Christian Catholic Mystic Hermit: Compassion, Mercy, Essential to Love as God Loves

Awoke to thick snowflakes falling like manna from heaven.  Stuck to ground but melted now; very late spring here, and unusual.  I suppose every day and night and how God unfolds them are unusual!

My thoughts have been regarding the importance of compassion, indiscriminate compassion regardless of persons' actions and words, especially when it comes to the usual human decline and the life situations that occur by our errors in judgment, decisions, and wrong-turns from the narrow path.  God always has compassion, no matter what, even if we deserve what we get coming to us, even if we have caused some of our own problems, even if we choose unkindness and a type of ugliness in our lives.

To learn to love to love as God loves, I realize I need this indiscriminate compassion.  I need to have compassion as God has compassion, as this is crucial and indispensable in loving as God loves.  Love requires compassion; love requires mercy. Compassion (mercy) does not condone ugliness, unkindness, evil, wrong word and wrong action or even wrong thoughts; but compassion (mercy) is a form of loving understanding and empathy for all souls (and the persons whose souls are within them.)

Compassion, or mercy, is very difficult particularly if we have been the recipient of ugliness, unkindness, rudeness, wrong thoughts, words, and/or wrong actions.  Compassion or mercy, is most challenging when we read or hear about or are recipients of (even if in being part of the community of humankind) evil. God never fails nor falters in having mercy, or compassion, on even the worst of humankind; of the most vile and vicious of persons He maintains mercy and compassion.

I took time yesterday to ponder various situations, the worst and most heinous of humankind I could fathom and had read about or heard about in my long lifetime.  In each, I came to realize that God had mercy and compassion for these souls and the persons whose souls were or are within. Yes, there are temporal and eternal consequences for those who think, say, and do wrong; but that is not the point.  Having mercy and compassion is the point:  I need to have compassion, to show mercy, without hesitation and for any and all, if I am going to learn how to love as God loves.

Jesus looked over Jerusalem one evening, prior to His being trapped, arrested, brutalized, unfairly tried and convicted, and cruelly crucified,  He overlooked Jerusalem and saw and had seen as God sees--all the persons with their souls, and all the sins and the sins yet to be perpetrated for years and centuries to come.  And the Living Word simply states:  Jesus wept.  Jesus wept due to the compassion and mercy He holds and offers, always, eternally; he has compassion and mercy as part of what it is to love as God Loves, as Jesus Christ is the Son of God and loves as God loves, being God Himself.

I'm practicing and learning to love as God Loves; and now I must also focus on having compassion and offering mercy no matter what others have thought, said, and done in action.  The mercy and compassion I am learning and possess within me, to be released from His Real Presence within me to without of me--this is how I am on my way to learning to love as God Loves.  Nothing is as crucial to me as is now learning to release His compassion within me, His mercy that is within me because I am within His Real Presence and He is within me. This compassion is always with me and able to be released, dispensed, without hesitation, for mercy is His and now also mine, to give without critical review but freely, instantaneously. 

This is the next step in learning to love as God Loves: to recognize and release His mercy and have compassion instantaneously, automatically, for as I am His and He is mine, His mercy and compassion is also mine to give freely and fully, without hesitation or mental deliberation, review, inner conflict.

I must practice this, for my humanness has made me rusty; grace and my cooperation with His grace will remove the rust and create in me a clean heart to see and release mercy and compassion no matter all else no matter who it is I encounter in whatever aspect, including memory of those of the past.

God bless His Real Presence in me!  Love in His Love!

Dear Lord, please keep showing me all the facets and what I must learn to learn to love as You Love!

Letter to the Philippians 2,6-11.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father 

Catholic Hermit Ponders Verse from Mark 9

"Everyone will be salted with fire."

I love this simple statement from Jesus.  It is yet another in the Living Word that somehow I've not "noticed" before--not in a heart-quickening way.

Today I will ponder the statement and the truth of Jesus' Word.  He does not mean only some people, but all of us will be salted with fire.

This morning the physical pain rises up in the body like fiery flames.  I've been pushing the body lately, trying to keep making progress with the manual labor here as my financial shelf life is nearing the end.  Yet probably the most significant increase of experiencing pain comes from ceasing pain medications other than an over-the-counter, strong aspirin in the morning and an occasional over-the-counter pain aid such as Tylenol or Aleve.

