You are a victim only once—after that, you are a volunteer.

And in this He showed me something small, no bigger than a hazel-nut, lying in the palm of my hand, and I perceived that it was as round as any ball.  I looked at it and thought:  What can this be?  And I was given this general answer:  It is everything which is made.  I was amazed that it could last, for I thought it was so little that it could suddenly fall into nothing.  And I was answered in my understanding:  It lasts and always will, because God loves it; and thus everything has being through the love of God.

                        Julian of Norwich

Realizing for ourselves that the power to achieve contentment comes from within requires an understanding of how our thinking process controls our behaviors, and thereby, our results.

How wonderful, O Lord, are the works of your hands!
The heavens declare Your glory,
the arch of sky displays Your handiwork.
In Your love You have given us the power
to behold the beauty of Your world
robed in all its splendor.
The sun and the stars, the valleys and hills,
the rivers and lakes all disclose Your presence.
The roaring breakers of the sea tell of your awesome might,
the beasts of the field and the birds of the air
bespeak Your wondrous will.
In Your goodness You have made us able to hear
the music of the world.  The voices of loved ones
reveal to us that You are in our midst.
A divine voice sings through all creation.

When you find no love, put on love, and you will find love.

            John of the Cross

Be a gardener.
Dig a ditch,
    toil and sweat,
and turn the earth upside down
and seek the deepness
    and water the plants in time.
Continue this labor
    and make sweet floods to run
    and noble and abundant fruits
    to spring.
Take this food and drink
   and carry it to God
   as your true worship.

            Julian of Norwich

THE ESSENCE OF DESIRE

I did not
have to ask my heart what it wanted,
because of all the desires I have ever known just one did I cling to
for it was the essence of
all desire:

to know beauty.

St. John of the Cross

ARROGANCE

The weight of arrogance is such
 that no bird can fly
    carrying it.

And the man who feels superior
 to others, that man
   cannot dance,

the real dance when the soul takes God
into its arms and you both fall
 onto your knees in
gratitude,

 a blessed gratitude
      for life.

            John of the Cross

A RABBIT NOTICED MY CONDITION

I was sad one day and went for a walk;
I sat in a field.

A rabbit noticed my condition and
came near.

It often does not take more than that to help at times—

to just be close to creatures who
are so full of knowing,
so full of love
that they don’t
—chat,

they just gaze with
their
marvelous understanding.

John of the Cross

THEY CAN BE LIKE A SUN

They can be like a sun, words.

They can do for the heart
what light can
for a field.

John of the Cross

PEACE

Quiet yourself.

Reach out with your mind’s skillful hand.
Let it go inside of me and touch God.

Don’t be shy, dear.
Every aspect of Light we are meant to know.

The calm hand holds more than baskets of goods from the market.

The calm soul knows more than anything this world can offer from her beautiful womb.

John of the Cross

Holy Mystery, you are the life force that courses through my soul.  When my world is spinning like a top, cradle me in your arms like a newborn.  When confusion abounds, be my compass.  When I am caught up in a hurricane of activity, draw me into the eye, so I may find peace amidst the chaos.  For I would so love to skip with you along life’s byways.  Amen.

Liberty is to the collective body, what health is to the individual body.

Without health no pleasure can be tasted by man; without liberty, no happiness can be enjoyed by society.

            Thomas Jefferson

St. Joseph of Nazareth, Jesus’ Father Figure

MOTHERLY FATHER, we praise you for Joseph’s loving fatherly care of Jesus, regardless of whether he was Jesus’ biological father or not.  We thank you for his willingness to marry Mary, despite her pregnancy, and to take responsibility for Jesus.  We extol Joseph’s openness to your guidance and his protectiveness towards Mary and Jesus.  We mourn his early death and wish we knew more about the life of this extraordinary man, yet we celebrate the creative gifts he would have used in his trade, and the model of fatherhood he provided for Jesus.  Whether we are male or female, help us to be compassionate to those in distress and to reflect Joseph’s trust in you when times are rough.  We especially life up parent-child relationships where there is no shared blood.  Help such families build loving relationships by choice.  For we pray in the name of Jesus, who through the power of the Holy Spirit became the son of Mary and Joseph.

            Amen.

And I saw the river over which every soul must pass to reach the kingdom of heaven and the name of that river was suffering:--and I saw the boat which carries souls across the river and the name of that boat was love.

            St. John of the Cross, from “Prayers for Healing”

Feeling the weight of duality in either palm, and bringing our palms together in the gesture of prayer, we hold the whole world in our hands and dare to dream:

that the world of self and the world of other
meet and join in the heart
as the lover receives the beloved
in union, now, and forever; 

that the world of soulfuldarkness
and the world of spiritual light
meet and join one another
in union, now and forever;

that the world of silent repose
and the world of courageous action
meet and join one another
in union, now, and forever;

that the world of impregnating joy
and the world of fruitful sorrow
meet and join one another
in union, now and forever;

that the world of fluid heart
and the world of formal mind
meet and join one another
in union, now, and forever;

that all of the time past
and all of the time yet to come
may meet and join one another
in union, now, and forever. 
Amen.

            Joseph Jastrab, counselor, teacher, author and wilderness guide, from “Prayers for a Thousand Years”