God's Gift to Jesus

"Father, they are your gift to me"  (from John 17).

This line intrigues.  The sentiment amazes.  How can Jesus, knowing He is going to suffer and die a horrible death, plus having suffered people misunderstanding Him and persecuting--how can He consider us as gifts to Him from God the Father?

How are we "gifts"?  What are we to Jesus that He can possibly consider us as a gift to Him?

This hermit wonders.  It awoke early this morning, tired per usual, reaching for and chewing up an extra strength Excedrin, chewing a half a pain med, swallowing a prescription anti-inflammatory, rising to use the chamber pot and filling a glass with a vegetable and fruit pureed drink and water. Painful body and painful thoughts broke through, per usual, and the hermit considered that its life has been filled with suffering.  

Yet, the hermit offered a thought of praise to God and considered that even if not here, in over its head with heavy labor that it cannot do physically alone, what would be much different elsewhere? The life of suffering would remain; and would the hermit serve the Lord any better?

Well, perhaps.  This place--the temporal aspects of it--has been a demoralizing strain and a tremendous spiritual challenge, both.  Again, though, what would this body, mind, heart, and spirit be doing any differently in a clean and functional abode?  True, the body and mind would have more comforts and organization.  The mind would be free to be more creative artistically, perhaps, and to hopefully lift up others--have the energy to do so--in more tangible ways.

But what difference?  Even the desire to "do something" with one's life, to "do something" for God with one's life, oozes of attachments to temporal loves--temporal love of perceived success and purpose.  When, in reality, the body would yet require silence and solitude, and it would be constantly managing the physical suffering which affects the thoughts and emotions.

That is this hermit's doing something with its life and doing something for God.  As for "being," the temporal circumstances should not affect "being."  The mind and heart and spirit--the soul with its intellect and will--manage the "being" part of life.  And in this, the hermit figures it can be a gift, a more pleasant and delightful and worthwhile gift for His Real Presence--even though Jesus has not put any stipulations on His "gifts".

He tells the Father in the prayer, as written in John 17, that we are the Father's gift to Him.  My, oh my, what an uplifting and humbling consideration--that we are the Father's gift to Jesus, and Jesus views and accepts us as such.

Jesus did not say we are gifts to Him if we are pleasant or doing great things with our lives, or if we manage our temporal pain and suffering well.  He accepts us as we are.  Perhaps it is this tremendous, unconditional love of Jesus for us and His magnanimous consideration of us as "gifts" given Him by God the Father, that causes us, at least some of us, to want to be as good of gifts as humanly possible.

And that broaches the problem we face as humans.  We cannot be marvelous gifts by our own doing and efforts.  We seem only to become better the more we become dependent to the tiniest of details, upon His Real Presence: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Furthermore, as gifts, He wants us to accept His love and His gift--bequeathed to us by Him--of peace.  He wants us to love Him and to be assured that He and the Father are One, and the Father loves us, and that He has sent the Holy Spirit to be with us ever since His Ascension, following our misunderstanding, persecuting, and killing Him.

Yes, it is all quite a lot to absorb...Jesus acknowledging to the Father that we are God's gift to Him.

The reality of what Jesus says and how He views us as gifts, changes temporal suffering, insecurities, and stresses to try to do this or that in order to please others and to please Him, into a peacefulness that approaches sweet death and release.   The push and the concerns are on hold, if not off the list. This present moment, this day, this hermit will bask in Jesus's considering it as God's gift to Him.  

Catholic Hermit Tuckered Out, Yet God's

Today this consecrated Catholic hermit is living up to its moniker as "nothing"--as in doing nothing, or not much.  Yet even though we may feel or think we are doing not much of anything of value or importance, we exist in His Real Presence.  We remain.  Remaining in His Love are Words the Word of Life repeats often in the Gospel of John.

It is a very good command, piece of advice, admonition, or whatever we can attempt in trying to depict God's Words to us.  Truth, it seems, might be the best.  He speaks Truth:  Remain in My Love.

So this hermit is remaining in His Love today while otherwise not doing much of anything physical...other than breathing, thinking, writing, reading, drinking, eating, existing in this tiny cell of Te Deum Hermitage.

Just plum tuckered out, am.  For the last few days have been working the earth.  Some spots have quite a bit of sandy soil with small, gravelly stones.  There has been a dearth of rain other than some sprinkles, so the hose has been put to good use, and the well water is holding--well, rather well.

