POPE: Profound Serenity and Humility

POPE ABDICATES IN ORDER TO MARRY HIS LONGTIME LOVE

Okay, I'm kidding. But wouldn't it be weird if we find out next week that this is the real reason the Pope is abdicating the throne? He is the first Pope in six centuries to abdicate. Or could this be part of the antichrist's plot? Am I being sacriligeous? I think he wants to settle down and marry his long time secretary.

God Bless Pope Benedict. I feel a strange love for him now, as I see he is merely human and broken. I actually admire his humility. I love his words, "I have a profound serenity in my soul."

Life is so magnificent. There is so much beauty everywhere, which to me is evidence of Good. The Great Goodness is the real picture.

The greatest beauty of all time though, is Mother Theresa. She took a vow of poverty and had absolutely no possessions except the clothes she wore. And yet she was the most generous and famous woman in the world.

What do you honestly think of the Catholic Church?  Does anyone find it odd that Christ Jesus said "Call no man "Father" upon the earth" and instructs us not to worship kings on thrones or gold and "love of money," yet the very church that bears his name is the most idolatrous and materialistic?  And I cannot believe anyone thinks it's okay to bow and kiss a ring on a "Pope-King's" hand.

Is this what Christ taught? All this pomp and circumstance, greed and hidden treasures, and it's strange crimes. A priest should be among the poor, and in the villages with the "common man." And Women. Women must be allowed to become priests. Too much focus on the flesh and gender and human qualities of sexuality, when Christ's Kingdom was not of this realm. He ONLY CARED ABOUT ONE THING: HOW YOU TREATED YOUR FELLOW MAN. Human kindness. Love one another, was The Great Peacemaker's one commandment. "And do not throw stones."

How can this Church persist? Because Catholics as a whole are wonderful people. And nuns are true servants of God. And Catholic Hospitals always welcome the poor -- or anyone in need and they never turn anyone away.

I do love the "idea" of the Church -- and I love the history for all the most salacious reasons. Salacious? Is that the right word? Maybe provocative is the right word.

Anyway, the human race is a crazy breed. But I really am beginning to be more understanding and more tolerant of the intolerant.

We're all just trying to get through the day.

God Bless Pope Benedict. None of us are perfect. We have to stop setting impossibly high standards,

But I do wish that just for ONCE, the Church, any church would practice what Christ taught: to heal the sick, raise the dead, heal the body, mind and spirit. For the Pope to resign because he's not feeling well, makes me wonder, why not rely on the Great Healer? Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Pulitzr prize winning Christian Science Monitor, healed herself of paralysis (a broken and severed spinal cord) at the age of 14, by reading the Bible over and over, and finally the revelation came to her in Christ's teachings -- she discovered lost key to Christ's healing power -- which the churches had never found, because they were starting with the wong premise.

She understood more than any other spiritual thinker or minister -- that we are not material, we are spiritual. She was way ahead of her time. And if you start with the right premise: Genesis One - God made everything GOOD, there is no truth to the 2nd false creation story, the Adam and Eve myth, which clearly states was a "dream sleep of Adam." We are lost in that sleep right now. We started with a flawed premise; we started in the wrong place. No human can heal if he believes that evil (the serpent) or dis-ease has equal power to Good.

Eddy, a keen observer of human thinking, identified the kinds of thoughts that lead to illness. She saw that sickness is an unnatural, unconscious deviation from the perfection of God and of each one of us as His image and likeness. She came upon a place in thought at which individuals adopt a concept of themselves that leads either to discord and sickness or to holiness and health. She discovered that everyone can become aware of their thoughts and respond obediently to thoughts from God, those thoughts being spiritual, pure, and healthy. For her, mental self-awareness is key – just as knowing how you’re spending money is essential to sound personal finance.

Try this: Instead of assuming that you’re largely a set of body parts that can become ill, feel your oneness with this purely good, infinite Mind as its spiritual reflection. Start from the standpoint that your health is intact because goodness and wellness are inherent in this one infinite God that you reflect. This way of thinking has made a vast difference in my life, giving me both a more moral approach to living and better health. It can do the same for you.

Want to read more articles like this one? Visit the Christian Science perspective section on CSMonitor.com.

- See more at: http://christianscience.com/prayer-and-health/inspiration/publications/the-christian-science-monitor/your-health-perfect-and-intact#sthash.Xfgwu5NQ.dpuf

Remaining calm in a Crisis

An excerpt from

‘Dark nights of the soul’—illumined

By Joni Overton-Jung

- See more at: http://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/6jd9eo70ai?s=ac#sthash.OvzfEtVY.dpuf

I don’t know anyone of deep faith who hasn’t struggled deeply. When some of his followers turned away from his teachings, Jesus asked his disciples if they would leave too. Peter responded: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” ( John 6:68). “To whom shall we go?” The profound experiences of faith, the transforming moments of spiritual understanding and healing—moments born of the purest seeking and surrender—leave us changed in ways we cannot measure. They enlarge the scope of our lives; they propel us to discover more.

When I embraced my spiritual path, I had no idea of the challenges this road would present, the demands that would be made, the stretching I would have to do, the refining of my heart, the quickening of my spirit. There have been days when I have struggled. But still, I would not trade a moment of it. Every tough time has brought me closer to God—has taught me about God’s unbounded grace and how it surfaces over and over as we surrender self and embrace new vantage points.
Perhaps the paradox is, that even in the toughest times, the spiritual dawnings can come with such convincing clarity, simplicity, ease, that we get frustrated when it doesn’t feel easy. When we’re grappling with the entanglements of darkness and disbelief, we’re tempted to despair over the roughness of the road. “It should not be so hard!” We plead, “Where are you, God?” We are surprised by persecution, kickback, indifference, but mostly by the struggles of our own hearts.
Several summers ago while teaching a twelve-day course on Christian Science healing, I woke in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. The words, “There is no God,” were repeating themselves over and over again with great force in my thought. I felt as though I were being held underwater.

Jesus’ message resonates today: No matter what we’re faced with, no matter how dark, how evil, how deep the disbelief—there will always be an answer. God will always be with us. 

I practically hurled myself out of bed and went downstairs. The day before had been a difficult one: A number of the students were struggling with different issues. I vowed to stay up as long as necessary, to turn completely to God—to affirm that infinite, loving Presence. I chose to anchor my thought, heart, and soul in God and nothing else.

Little by little the cold front of darkness, hate, and disbelief began to lift. I prayed for the class and for the whole world until I consciously felt that nothing could separate us from the love of God. After an hour or two, I was filled with the most profound stillness, peace, and holiness I had ever felt. I knew that all was well. I knew that God was present right where I was. Our class later that day reflected this peace.

- See more at: http://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/6jd9eo70ai?s=ac#sthash.OvzfEtVY.dpuf

Love and Blessings
xoxo
Lydia