HOPE MONTH: DAY 21: “If you follow the will of God, you know that in spite of all the terrible things that happen to you, you will never lose a final refuge. You know that the foundation of the world is love, so that even when no human being can or will help you, you may go on, trusting in the One that loves you.” ― Pope Benedict XVI
The minute I read this quote, I wanted to do a rebuttal. First of all, because I was raised in Catholicism and have an instant attitude toward their dogma. The only thing I disagree with is the first sentence. I love the second sentence.
We who have not been so keen on following the will of God, on our way here, still have hope. We also have a final refuge, in case you did not know this. The judgments of our religious backgrounds can give us all a hurdle over which we must jump in this thing.
Then we have the judgments of our own ego, which tell us that, no matter how much Grace the Universe heaps on us, we are undeserving, blah, blah, blah. Like the Universe has made some cosmic mistake in reckoning our account. How arrogant is that???
And we already know that there is no human Power who could have redeemed our souls from the bar stools and dealers’ house.
So, as I see it, we either get Grace or we aren’t here to begin with. We cannot EVER deserve this thing. We can only accept it and go down the road as it is shown us, by following spiritual principles. We cannot see the end game here. We can only go one step at a time, one day at a time, waiting for the road to open in front of us.
But THAT is the Grace! We get to find the road. We get to come here and meet people who will lead us down the road as they have taken it. They won’t dictate our actions but will guide us in how they get what they have received here.
No rules, no threats, no hellfire and brimstone. That is not the deal here. We learn to be better people, but we don’t get good. We get peace and Grace and joy and real love, and the world responds by bringing us a better life than we could ever get by throwing our dishonesty, fear, ego and manipulation into the ring!
Dolphin Hug 