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Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence.
“I have called you by name, from
the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother’s womb. I have carved you in the palms of my hands and hidden you in the shadow of my embrace. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on your head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. I will give you food that will satisfy all your hunger and drink that
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From the moment we claim the truth of being the Beloved, we are faced with the call to become who we are. Becoming the Beloved is the great spiritual journey we have to make.
Becoming the Beloved means letting the truth of our Belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say, or do.
What is required is to become the Beloved in the commonplaces of my daily existence and, bit by bit, to close the gap that exists between what I know myself to be and the countless specific realities of everyday life.
Becoming the Beloved is pulling the truth revealed to me from above down into the ordinariness of what I am, in fact, thinking of, talking about, and doing from hour to hour.
the origin and goal of our existence have everything to do with the ways we think, talk, and act in our daily lives.
To identify the movements of the Spirit in our lives, I have found it helpful to use four words: “taken,” “blessed,” “broken,” and “given.”
We touch here a great spiritual mystery: To be chosen does not mean that others are rejected.
In this world, to be chosen simply means to be set apart in contrast to others.
To be chosen as the Beloved of God is something radically different. Instead of excluding others, it includes others. Instead of rejecting others as less valuable, it accepts others in their own uniqueness. It is not a competitive, but a compassionate choice.
do not surrender the word “chosen” to the world. Dare to claim it as your own, even when it is constantly misunderstood.
As long as we allow our parents, siblings, teachers, friends, and lovers to determine whether we are chosen or not, we are caught in the net of a suffocating world that accepts or rejects us according to its own agenda of effectiveness and control.
because it is as insecure, fearful, self-deprecating people that we can most easily be used and manipulated by the powers surrounding us.
The great spiritual battle begins—and never ends—with the reclaiming of our chosenness.
How do we get in touch with our chosenness when we are surrounded by rejections? I have already said that this involves a real spiritual struggle. Are there any guidelines in this struggle? Let me try to formulate a few.
First of all, you have to keep unmasking the world about you for what it is: manipulative, controlling, power-hungry, and, in the long run, destructive.
Second, you have to keep looking for people and places where your truth is spoken and where you are reminded of your deepest identity as the chosen one.
Third, you have to celebrate your chosenness constantly. This means saying “thank you” to God for having chosen you, and “thank you” to all who remind you of your chosenness.
When we keep claiming the light, we will find ourselves becoming more and more radiant. What fascinates me so much is that every time we decide to be grateful it will be easier to see new things to be grateful for. Gratitude begets gratitude, just as love begets love.
When we claim and constantly reclaim the truth of being the chosen ones, we soon discover within ourselves a deep desire to reveal to others their own chosenness. Instead of making us feel that we are better, more precious or valuable than others, our awareness of being chosen opens our eyes to the chosenness of others. That is the great joy of being chosen: the discovery that others are chosen as well. In the house of God there are many mansions.
When we keep claiming the light, we will find ourselves becoming more and more radiant.
You and I know how true to life this all is. We have been friends now for many years. In the beginning there was some comparing, some jealousy, some competition. But as we grew older and became more sure in our own uniqueness, most, if not all, of this rivalry vanished, and we were more able to affirm and call forth each other’s gifts.
Deep friendship is a calling forth of each other’s chosenness and a mutual affirmation of being precious in God’s eyes.
Still, I say to you, as the Beloved Son of God, you are blessed.
Good words are being spoken
to you and about you—words that tell ...
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First of all, prayer. For me personally, prayer becomes more and more a way to listen to the blessing.
when I go to a quiet place to pray, I realize that, although I have a tendency to say many things to God, the real “work” of prayer is to become silent and listen to the voice that says good things about me. This might sound self-indulgent,
The movement of God’s Spirit is
very gentle, very soft—and hidden.
You have to choose where it is that you want to live, and that choice is one that you have to keep making from moment to moment.
claiming your own blessedness always leads to a deep desire to bless others.
We are chosen and blessed. When we have truly owned this, have said “Yes” to it, then we can face our own and others’ brokenness with open eyes.
How can we respond to this brokenness? I’d like to suggest two ways: first, befriending it and, second, putting it under the blessing.
the first step to healing is not a step away from the pain, but a step toward it.
The great secret of the spiritual life, the life of the Beloved Sons and Daughters of God, is that everything we live, be it gladness or sadness, joy or pain, health or illness, can all be part of the journey toward the full realization of our humanity.
In the giving it becomes clear that we are chosen, blessed, and broken not simply for our own sakes, but so that all we live finds its final significance in its being lived for others.
We become beautiful people when we give whatever we can give: a smile, a handshake, a kiss, an embrace, a word of love, a present, a part of our life . . . all of our life.
automatically and that giving yourself to Robin was a decision that would have to be renewed day after day, especially on days when you experienced distance between yourselves.
Eating from the same bread and drinking from the same cup call us to live in unity and peace.
The real question is not “What can we offer each other?” but “Who can we be for each other?”
our real gift is not so much what we can do, but who we are.
I discover more and more that the greatest gift I have to offer is my own joy of living, my own inner peace, my own silence and solitude, my own sense of well-being.
when we realize that God has chosen us from all eternity, sent us into the world as the blessed ones, handed us over to suffering, can’t we, then, also trust that our little lives will multiply themselves and be able to fulfill the needs of countless people?
How different would our life be if we could but believe that every little act of faithfulness, every gesture of love, every word of forgiveness, every little bit of joy and peace will multiply and multiply as long as there are people to receive it . . . and that—even then—there will be leftovers!
Imagine that, in the center of your heart, you trust that your smiles and handshakes, your embraces and your kisses are only the early signs of a worldwide community of love and peace! Imagine that your trusting that every little movement of love you make will ripple out into ever new and wider circles—just as a little stone thrown into a still pond. Imagine, imagine. . . . Could you ever be depressed, angry, resentful, or vengeful? Could you ever hate, destroy, or kill? Could you ever despair of the meaning of your short earthly existence?
AS THOSE WHO ARE CHOSEN, blessed, broken, and given, we are called to live our lives with a deep inner joy and peace.
The great struggle facing you is not to leave the world, to reject your ambitions and aspirations, or to despise money, prestige, or success, but to claim your spiritual truth and to live in the world as someone who doesn’t belong to it.
