Cretin-Derham Hall

Because religion is natural to humans, secularization’s assault on silence will never win. At some point the earphones are set aside, the iPod stilled, the tongue tied and there is the awesome noise of silence. Do not be fearful of it. Silence is essential to self-discovery, and it is necessary if we are to find God. Watch a flower grow, a pet rest, an infant peer, a grandpa rock. Be still and know that God speaks softly. The sacred reveals itself most often in stillness. If you wonder why God seems distant, seek to be still. Listen to the sounds of silence. The prophet looked for God in the thunder but found God rather in the whisper. Does not God reside within, where quiet reigns?

(Many of the following one-liners are Inspirations from Rolheiser’s book, THE SHATTERED LANTERN) Worth pondering…

Knowing Jesus is so much more than knowing about Him.

Do not try to capture God: live in wonder, awe, astonishment and you will be living in God.

Unless we become like little children–capable of wonder and awe–we shall miss the Reign of God.

Look beyond the Bread you eat, the cup you drink, to Body spent and Blood shed, to God’s love for you.

Faith goes beyond understanding, not against it.

Our minds are not big enough to make sense of God, but our wills can trust!

The simple act of kneeling in God’s Presence could do more for one’s relationship with God than a degree in theology.

Immediate gratification renders a soul shallow and robs it of its higher purpose.

If God seems so distant, who moved?

Holy fear is reverential, humble, connected to the truth of a creature before its Creator.

Familiarity with the Holy dilutes wonder and awe: fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

Our loss of the habit of genuflection and bowing before the Sacrament reflects sadly a loss of awareness of Reality.

While our lives may be full, we remain unfulfilled, too busy to see beyond our busyness and catch the face of God.

The natural world is a camouflage of the supernatural.

Evidence of God is all around: the pupil of an eye, a seedling emerging out of rock, Sparky the Seal, a single dew drop, the Boundary Waters, walleye on a plate, the aroma of fresh basil, yeast, a newborn, sun and moon…

Will Jesus know us if we have never bothered to know Him?