This morning did read the fifth homily of Pseudo-Macarius.  He continues to exhort, with lots of Scriptural backing, the good and the why and the wherefore of detaching from temporal loves in order to love God above all else and to, thus, remain in His Love.

A friend emailed, saying she found it a bit disturbing to read and understand because if people all detached from temporal loves, wouldn't it be rather an unloving and non-interactive existence?  So she was going to re-read the sermon.  Good!

There is such good in this sermon, such truth!  And, when reading it, one begins to experience the validity of the Scriptures and what Jesus means in His Words.  When we detach from our temporal attachments and loves, it is to attach to God's Love.  Thus, in His Love, remaining in His Love--the Father and Christ make their abode in us, and the Holy Spirit binds and flows the love, both and all.

So we love with His Real Presence's Love, not our temporal loves, not our temporal attempts at what we think might be love, and not with attachment to our or others temporal loves.

It seems very important for us to grasp this truth about loving God above all else and detaching from temporal loves.  There is nothing really wrong about it, or askew.  At first this hermit thought perhaps Pseudo-Macarius was going to explain that detaching from temporal love and attaching to God's love, was for those called to consecrated life or holy orders.  But no, Macarius is preaching the Living Word of God, and he cites Jesus, through and through.  This is for everyone:  Love God in Himself.

When we remain in His Love, when we love Him above all else and detach from the temporal loves that do indeed hinder us from His Love, then we lose our willfulness toward what we have attached ourselves to, in love, of the temporal--and we become at home and attached into the Love of His Real Presence.

Maybe it is kind of like a projector, and God projects His perfect love through us to all else, once we detach from trying to project our imperfect love of temporal persons and things and places.  Just let go, and remain in His Love.  Let His Love be the attachment.  Then all else will flow with perfect love, and we will lose our will into His perfect, loving will.

Consider how it might be to have His projection of His perfect Love reflecting in and through us, like light, casting love onto others, things, and places as if they are images on the screen of life past, present, and future.  How could we then find enemies repulsive?  How would we then have concern over our daily existences and temporal cares?  God's perfect love does not fear or worry; His Love is peace, wisdom, truth, goodness, beauty.  Remaining in His Love projects Him, not us.

Temporal loves hinder us because of attachment to self, self-love.  When we become His Love, the self dissolves into Him, and His is the love; He is the attachment--the only one we ever needed or need, forever.  His Love flows and fills, then, the spiritual, as well as overflows the temporal for as long as our temporal parts are in the temporal.

Perhaps there is a section to share from Pseudo-Macarius' 5th sermon out of 50.  Might share some bits of the treasure in another blog post.

God bless His Real Presence in us, and us in Him!  Let us love one another--through, with, and in Him.  Detach from our temporal loves, and attach to His Love.  Therein is perfect love and our freedom from all temporal hindrances.  In His perfect Love, the projection and perception change all.

His Living Word

Severe pain presents itself in the Order of the Present Moment.  Low back is on fire like hot embers consistently burning and then with eruptions of sparks into flames, spontaneously, from time to time. No wonder the high level spinal headache yesterday, tenacious against any medications.

How challenging to attempt conversations in which one person asks about our lives, but when we ask about theirs, the other remains tight-lipped.  It is a way to control the situation and seems to be the result of some hurt or offense that was taken and is being held captive and not let go.

Thankfully, we have the Living Word of God in which to communicate and from which to receive communication.  If we remember to ask Jesus about His life, He will tell us.  He speaks to us of daily situations and of life in general. He speaks to us of souls and how to exist as souls, one with another and with Him.

His Living Word is glorious, per usual.  His Living Word is very much of the Order of the Present Moment and for all souls for all earth and all time.  These, His Words, come on the breath of the Holy Spirit.  He guides us, comforts us, teaches and chastises, truly present to each moment in our lives.  This is how God reaches into us.

Each person who reads His Living Words, the Scriptures of the Holy Bible, or who listens as others proclaim aloud, or who ponders the Word from memory of certain verses and content, is personally and individually touched, affected, altered by His Real Presence:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Despite all our unique flaws and personality quirks, the living Word of God communicates with us, in us, for us, without any passive aggression or control mechanisms.  He gives freely and openly of life-sustaining and life-altering, life and soul-improving Words.

Truly, this is a great gift from God and a marvel, an on-going, living miracle for everyone.

God bless His Real Presence in is!  Little children, as we are, let us love one another!