going. Let the path find you.

Where We Stand ~

It takes a long time and much patience before we can free ourselves from a state of confusion.

The Way Things Go ~

And everywhere, continuously, Positive colliding with Negative.

Disillusionment ~

When the end is near, a monk who had really been a monk all his life ends up asking if he had not been deluded the whole time, and if what he believed was all made up.

Seeing ~

Let the birds be your prophets and saints,
Let the clouds be your prophets and saints,
Let the flowers be your prophets and saints.

Prayer ~

Prayer -- is simply letting thoughts float heavenward.

God's Will Works ~

It is in silence, the old monk said, like when the sun rises, or in the silent chamber of the heart that God's will works.

Going to God ~

He said: Do not use words! Just be quiet for a few moments and open yourself, and allow the spirit of God stream into you. 

Deus Obscurus ~

Instead of a feeling of exasperation, learn to marvel at the ways in which God hides from you. So hidden, yet so close.

Catholics and Protestants ~

He looked at me and said: If the Eucharist really is the Body of Christ, that is all the more reason to share it. If that is so, we should be welcoming everyone to the table.

Wise Old Monk ~

He said that I should realize that everything in my life fits in to the great inscrutable plan of God. There is nothing that is not as it should have been.

Facets of Love ~

We were talking about love when he said: The novice and the 80 year old monk both love God but in quite different ways. You will never be able to keep on loving like the novice does.

To Alleviate Suffering ~

He looked at me and said: Most men do everything they can to alleviate spiritual suffering, to rid themselves of it. But you must learn to suffer, to make peace with it and accept what it brings about.

De Diligendo Deo ~

During our talk he looked at me and said: "Maybe it's a matter of age, but later in life one seems to shift the emphasis away from the Son over to the Father."

Wise Old Monk

He said that if I change, my whole world changes with me.

Meaning ~

The Wise Old Monk said: "He will get at you with things that make you struggle: an insuperable problem, a divorce, cancer, a loss . . . That will make you return to Him, where you belong".

Wise Old Monk ~

Understand this, he said: it is not what you do, what you achieve. I is what you are.