Reverence for Life
Yesterday I made a comment about reverence. It is such an important aspect of life that I thought that you might like another today:
“Reverence for life affords me my fundamental principle of morality, namely that good consists in maintaining, assisting, and enhancing life, and that to destroy, to harm, or to hinder life is evil.”
–Albert Schweitzer (Alsatian-born Theologian, Philosopher, Mission Doctor and, in 1952, Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, 1875-1965)
Practice Reverence For Life
“Practice reverence for life. The sacred is in, with, and under all things of the world. Respond with appropriate respect and awe.”
–Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (American Writers and Teachers: Frederic is a United Church of Christ Clergyman, and Mary Ann is an Interfaith Minister, ordained by the One Spirit Interfaith Seminary)
“Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life” (Frederic Brussat, Mary Ann Brussat)
Like a Finely Polished Diamond
“In human beings there is the sign of all things; the human being is like a particularly finely polished diamond, in which all the world is reflected.”
–Heinrich Schipperges (German Medical Historian and Philosopher, 1918-2003)
“Modern Esoteric Spirituality” (Antoine and Jacob Needleman (editors) Faivre)
Seeing God in Just One Thing
“The ideal of man is to see God in everything, but if you cannot see Him in everything, see Him in one thing, in that thing which you like best, and then see Him in another. So on you can go.”
–Swami Vivekananda (Indian Hindu Mystic and Spiritual Teacher, 1863-1902)
“Making Peace With God: A Practical Guide” (Harold H. Bloomfield, Philip Goldberg)
Feeling the Sacred
“What are things? They are God’s love become things. God communicates with us by way of all things. They are messages of love.”
–Ernesto Cardenal (Nicaraguan Catholic Priest and Poet, 1925-)
“Abide in Love’ in:
“Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life” (Frederic Brussat, Mary Ann Brussat)
The Sacred World
It’s valuable to see that the insights of the Eastern nondual and mystical traditions have also been talked about in the Western Churches since the early Middle Ages, and probably even before that. Yet many of our current generation of theologians seem to have forgotten!
“God’s power is in every natural thing, since God is in all things by the divine essence, presence, and power.”
–Saint Thomas Aquinas (Italian Dominican Friar, Theologian and Philosopher, 1225-1274)
“Sheer Joy: Conversations With Thomas Aquinas on Creation Spirituality” (Matthew Fox)
Swimming in Grace
“God’s grace is more available than we dare to believe. It’s a bit like the little fish who swam up to its mother and asked, ‘What is the ocean?’ ‘You’re in it’, said the mother. But the little fish swam away disappointed, saying, ‘No, this is just water. I want to know what the ocean is.’”
–Macrina Wiederkehr (Benedictine Catholic Monk, Writer and Spiritual Guide)
“A Tree Full of Angels: Seeing the Holy in the Ordinary” (Macrina Wiederkehr)
Dream of A World
“Dream of a world in which the God and Goddess in you is never denied, and in which you never again deny the God and the Goddess in another. Let your greeting, both now and forevermore, be Namaste.”
–Neale Donald Walsch (American Writer, 1943-)
Learning From the Wisdom of All Things
“We must learn about Wisdom from all things. As scripture says, ‘Wisdom has made and continues always to adapt everything (Ps. :). It is the cause of the unbreakable accommodation and order of all things and it is forever linking the goals of one set of things with the sources of another and in this fashion it makes a thing of beauty of the unity and the harmony of the whole.”
–Pseudo-Dionysius the Aeropagite (a.k.a. Pseudo-Denys, Anonymous Theologian and Philosopher, Late 5th and Early 6th Century)
“Pseudo Dionysius: The Complete Works (Classics of Western Spirituality)” (Pseudo Dionysius)
Communion and Union With the Beloved
“In nearly all traditions, sacred psychology assumes that the deepest yearning in every human soul is to return to its spiritual source, there to experience communion and even union with the Beloved.”
–Jean Houston (American Scholar, Researcher and Author on Human Potentialities, 1937-)
“The Search for the Beloved: Journeys in Mythology and Sacred Psychology” (Jean Houston)
