Teach me to pray ~ "Jesus appears before God on our behalf" Hebrews 9: 24

Christ did not enter into a sanctuary 

made by hands,

a copy of the true one, 

but heaven itself,

that he might now appear before God

on our behalf.

Hebrews 9:  24

Oh wow...Praise God, huh?

‘made by hands’

Our hands?

‘a copy of the true one’

How do I view ‘the true one’?

How do I hope ‘the true one’ is...might be...should be?

How do I work my hands to build a copy of God’s ‘true one’?

Why do I work to build a copy of God’s ‘true one’?

‘on our behalf’

THAT’S it!

‘on   our   behalf’

Oh wow...Praise God, huh?

‘on

our

behalf’

Read that again.

Please pray with me.

I raise Prayer Questions.

I find it is very easy 

  for these Prayer Questions 

                 to enter my mind

                 to enter my heart:

You really didn’t see me until now, God?

You really were not with me until now, God?

You really didn’t hear me until now, God?

You really didn’t understand me until now, God?

I anticipate Prayer Questions God raises:

You really didn’t see Me until now, My child?

You really were not with Me until now, My child?

You really didn’t hear Me until now, My child?

You really didn’t understand Me until now, My child?

Ah man…

I’m going somewhere some may challenge…

   That’s alright.

I’ve been challenged by others before.

   I hope I challenge my own thoughts and feelings 

   with as much vigor…

or simplicity…

   as another challenges me.

With that said…

Pray with me.

What is it like to interact with another in unconditional love?

Is unconditional love forgiveness?

My prayer explores these questions.  

I am kinda lost here.  

        Do I quote myself here or invite you to read earlier posts?

Garden of Eden

Triumph of the Cross

Transfiguration
  Canaanite Woman

Curing the Bethsaida Man

See, I feel with my whole being that God 'learned' as much about us while Emmanuel...

See, I hope with my whole being that I learned with my whole being about God while Emmanuel...

I think I’ll leave this here.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Peace.

Praying with the Lord's Prayer ~ The Genesis Story on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Part One

Ah man…

There is so much for me in this Genesis story.

We heard it on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.  Let’s read it again. 

When they heard the sound of the LORD God 
moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, 
the man and his wife 
hid themselves from the LORD God 
among the trees of the garden.


The LORD God then called to the man and asked him,

 “Where are you?”

He answered,

“I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”

Then he asked, 

“Who told you that you were naked?

The man replied,

 “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”

The LORD God then asked the woman,

“Why did you do such a thing?”

The woman answered, 

“The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

~ Genesis 3:  8-13

Now, I believe so whole heartedly 

our Triune God is all knowing.

I believe so whole heartedly

our Triune God is all forgiving.

I believe so whole heartedly

our Triune God is Love.

With that said,  ask someone to read this passage to you 

while your eyes are closed

while you’re aware of your heart beat

while you’re breathing is smooth and deep


Hear, again, Jesus asking, "How do you read it?"
~ Luke 10: 26
"What are you thinking in your heart?"
~ Luke 5:  22

Ask the person you invited to read this to you to sit next to you

Be aware that

your shoulders are touching

your bended knees are touching

Invite God to sit on the other side of you

Be aware that

your shoulders are touching

your bended knees are touching

 “Where are you?”

 

“I heard you in the garden;
but I was afraid, because I was naked,
so I hid myself.”

“Who told you that you were naked?

 “The woman whom you put here with me
she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it.”

“Why did you do such a thing?”

“The serpent tricked me into it, so I ate it.”

~ Genesis 3:  9-13

Be still your soul with this a while…

The three of you read this together…

hear the others’ voices sing this prayer

hear your voice sing this prayer

"Oh Thou, 

from whom the breath of life comes,

who fills all realms of sound, 

light 

and vibration.

May Your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.

Your Heavenly Domain approaches.

Let Your will come true - 

In the universe

 (all that vibrates)
just as on earth 

(that is material and dense).

Give us wisdom 

(understanding, assistance) 

for our daily need,

detach the fetters of faults that bind us,
like we let go the guilt of others.

Let us not be lost in superficial things

(materialism, common temptations),

but let us be freed 

from that what keeps us off 

from our true purpose.

From You comes the all-working will, 

the lively strength to act,
the song that beautifies all 

and renews itself from age to age.

Sealed in trust, 

faith 

and truth.
(I confirm with my entire being)

~ The Prayer To Our Father
(in the original Aramaic)

Who do the crowds say I AM ~ Remember Moses?

Moses meets God face to face.  Ah man…

Listen to the conversation they had.

Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.

So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned."

When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am."  Exodus 3

WARNING ~ tangent

One of my all time favorite movies is Prince of Egypt.  I am brought to tears everytime I see the Burning Bush scene.  God strokes Moses with the flames...gently...lovingly. Moses stands there entranced with God’s touch.  It is just  beautiful.  Moses feels God’s love...

Alright…

Alright…

Alright…

God introduces God’s self to Moses, “I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." 

Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt."  


But Moses said to God, 
"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" 
He answered, "I will be with you; 


ah man...THERE's an answer to Jesus' question, "who do you say I am?"!  I pray I will answer, "you are with me."


and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain." "But," said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' 


if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you."

I just can’t get over God telling Moses, “I AM”

And, today….Jesus asking, “Who do the crowds say I AM?”.

I have to tell you, I KNOW I left the punctuation off my statement :  I just can’t get over God telling Moses, “I AM”   See, I believe God waits for us to complete the I AM.  

I go back to The Garden.  We are told God created everything; yet, God asked The One to name everything.  Wow. God invites us to work with him in everything.  

I am seeing an amazing connection right now between God and The Word Incarnate within the simple, "I Am."  Whoa...it doesn't get more beautiful than this!

Sometimes, I realize I need God to be with me.  I hear God saying to me, “I AM with you.”
I can answer Jesus, "You are with me."

Sometimes, I realize I need to know God’s love.  I hear God saying to me, “I AM in love with you.”
I can answer Jesus, "You love me."

Sometimes, I realize I need God to hear me.  I hear God saying to me, “I AM all ears.”
I can answer Jesus, "You are heard."

Sometimes, I realize I need God…

And, now...Jesus asks us, “Who do you say I am…”
I pray I will answer Jesus 
when asked, “Who do you say I am?”.

I pray I will hear God when Jesus asks me, “Who are YOU?”.
I pray my actions will answer the question…

It is time for me to sit back...to feel my heart beat and sigh.

The Triumph of the Cross ~ In my prayer

I like the image of the Cross as the New Knowledge Tree. Jesus is the New Fruit, if you will. This time around we’re invited to eat of the fruit. As a Catholic man I accept the challenge to ingest...digest...knowledge everyday through the breaking of the Word..the breaking of the bread...Eucharist.

What do I do this time around with all this new knowledge?

In the Garden I hid from God. I blamed another for encouraging me to eat.

The early people did hide in the upper room. This time around...they hid from people they feared; not from God.

Again, God returns to us in the garden.

This time...one of the children was there because that child was looking for God...to anoint God...to be with God…

It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark,

when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb.

John 20: 1

God approached her with questions; like God approached the first people with questions.

“Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?'

Supposing him to be the gardener, she said, 'Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and remove him.'

Jesus said, 'Mary!'

She turned round then and said to him in Hebrew, 'Rabbuni!' -- which means Master.

John 20: 15 & 16

Today, we ~ the people in the garden ~ participate with God.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.

Through your goodness we have this bread to offer,

which earth has given and human hands have made.

It will become for us the bread of life.

Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation.

Through your goodness we have this wine to offer,

fruit of the vine and work of human hands.

It will become our spiritual drink.

My heart beats and I sigh

The Triumph of the Cross ~ In my life

We celebrated the Triumph of the Cross Feast earlier this week. Let's talk about the amazing experience we all share from...in...through the Cross. I want to explore this Tree of Knowledge, if you will, and the one in the Garden.

A prelude to the next journal entry.

Ah man...The Truimph of the Cross…

Texas Jeweler James Avery forged a pendant: the I Minus (a cross meaning "Others Come First, I Minus). My Aunt gave me one at my confirmation 34 years ago. I still wear it…

I tied three knots in a leather strap long enough to wrap my wrist three times. From there the I Minus hangs.

One knot is my Integrity Prayer: “Listen to the Word of God always. Feel the Word of God in my Heart. Speak the Word of God in my actions.”

Another knot is my Chastity Prayer: “Interact with another free of agenda. Interact with another as an expression of God’s Love. Greet another like Elizabeth hailed Mary. Hail another like Mary greeted Elizabeth.”

Another knot is my Poverty Prayer: “ God is everything. Everything is before me. My desire is God’s Love.”

One wrist wrap is God ~ the Altar.

