Monday, July 07, 2008

Sorry...

I've been so uncommunicative this last week. It's just been one of those weeks when lots of bitty little commitments crowd in, just when you're trying to come to terms with all the profound stuff that God was doing on retreat. I have to confess I've not been very good even at the bittynesses - and I certainly haven't had a chance to do anything with this poor neglected blog.

Still, out of the chaos has been emerging - gradually - some kind of order. Jan and I have been trying to work out how practically to deal with the increasing call to prayer that God has been making clear to me over recent weeks. We seem to have the beginnings of a workable pattern in place, and with patience and forbearance we'll be able to debug it over the coming weeks, till we have something we can both live with...

Meanwhile, Maggie Ross says:

We delude ourselves that we pray; only Christ prays. The act we call prayer is yielding to the Spirit of Christ springing from the molten core of love within us that focuses all our being, and this prayer becomes pervasive in our lives as we learn single-heartedness...

As the resurrecting Word has been given to each of us, so we are enabled to give it to each other. When we forgive each other with this Word, we forgive totally... it is about enabling one another to be guilt-free. In daily life it means taking the risk of the fool: to offer love at the risk of having it rejected; to be willing to share pain at the risk of having our own wounds re-opened; to forgive so that the other person becomes guilt-free, at the risk of having to forgive all over again; to place ourselves, our lives, in each others' hands in radical trust... It is trust beyond reason...

Maggie Ross The Fire of Your Life

4 comments:

Jan said...

I'm glad you're back.

Somewhat frivolously, I am giving you the Arte y Pico award, which Fran bestowed upon me. I value your contributions to the blogging world very much.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

Blessings on you as you work through this schedule change you're contemplating. What you're doing is a service to the world.

St Edwards Blog said...

Mike - you start out saying that you are sorry and the you present us with this wisdom?

Oh there is nothing to be sorry about on your end and there is nothing but gratitude for what you say today at this end.

I send you prayers always, for your schedule, your time and your work and more.

Mike Farley said...

Thank you all! Jan, I don't think Arte y Pico is frivolous - I'm really touched...

Your support really does mean a lot, all of you, and all the ones who haven't left comments but are reading and praying too. It's so good to have this odd work confirmed, and to know that I'm in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you all again... As things settle in, I'll be a bit more sociable, I hope!