THE POWER OF THE MIND

Saint Julian of Norwich

Anchoress

I went to mass yesterday for the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There was a visiting priest who spoke about beginning one's transformation into a person of Christ by starting with a turn of the mind to think well of others, such as the immigrant, the poor, etc. I appreciated his homily very much, as it spoke to my background as a contemplative nun.

Everything begins in the mind. Every action we take is an expression of something that has started in the mind. Whatever forms the basis of your overall value structure is going to be reflected in your actions.

To the degree to which our stated values differ from our actions is the degree to which our commitment to those values is deformed. In simplistic terms, if we say we are Christian, but we refuse to forgive our enemies and, instead, advocate for retaliation, our actions betray us, since they are in stark contradiction to the Christian values we espouse.

Yesterday, we awoke to news that Donald Trump had retaliated against another detractor by pulling his security clearance, a clear abuse of power that has come to be commonplace for this dictator wannabe whose brutal tactics and vulgar xenophobic, racist and misogynistic language have made the United States universally hated. Many of us no longer feel safe in America, thanks to this malignant narcissist and his fascist sycophants.

Also in the news was the shocking final result of the investigation into the pedophilia scandal of the Pennsylvania Catholic Church. Something like 300 priests violated more than 1,000 children, one as young as 18 months old! The priests were protected by the bishop and others. Reports of the incidents used code words like "boundary issues" to describe assaults and rapes. Horrific details of the violations of these children filtered out through multiple newscasts and reports, resulting in a chaos of grief and anger on social media and among my friends.

We have reached a dangerous point in our national history. We can no longer depend upon the government for stability, integrity, and the rule of law and, just when we most need the church to hold onto, we find that it, also, has been infiltrated by Satan. What can we do?

The very first thing to do is remind ourselves and one another that, while Satan has infiltrated our church, we cannot give up our hope. We cannot give up our faith. Christ is not diminished by the wolves in sheep's clothing that have savaged our children and marred the edifice of the institutional church in the process. Our faith is no less valid now than when it was given to us by Christ, and we must not judge our religion by the reprehensible acts of individuals who have failed to live up to its lofty aims.

In addition to practical measures that need to be taken to fight Satan where he has infiltrated our government and our religious institutions, we must continue to remind ourselves of Christ and to look upon the world with the eyes of Christ. We must continue to incline our minds toward the Lord and think as he does. Contemplation and meditation helps us do this.

This is a very simple practice. In a quiet place, sit comfortably erect, if you can, and meditate upon Christ. Just think of him and his qualities. Think upon him sitting in your heart, the center of your being. Establish the feeling of Him within yourself. Then, take a lesson from the Gospels in which Jesus has demonstrated a love for the poor, for instance, and adopt that love as your own, in your mind.

Think of Jesus sitting in your heart. Think upon his loving heart. His heart becomes your heart. Gaze upon the world from that perspective. That is it. Deceptively simple, but give it a try.  Even if you only have a few moments, try to do this practice whenever you can - preferably three times a day.

Our true foundation and all our stability comes entirely from Christ - not from our government or our religious institutions. We must continue to establish our entire being in Him and Him in us.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose