I say nothing,
Nothing clever, insightful, nor penetrating,
I say nothing,no talking in tongues,
Tabitha, Tabitha, Tabitha,
Individuality smashed, unification usurping,
Be opened, be pure, authentic to birth,
Wake up sleeper, arise,
Appearing within uncreated light,
Revealing contrasted with creating,
And sweet anointing from Above.
Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, “Master, who is the one who will betray you?” When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus said to him, “What if I want him to remain until I come?
What concern is it of yours? You follow me.”
So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die.But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just “What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?”
REDEMPTION
After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them,
he said to Simon Peter,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my lambs.”
He then said to Simon Peter a second time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
He said to him, “Tend my sheep.”
He said to him the third time,
“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”
Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time,
“Do you love me?” and he said to him,
“Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.”
Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger,
you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted;
but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands,
and someone else will dress you
and lead you where you do not want to go.”
He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God.
And when he had said this, he said to him, “Follow me.”
Gospel of John 21:15-19
Opened, passing through,
Closed, a barrier blocking,
Ascension contrasted by assumption,
A key unlocking a handle less,
A time for being closed,
A time for opening,
Discerning proprietary,
And the existence of things,
Ways and means of a Creator,
Grace and understanding,
Divine Mercy standing before.
When we begin to realize that the darkness is light, and that ever so slowly the Lord of Love is fashioning in us the eyes to see, the dominant motif of our prayer becomes gratitude—gratitude even, and perhaps especially, for the trials which have previously caused us misery, since we now realize that it is precisely through these trials that the Lord is fashioning in us the resurrection man. And our greatest joy, our greatest expression of gratitude, is to be able to share with others the good news which we have learned: “Our purpose in writing you this is that our joy may be complete!” (1 John 1:4). –‘When the Well Runs Dry: Prayer Beyond the Beginnings’ Father Thomas H. Green, S.J.
Nothing is working, yet it is,
Expansion through decay,
Fertilization, fall, and dying leaves upon a tree,
Reparation, poetry unwritten, singing a song of silence,
Becoming soft, growing old,
Breathing in passing moments,
As it was, as it is, as it shall be,
God alone, God unknown,
Acceptance, things seen and unseen,
Apothatic, release within loving,
A wound left bleeding.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower.
He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit,
and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit.
You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you.
Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine,
so neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit,
because without me you can do nothing.
Anyone who does not remain in me
will be thrown out like a branch and wither;
people will gather them and throw them into a fire
and they will be burned.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you,
ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you.
By this is my Father glorified,
that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.”
Gospel of John 15
‘Spiritual pruning takes the form of letting God eliminate the vices in our lives so that the virtues can be properly nourished. This is especially done by letting Him humble us and strip away our pride. This can hurt, but the pain associated with being humbled by God is a key to spiritual growth. By growing in humility, we grow ever more reliant upon the source of our nourishment rather than relying upon ourselves, our own ideas and our own plans. God is infinitely wiser than us and if we can continually turn to Him as our source, we will be far stronger and better prepared to let Him do great things through us. But, again, this requires that we let Him prune us. —Catholic Daily Reflections: My Catholic Life website.
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