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Sacred
Companions Sacred Community brings to light the long hidden
teachings of Clare of Assisi, the companion, and oft-times, teacher of
Francis of Assisi. Clare teaches us how to live in peace with our
companions on this earth; through intimacy, friendship, and in
community.
Following Clare
we enter into a practical and sacred journey of healing and holy
companionship, addressing the longing inside each of us as we traverse
this earth in search of love.
This book is a
great companion itself. It is timely, as we all seek the wisdom in
bringing ourselves together as a greater community on this earth,
learning how to live and love together in the name of the sacred.
Meditations
throughout the book will allow you to enter your own journey of
contemplation and companionship, as a single person, in relationship,
or as a community.
“A book
like this can-and will-move you beyond any ‘birdbath Franciscanism’
into a spirituality that is for women and men, for celibates and
partnered, for extroverts and introverts, for people with souls and
bodies, and even people both Christian and non Christian.”
-Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
Available
through:
Amazon.com
Barnes and Noble Bookstores
If you would like a
signed copy please email:
clarepilgrimage@yahoo.com
See Workshop page for
Assisi Pilgrimage Details
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Book Excerpt
Before The Beginning
When she began to feel the first stirrings of holy love,
she judged that the
passing scene of worldly pride should be condemned, being taught by the
unction of the Spirit to place a worthless price upon worthless things.
—The Lady, 282
As we enter into a maturity of being, our awareness of how we wish to
live becomes more acute. We have learnt from past experience things we
do not wish to repeat and situations we choose not to entertain. There
is wisdom in foreseeing an entanglement that is not desirable for the
soul’s growth, and even greater wisdom in following this understanding.
Clare, at a young age, had a “holy knowing” of how she wished to live
her life and a definite resolve about what she did not want to do.
She reminds us in the Second Letter to Agnes (Early Docs, 40),
to“always remember your resolution and be conscious of your beginning.”
How often do we decide on a new way of behavior and then, while the
resolve is still fresh upon our lips, find ourselves once more living
that same old pattern? Remember your resolution and walk away. Be
conscious of your beginning; that is, return to your purity of thought,
word, and action. Return to the very sacredness of your being. How
easily we fall into our lower nature, and yet this nature is a mere
shadow of our spiritual potential, and it provides only temporary
satisfaction. Read more (PDF)
Book Excerpt
Silent
Times
Do not wonder at all or think that the fire
of love for you glows with less delight … No,
this is the difficulty: the lack of messengers
and the obvious dangers of the road.
—The Lady, 54
“Speech is of time; silence is of eternity.” These are the words of an
anonymous contemporary Poor Clare sister. She also writes, “Silence is
the ever-available but seldom-possessed treasure of those who are wise
enough and humble enough to receive it” (Interior Prayer, Archival
Material, Little Portion Friary, Long Island, NY). Through this wisdom
and humility, we are taken into the eternal silence, into the infinite
spaciousness, where no form or image exists. This is the place of deep
rest. Only as we return to time and place, must shapes and colors and
words appear, to reflect, ever so dimly, our experience.
In the letter quoted at the opening of this chapter, Clare reassures
Agnes that the infrequency of her correspondence does not indicate a
lack of love. She points to the common hindrance in those times of
unreliable modes of delivery. I, however, invite an internal,
metaphorical reading of the second sentence of this passage: that is,
we may be encountering an internal danger of wandering from the Spirit,
and the soul may need to be taken into its core of self-knowledge and
healing. Alternatively, we may be entering the eternal depths of
space.... Read more (PDF)
Published by New World Library
www.newworldlibrary.com
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Falling into the Arms of God makes the life and work
of Saint Teresa of Avila accessible to a contemporary audience. Simply
written, it allows deep spiritual truths to be accessed and
incorporated into daily living, with particular emphasis on integrating
contemplative and active practices.
It begins with a brief introduction to Teresa's life,
including biographical information drawn from Megan Don's studies and
travels to the monastery in Spain. The body of the book contains
chapters divided into "seven dwellings," as described in Teresa's
mystical writings. Teresa described the soul as a crystal castle with
many rooms, or dwellings, to be entered as one seeks the inner mansion,
the dwelling place of God. Each passage is accompanied by an
explanation of the lessons it may hold for today's reader, and a guided
meditation. See excerpts below.
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THE
MYSTICAL REALITY-- Book
Excerpt 1
“Oh
children
of
the
earth! How long will you
be hard of heart?” (CW vol.I, 445)
These words were spoken to Teresa by God when she was
questioning the authenticity of her mystical experiences. In probing
the nature of reality, we tend to gravitate towards the theory that the
common experience should dictate our own: “After all, this is what the
majority of people are living and experiencing, therefore it must be
true.” But what of the rare mystical experience? The validity of such
an encounter needs to be recognized for what it is: a divine gift of
love, which expands the human soul, enabling it to comprehend a greater
reality. Read More (PDF)
TRUE
LOVE -- Book Excerpt 2
“… those whom God brings to a certain
clear knowledge
love very differently… this clear knowledge is about the
nature of the world, that there is another world… that the
one is eternal and the other a dream…” (CW vol.II, 62)
Our world is besotted with love. No matter where we turn –
to popular or religious culture, or to psychological or new age
theories – love is the key factor. We are all searching and yearning
for love, whether to replace a love lost or to find a love never before
felt. Most people have a place deep within that is aching to be loved.
Some acknowledge this, some bury it in their work or addictions, while
others are disappointed with the love they are experiencing. Love
entices us all, and yet it seems to elude us just as quickly. What is
this thing called love? Where is the true love that many of us
instinctively know exists? For most, it has been relegated to an
unrealistic dream world, as practicality and dependency have
overshadowed the realm of magic and aliveness felt when we first
glimpse another’s soul. Could it be that we have confused dream and
reality and have settled for an illusory state of love? According to
Teresa, this is so, and she reached out to remind us of the clarity of
being that is necessary to understand the true and perfect love. Read More (PDF)