The new normal of pain experience and sensation takes much adaptation.  Distraction of thought and making the body get up and moving seems key to success.  But the pain yet has temporal effect in the body; more rest helps, and we will see if the pain sieges occur more frequently than when taking low dose prescription pain medication.

I can view that my body is salted with the fire of pain.  This morning I read a short article on the merits of suffering in that pain of all types can help make us more compassionate as well as empathic.  Compassion is being able to relate with those who suffer; empathy is being able to actually feel from experience what others suffer.

I consider that the greatest gifts of suffering have to do with the humility that comes from pain.  Suffering is an antidote to pride--true suffering.  Of course, a person could conceivably become proud in thinking he or she is a great and triumphant sufferer.  This pride, it would seem, is short-lived if the suffering is true and allowed by God.  Pain that is allowed by God knocks pride out of us.

Yesterday I did some electrical work.  The electrician had brought a "hot" wire into the attic garret room that this nothing consecrated Catholic hermit is transforming into a child's play room, a gabled, low-ceilinged, triangular prayer room, or a storage area.  From the one wire, there are two outlets, one light switch, and a light box installed.

First stipulation is to have the power to the wire, OFF.  For this double-check after flipping the breaker, one uses an electric wire tester.  Then it is a matter of bringing the main wire into a receptacle box that is nailed into a stud, then another wire is cut and brought up from that outlet box to a switch box that is also nailed to a stud.  Then another piece of wire is brought up from the switch box to a light fixture box that is also nailed into a stud.

From the original outlet box yet another wire can be strung through holes drilled in studs to go part-way around the room and through yet another socket box, nailed to a stud.  That done, I called the electrician who coached me and explained more concepts of electricity.  It all makes sense, once we are taught with explanation and can ask questions that are kindly answered.

Today I will begin the process of doing what is called a "pig tail" for the outlet box that has three lead wires coming into it or going out.  The black, white, and ground wires are stripped clean of sheathing at the ends, and the blacks, whites, and grounds are each twisted and capped with a "wire nut".  But in addition to each of those, an additional piece of wire is cut--a short piece--and the ends of the black, white and ground wires are stripped clean and also twisted into the wire nut.  This is the pig-tail wire, and it will be the one used for wiring into the actual socket mechanism that will provide power to the switch box, light box, and second socket box.

I suppose it could be said that electricity salts the wires--all wires attached in this effort.  Electricity is in a way a form of fire, and fire can be an outcome of electricity.

Yet Jesus' statement that everyone is salted with fire has far deeper and spiritual implications for our lives on earth and our immortal souls for all eternity.

Yes, I am going to ask Him questions today, similar to the way I asked the electrician questions as to the why and how and what of the basics of electrical wiring.  Somehow, Jesus' statement on being salted with fire is important--or it would not have sparked my mind to this degree of desire to know by learning what He means, deep down in and for practical application.  Probably rather a simple concept and answer will come of the pondering.  Jesus is so good to us with insights and explanations, freely given!

The electrician is certainly good, also, to have coached me two or three times on the phone in addition to letting me watch him while he worked doing all the other wiring in the hermitage.

Learning from Jesus

If one could truly live by but a phrase of Jesus' Living Word, what a holy difference to our souls, to other souls around us, and to life and to the world!

This morning, the nothing Catholic hermit took to heart Jesus' three words:  learn from me.

What and how is it to learn from Jesus?

Listen, ponder, think with the heart.  Wait.  Seek.  Pray.  Praise.  Love.  Most of all, love.

 "‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’" Matthew 11: 28-30

In the recent days, the hermit has lived through additional physical and emotional hardship.  All of us have these phases of "additional" hardships to the daily trials that we all carry when we pick up our crosses daily and follow His Real Presence.

Yesterday, with a desire to do manual labor, much needed always here, instead the hermit remained reclining.  It distracted itself by nothing much holy.  Intellectually it knew that the distractions were nothing more than escapism, taking the mind to lovely scenery, fictional lives of active people, good people, doing good in the world, solving problems.  

It was not terrible escapism, but it did not elevate the soul, particularly.  It "bought" time, perhaps--time that belongs to God and not for us to purchase nor beneficially to take.  Yet, this hermit has learned in this vocation of stricter separation from the world, hidden from the eyes of men, lived assiduously in praise and prayer, the will is not strong enough yet to the discipline of one such as Mary of Egypt.  She was an early century penitent whose conversion led her to the desert where she lived for 30 years in a cave.  Her clothes wore out; her hair grew long and became her bodily covering.  

