Sublime

To arrive at a point of authentic identity is rare. Most continue to live with the mask on. But for those who are willing to put in the work, a sacred space emerges. It’s a place of raw vulnerability. It’s a tender place, full of sensitivity, goodness, fear, and courage. Entering it can conjure two responses. The first is defensive, where we shame

God is continually looking for ordinary people such as John who are willing to let him use them to make a difference

Nouwen suggested we all find ourselves bouncing around three very human lies that we believe about our identity: I am what I have, I am what I do, and I am what other people say or think about me.*

In his dissertation, Wojtyła emphasized the personal nature of the human encounter with God, in which believers transcend the boundaries of their creaturely existence in such a way that they become more truly and completely themselves. This encounter with the living God is not for mystics only. It is the center of every Christian life.

we do not fully understand a fellow human being by staring, thinking, or even commiserating with her. Instead, understanding comes only when we let go of our self and allow the other to grab our full attention. In order for the reality of the other’s self to fully invest us, we must first divest ourselves of our own selves.

I have heard of a man lost in the woods and dying of famine and exhaustion at the foot of a tree, whose loneliness was relieved by the grotesque visions with which, owing to bodily weakness, his diseased imagination surrounded him, and which he believed to be real. So also, owing to bodily and mental health and strength, we may be continually cheer

In the absence of clear boundaries between himself and his milieu, between fantasy and reality, between what to do and what to avoid, it seems that Peter has become a prisoner of the now, caught in the present without meaningful connections with his past or future.

Lord Jesus, I offer myself for Your people. In any way. Any place. Any time.