“We discover the soul,” says Richard Rohr. “We don’t go there to make ourselves holy; we wake our souls up. We’re already united with God; the problem is, we don’t believe it. . . We continually try to be good people. In reality we are not always good, but we are holy . . . we’re holy because we came forth from God.” Simplicity Page 93.
We were born in holiness; we were already holy in God when we came to earth. That’s who we were before we were born—we were holy—and that’s who we were when we were born; before we did anything good or bad, we were holy. And that’s who we still are; we are holy. This is what really is.
“The best definition I know for contemplation,” Richard Rohr tells us, “is as follows: Contemplation is a long loving look at what really is.” Simplicity Page 92.
The practise of the art of contemplation for the Christian begins with small steps. It requires first of all a discipline of daily attendance at a time of prayer. We have to discover a routine through which we can find God and hear God’s voice. Through Bible reading, spiritual reading, and prayer, we come to know God’s loving purpose for us and begin to remember the holiness with which we were born, who we were before we came into the world, and who we really are now.
Who we really are now is “holy”. Don’t be afraid to claim this holiness that is God’s gift to each one of us.
© Judith Lawrence
2 comments:
Judith,
I like this - knowing we are holy to start with and then getting closer to knowing God while here on earth. It isn't easy but I agree that studying His Word, prayer and meditation bring us closer and closer to wisdom.
And when we mess up to know that we are still holy - that is cool.
Thanks and many blessings,
Jan
Thanks Jan for taking the time to comment. I began to be aware of holiness as something within us from the beginning of our lives a few years ago. Then, recently, I came upon these same thoughts in the writing of Richard Rohr. What a wonderful gift God has given us, so much better than the "I am not worthy" that some people feel.
Blessings, Judith
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