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24658 |
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Date: November 27, 2023 at 23:12:51
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Obeying the Call to Love |
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Obeying the Call to Love
Carlo Carretto (1910–1988) was a member of the Little
Brothers of Jesus, a community of contemplatives who
lived and worked among the poor in Northern Africa.
Carretto reflects on the call that inspired him to give
up his comfortable life in Italy:
When I was forty-four years old, there occurred the
most serious call of my life: the call to the
contemplative life. I experienced it deeply—in the
depth which only faith can provide and where darkness
is absolute—where human strength can no longer help.
This time I had to say “yes” without understanding a
thing. “Leave everything and come with me into the
desert. It is not your acts and deeds that I want; I
want your prayer, your love.”…
“Come with me into the desert.” There is something much
greater than human action: prayer; and it has a power
much stronger than human words: love.
And I went into the desert. [1]
Passing through a desert village on his way to a time
of solitude, Carretto met a man named Kada who needed a
blanket. Although he had two, Carretto did not share.
The next night, Carretto dreamed that he was pinned
under a boulder and unable to move, a terrible feeling
he described as “purgatory.”
“You will be judged according to your ability to love”
this place [in the Sahara] reminds me insistently. And
my eyes, burnt by the sun, gaze up into the cloudless
sky.
I don’t want to deceive myself any more; indeed I am
not able to. The truth is that I did not give my
blanket to Kada, for fear of the cold night. And that
means that I love my own skin more than my brother’s,
while God’s commandment tells me: “Love the life of
others as you love your own.”…
God does not hurry over things; time is [God’s], not
mine. And I, little creature, a man, have been called
to be transformed into God by sharing [God’s] life. And
what transforms me is the charity which [God] pours
into my heart.
Love transforms me slowly into God.
But sin is still there, resisting this transformation,
knowing how to, and actually saying “no” to love.…
To have resisted love, not to have been capable of
accepting the demand of this love which said to me,
“Give the blanket to your brother,” is so serious that
it creates an obstacle between me and God and this is
my purgatory.
What’s the use of saying the Divine Office well, of
sharing the Eucharist, if one is not impelled by love?
What’s the use of giving up everything and coming here
to the desert and the heat, if only to resist love?...
“You will be judged according to your ability to love,”
says the great stone under which I spent my purgatory
waiting for perfect love to grow within myself, that
which Jesus brought to earth for me….
May that day not be far off. [2]
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Responses:
[24663] [24666] [24667] [24670] [24674] [24668] |
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24663 |
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Date: November 28, 2023 at 11:55:42
From: Elaine, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love |
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Responses:
[24666] [24667] [24670] [24674] [24668] |
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24666 |
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Date: November 28, 2023 at 12:33:51
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love... |
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Love transforms me slowly into God.
...isn't that really what life is all about on the earth
plane?
It's not the material things that we take with us after
this life, it's the lessons we've learned and the love
we've shared.
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Responses:
[24667] [24670] [24674] [24668] |
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24667 |
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Date: November 28, 2023 at 14:36:32
From: Elaine, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love... |
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One of the reasons I love the movie "Groundhog Day". Someone estimated the main character had to live that day thousands of years-worth over and over again to get this message right.
I do believe in the bible. I have accepted Jesus as my savior. But I'm rare in that I also believe in reincarnation. No way do we get "just one chance to get it right".
I'm thankful for what Christ did for me. I need a break! lol
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Responses:
[24670] [24674] [24668] |
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24670 |
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Date: November 28, 2023 at 22:09:05
From: Chuckles, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love... |
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Was just talking to someone yesterday about how there
are few Christians who believe in reincarnation. Edgar
Cayce did an incredible service to those Christians who
had no fear of expanding their awareness into the
Esther's, the edge of this world and our true home.
Even the Boy Who Saw True, for the few who have read
his diary, were given knowledge of reincarnation.
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Responses:
[24674] |
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24674 |
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Date: November 29, 2023 at 09:58:46
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love... |
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Why would Christ "prescribe" the principles of
reincarnation for Himself to accomplish his Mission and
deny same to His most sacred creation?
If becoming "Christlike" is one of the main goals of our
"spirit", reincarnation is an obvious tool in that
direction.
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Responses:
None |
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24668 |
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Date: November 28, 2023 at 15:33:30
From: Nevada, [DNS_Address]
Subject: Re: Obeying the Call to Love... |
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I've come to believe that if understanding and
practicing love" is the "main" takeaway for Christ's
mission on earth, then for most of us, reincarnation is
a "necessity", not a theory.
The journey from "an eye for an eye" to universal love
and respect for creation and our creator is rarely
achieved in a single lifetime...
...at least not for me.
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Responses:
None |
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