At year 31 of her solitude, prayer, penance and being blessed by God in spiritual unity on earth, a priest came upon what he thought to be a man.  She explained her life, her conversion, her gender, and she desired Holy Communion.  He went off, determined to return with some clothing.  He could not relocate her and learned she had passed from earth, having edified himself and a handful of others who knew of her existence and life of prayer, humility, and union with God.

While Mary of Egypt made an abrupt change in her life--a life that had known mortal and moral sin, we do not know the trials and the efforts and temptations endured in the process over the years.  We can assume she did not make an immediate leap from one way of existence into the physical desert, and yes, the outer and inner desert of silence, solitude, slowness, simplicity, stillness, stability, suffering, selflessness and serenity.

With that in mind, we may know that to learn from Jesus is a process.  Even if we were to give up our possessions, we would retain enough to survive, especially in our time period of temporal responsibilities, such as paying taxes, having our affairs in order for our death dues, being accessible to others who have need of us in some aspect or other that requires our compassion and selflessness in sacrificing some external aspect of our vocation, for a time.

What this hermit considers today one aspect to learn from Jesus, it is to learn His compassion.  Compassion includes understanding, of placing oneself in another person's body, mind, heart and spirit enough to suffer with, or to share with, that person's "passion."  This passion may be some intense feeling or desire, and can involve some aspect of the person suffering angst or pain.

When a friend emailed frustrations that her cleaning woman has now three times changed the day of her coming to clean her home, the hermit understood the friend's frustration.  It is all relative to the phase and personality and pace of spiritual growth, and the calling and place that we each and all have in our world and our lives.  What frustrates one person could seem superficial to others.  (This hermit's being cold for several days is superficial to the cold that the homeless or many of the world's poor experience.)  

Yet in humility, we can learn from Jesus:  understanding and compassion.  He has compassion for all life and beings, including us!

Learning compassion is part of the good of the little exercise this hermit has developed for itself.  Bend in understanding and to have compassion as to what and why others find 
irritating of this hermit and to try to remove the irritants.  It is just a small aspect of learning from Jesus understanding and compassion, of bearing with and for others.  

What frustrates or irritates others may not be in the full spectrum of life what we consider major; the problems or irritants may seem to us picayune.  However, in understanding and compassion, in learning the "s" of "selflessness", we learn from Jesus to relate and to love; and in that loving we can feel what others are enduring, at their levels and phases of living their lives.

And we learn in the process that Jesus in particular, but also other people, have had understanding and compassion for us in our levels and phases of living our lives.  What seems upsetting or frustrating to us, may be quite minor, if we take a realistic look at our crosses.  We learn from Jesus all about crosses--our own, others, and His--and pray to grow in lessons of understanding and compassion.

We may not learn high degrees or full understanding and compassion immediately.  But we learn, all the same, if even a little.  Any ounce or degree of understanding and compassion are gifts worth appreciating and sharing with others:  silently, humbly, lovingly, not judging their motives or outcomes.

There is an infinity of holiness to learn from Jesus.  Learning compassion is one wondrous lesson and gift.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love (and have compassion for) one another!

Hermit Daily Life: Prayer for the World and All Peoples

While describing slices of daily life and spiritual thoughts and happenings, one must not omit the hours spent in prayer for the world and all peoples on earth.

I tend to check the news online, watching a few minutes or short video clips of pertinent occurrences, enough to get the idea of current events.  This allows the mind and heart to be with the persons involved and the situations, and to pray in whatever capacity His Real Presence wills.

While it could be all right, too, to not access the world news, I find it helpful at this phase of my journey because it stretches the boundaries of this hermitage and the hermitage within.  

Presumably, though, when farther on the stairway to heaven, not knowing specifics could be infilled by His Real Presence, and the praying would take on a more supernal mode of knowing without knowing.

Every now and then, I cast the nets in the water.  For now, I check once a day or so, such as today, to discover the terrible international crisis of a passenger plane shot down by warring factions of Ukraine and Russia.  

My prayers will expand to include remembrance and supplication for all countries which have warring factions on-going, as well as for individual souls who are at war within themselves, or who are at war with His Real Presence in some way, or who battle temptations.

In thus praying, I allow the heart and soul to be very much at the disposal of His Real Presence, and that includes sometimes suffering with Christ in reparation, or deep compassion in focus and being.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  May there be His peace on earth!