“The Miracles of the Church seem to me to rest not so much upon faces or voices or healing power coming suddenly near to us from afar off, but upon our perceptions being made finer, so that for a moment our eyes can see and our ears can hear what is there about us always.”
— Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop
For many, the presence of the Divine — if even acknowledged or thought about — seems to be non-existent or far off. Even much of Christianity talks about God’s presence on earth as a super-natural phenomenon unique in history.
But if God is All in All, then we are literally made out of God-Stuff, just as most of the atoms in our bodies have once been part of a star. There is no part of us that is not, at some level, in touch with the Divine nature of life.
Western thought tends to be in terms of objects and separation, and so it is with much of Western religious thought. But in the Eastern traditions, and in modern Western science, Wholeness is fundamental. The Absolute unfolds universes from within Itself while remaining unchanged; photons are simultaneously particles and waves; the Quantum Void fills empty space with energy and intelligence: All these spring from a reality where wholeness is primary and separation is illusory.
The above quote appeals to me because it describes what I feel is the point of spiritual development; to strengthen us and cleanse the windows of our perception so that we can appreciate life for what it really is.
The tools of inner development, such as meditation and liturgical work, have real effects on us and on our world. The Holy Eucharist, in particular, radiates a tremendous positive influence into the community and rewards our efforts with a grace that elevates our lives. More and more, we see what is there about us always; the beauty and power that animates the Land of Enchantment.
“…by Him were all things made, yea, all things both in heaven and earth; with Him as the indwelling Life do all things exist, and in Him as the transcendent Glory all things live and move and have their being…”
— The Liturgy according to the use of The Liberal Catholic Church
As a newly ordained Deacon, Fr. Clute giving his first Minor Benediction, under the watchful eyes of the Regionary Bishop, the Rt. Rev. William S.H. Downey, in Our Lady & All Angels LCC, Ojai, California, 17 January 1999.