The Oasis of The Holy Family of Nazareth
Stillness - Activity -- The Balance
In fact Jesus and Mary were asking me to rely on
them utterly, to focus on them completely; they should be seen as the centre-point the pivot of my whole being. According to them to surrender to them really means to surrender, let them take over, turn to them instinctively with abandoment and trust. So -
how to focus on them ? Very clearly, linked with the initial opening of our heart,was the necessity of discovering an inner stillnesss; a taking time to disentangle oneself for a while each day from the speed, the stresses and strains of routine living, to
focus as clearly as possible on them. Holy Spirit talked to me one evening about this:-
" God himself is stillness, and that stillness must be seen in depth to appreciate the fullness of his Being. Within the stillness he exists in total Being, and extends beyond that total Being into a sphere of motion and action.
To know God in fullness one must know him in stillness,with a knowledge that one is part of that Godhead in one's own stillness, and that the capacity to be still forms the pivot of our lives, a point from which we move outwards into motion and action, drawing always on that inner strength which is the source of our active energy. Energy is to be found in essence in stillness and this stillness is the fundamental essence of our existence because it is the very Heart of the Godhead, The Godhead must be realized as this, and within this concept we must incorporate ourselves so that the ultimate union will centre on a point of stillness."
According to Jesus and Mary this attempt to find real stillness, and so find our soul and God, must incorporate frequent meditation and prayer. As Mary says:-
" Pray, pray, pray, for everyone in the world, that way your day will not be wasted......try never to waste a moment of the day, put it to constructive use through prayer. Offer every single thing you do - exercise, work, ret even sleep - a life of love and prayer.
According to Holy Spirit it is prayer that allows us to receive Grace. As he says:-
"When I talk of prayer I mean the real activity of the heart and soul which allows the individual to be submerged in an ongoing actualizaion of deep power on a level beyond normal acceptance. You see when we pray we are entering into a large reception of grace which allows us to perceive a whole reality beyond our normal perception."
According to Jesus, Mary and Holy Spirit, Grace is a wonderful gift. Mary explained to me that it was because she was full of Grace that she was so receptive to God's word at the Annunciation. She told me:-
"Grace, Maureen, is an incumbent state of well-being which allows the individual to actualise the most important activities in terms of enlightenment. Its real activity is to supplement the force of willpower, in as much as it can supercede any function of the will to create a dominant reaction to a total conception of the world"
Grace then enlightens us to think and with great clarity and truth- obviously in a totally positive way. It is as if Love is opening us up to share more fully in God's perception. We become tuned in to the perfect wave length.
The stillness is essential, but the movement needs to be there too. As Jesus and Mary repeatedly told me, the prayer and the Love must spill over to others in all activity. Activity is to be seen as a means of communication with others. Others are to be as much of our existence as myself, and this outward movement, this involvement with others, will develop the energy. As Mary says:-
".......please persevere in prayer and Love- keep your heart always open. It is a loving heart
and needs much love to utilize it to the full. Be active in your Love; this will develop your energies as they need developing. Positive thinking is all about God. We must incorporate others into this positive thinking" .
Often Jesus and Mary warned about the dangers of the Ego. Quite early in the discussions Mary told me:-
".......the motives must be right- it must never be a question of beng better than anyone else- it is a question of :- how good can I be ?"
Jesus and Mary were constanly sympathetic in their approach.. They know just how difficult is this squashing of the ego. Never do they demand perfection, they allow many lapses. They know very well too that endurance, courage, trust and a strong sense of humour are required if one is to make any headway at all. Throughout this whole experience, their sense of closeness, comfort and reassurance has predominated. On one occasion, when I had no doubt made a complete mess of my day and was feeling particulary dejected,Mary was there to assure me that things were not really so bad, and that I was being very brave. She went on to talk at some length about courage - here is part of her explanation:-
"....... I know we repeatedly talk of courage, but courage is the mainspring of our meaningful activities when its centre is Love, and Love is all powerful, and so contains a certain element of this courage......"
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