HAUNTED BY THE HOLY GHOST

Bishops, Saints and Church “Church politics”.

Bishop, originally uploaded by IzzY212.

THE DEFINITION OF A SAINT:

In the saint there exists nothing that is trivial, nothing coarse, nothing base, nothing affected (fake), nothing insincere. In him is the culmination of delicacy, sensibility, transparency, purity, reverence, attention before the mystery of his fellow men…comes into actual being, for he brings this forth from his communication with the supreme Person (God). The saint grasps the various conditions of the soul in others and avoids all that would upset them, although he does not avoid helping them overcome their weaknesses. He reads the least articulate needs of others and fulfills it promptly, just as he reads their impurities also, however skillfully hidden and through the delicate power of his own purity, exercising upon them a purifying action. From the saint there continually radiates a spirit of self-giving and of sacrifice for the sake of all, with no concern for himself, a spirit that gives warmth to others and assures them that they are not alone. … And yet there is no one more humble, more simple, no one more less artificial, less theatrical or hypocritical, no one more “natural” in his behavior, accepting all that is truly human and creating an atmosphere that is pure and familiar. The saint has overcome any duality within himself as St. Maximos the Confessor puts it. He has overcome the struggle between soul and body, the divergence between good intentions and deeds that do not correspond to them, between deceptive appearance and hidden thoughts, between what claims to be the case and what is the case. He has become simple, therefore, because he has surrendered himself entirely to God. That is why he can surrender himself entirely in communication with others.

The Experience of God,
Dimitru Staniloae.

h/t to s_p and "Pithless Thoughts" Blog and a good companion piece to last's Friday's post "The Chopping Block"
Reading both pieces may help keep a balance between the 2, 3 or 50 issues Bishops, Clergy, and Laity must weigh wisely while not losing site of the One True Thing.

His beauty in Zion is beyond compare.

His beauty in Zion is beyond compare., originally uploaded by IzzY212.

Break forth in mighty gladness, O mountains and all-hills!
Let the trees of the forest clap their hands for joy!
Praise Christ, all you nations!
Glorify Him, all you peoples, crying:
Glory, O Lord, to Your power!

The King of glory has come.
The Lord of the ages has entered.
The hour of His majesty is upon us.
His beauty in Zion is beyond compare.
Come, O faithful, let us fall down before Him, crying:
Glory, O Lord, to Your power!

The Lord comes! He holds the earth in His grasp.
He measures the heavens with the span of His hand.
He has chosen Zion;
In her He is well pleased to dwell,
Ruling the hearts of all who cry in faith:
Glory, O Lord, to Your power!

Why on earth am I pretending?...I'm here again, the stars befriending

   "Here beneath the stars I'm landing
   And here beneath the stars not ending
   Why on earth am I pretending?
   I'm here again, the stars befriending..."

 

And For Bea, the Girl in Red: I have great faith in all things not yet spoken...

 

I have great faith in all things not yet spoken...hints of hope, hidden whispers in the November Wind

 

 

Child in Red 

Rainer Maria Rilke

Child in Red

Sometimes she walks through the village in her
little red dress
all absorbed in restraining herself,
and yet, despite herself, she seems to move
according to the rhythm of her life to come.

She runs a bit, hesitates, stops,
half-turns around...
and, all while dreaming, shakes her head
for or against.

Then she dances a few steps
that she invents and forgets,
no doubt finding out that life
moves on too fast.

It's not so much that she steps out
of the small body enclosing her,
but that all she carries in herself
frolics and ferments.

It's this dress that she'll remember
later in a sweet surrender;
when her whole life is full of risks,
the little red dress will always seem right.

Rainer Maria Rilke

For Hero: Exposed on the cliffs of the heart...Now She knows...

Exposed on the cliffs of the heart. Stoneground
under your hands. Even here, though,
something can bloom; on a silent cliff-edge
an unknowing plant blooms, singing, into the air.
But the one who knows? Ah, he began to know
and is quiet now, exposed on the cliffs of the heart.

Rainer Maria Rilke