One wrist wrap is the Word Incarnate ~ the Tabernacle.

One wrist wrap is The Holy Spirit ~ the Transubstantiation.

Be with me…

I breathe and my heart sighs...

Show me how to pray

Jesus is the Word Incarnate. Jesus is God made flesh. God manifested as human in Jesus. That’s Truth for me.

For too long, I couldn’t get a grasp on what I saw as major flaws in that truth as presented in Jesus’ Good News and God’s interactions with us before the Incarnation. I decided I needed to simplify Jesus’ Good News; define “good news.”

Warning ~ TANGENT!

Great little book: NOT QUITE WHAT I WAS PLANNING six-word memoirs by famous & obscure writers. The challenge presented to the contributors as outlined in the introduction was “submit short, short life stories for a contest - a battle of brevity.”

Over dinner with friends ~ amazing things happen over dinner, ask Fr. Bill Faiella or his book, Sharing Meals Heals: An Italian 'Menu' For Inner Peace ~ I read my favorite Six-Word Memoir to my guests, Colin Stanton’s “He knew her bruises would fade.”

So, what’s Colin’s story? One could suggest he is a wife beater. Another could suggest he is a compassionate father talking about his daughter’s bruised heart after the love of her 12 year old life said, “Let’s be friends.” How ‘bout a younger brother sharing his thoughts to his sister after her fall from a tree?

I suggest we do the same thing with our Triune God. Each of us will read into the Word the Truth closest to our experience. Be Free!!!! I wonder if this is what The Ignatian Exercises might be about?

OK where was I?

Oh yeah...What is the Good News for me? three words: GOD IS LOVE.

The simplicity brought me to prayer...I find God is Love everywhere. Praise God.

I find prayer practice in this Old Testament story. (does someone have better terms for me than Old Testament and New Testament?) Please tell me what you think.

Warning ~ TANGENT!

I was on retreat once. The leader asked us to “tell the story of (prescribed scriptural passage).” Each of us grabbed our Bibles. He asked us to put them away, “You know the story. Just tell us.” He suggested that we will remember from years of hearing the story and reading the story what we remember because THAT is what we get from it; perhaps, THAT is what we need to get from it...THAT is what we need to explore further...kinda like the first tangent in this entry?

Yet, here I go copying directly from The Jerusalem Bible rather than just telling you the story...

Genesis 3:8-13

The (One) and (the Other One) heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. But Yahweh God called to the (two). 'Where are you?' (Yahweh God) asked. 'I heard the sound of you in the garden,' (The One) replied. 'I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.' 'Who told you that you were naked?' (Yahweh God) asked. 'Have you been eating from the tree I forbade you to eat?'

The (One) replied, 'It was the (Other One) you put with me; (that) gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then Yahweh God said to the (Other One), 'Why did you do that?' The (Other One) replied, 'The snake tempted me and I ate.'

Whew...I am first struck by God walking around in the day’s coolness. This EVEN after knowing what the first two people were doing ~ God is all-knowing. I find this to be the first evidence of God is all-forgiving. God is Love.

God invites us to pray, regardless of what we do/did, “Where are you?”

I hope I never hide from God in my sin when I hear God ‘walking in the garden.’ I hope I will always answer God’s question honestly regardless of how hard the answer might be.

God continues in prayer, “Who told you that you were naked?"

Now...work with me here...I wonder if the original sin might...just might...be found here (if in-fact Original Sin is more than tradition): The one blamed the other. No responsibility owned. Oh my gosh...wow...sit back…

Later let’s talk about God’s Will as Jesus. I suggest: maintain integrity to the message ~ God is Love ~ regardless of how We are received…’even to death. Death on a cross.’

God keeps asking questions and I keep making excuses for my behavior. Instead of engaging, I 'hide in the garden's trees.'

I wonder what could happen if ‘when I eat of the Knowledge Tree’s Fruit’ I answer God, “Whoa...I know I am naked now. Be with me so I use it best. Help me to be with You especially now. I have all this new knowledge. What do I do now?” Imagine if I were to run toward God with my questions rather than hide…

Oh my gosh...wow...sit back...breathe...feel my heart beat and sigh…

This is too much. I’ll digest this for awhile and get to another story later. If you want to work with me, here are two stories: The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11: 1-8 for those of us not quite ready to trust how we hold the story in our hearts) and when Abraham talks with God about Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18 starting with line 20.

Peace...let's sit back…feel our hearts beat and sigh