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God’s Mystery Tour
It is the mystery of God for each person to seek for the gift and to obtain the gift of perfect love. A love that is already within one’s soul. One need only turn to it and follow it and thus save him or her self. Jesus Christ stands within the door of one’s own soul, calling one’s own name, proclaiming total truth and pointing the way to salvation. It is one’s own decision to turn to our Lord and answer this call. Then by believing in the truth one will save him or her self. God has done everything He is going to do. He created one and gave one a world in which to live. He gave one an intellect to help one discern how to live in peace and find truth. Then He entered this world and taught mankind how to find God and was crucified for His efforts. He does not need to do anything else. One must make the decision him or her self to bring God into his or her own life. Once one makes this decision Jesus Christ will come to His lost child and help him or her. Those who have self love and materialistic love constantly need help, while those who have a perfect love have already received all the help they need. Remember, only Jesus Christ, His Holy Mother Mary or the angels and saints can help one free him or her self from self love and the love of materialism and materialistic goals and desires. One cannot do it on his or her own. A true child of God will not hesitate to ask them for help. One has perfect love already in one’s own soul. This means that one has enough spiritual strength within him or her self to fight off every temptation of the evil one. The grace of God awakens this awareness within one’s soul. One only needs to keep his or her thoughts fixed upon God and His law of love when temptation is near and he or she will overcome all sin. One will stay in this perfection until one takes his or her attention off our Lord and His law. Then one will begin to lose grace. The more grace a person loses, the farther away from perfect love he or she falls. One may say that with the loss of grace one’s soul shifts toward the red, while with the gain of grace one’s soul shifts toward the violet and then clear, white light with the obtainment of perfect love. In order to obtain perfect love back again, one must die to him or her self and the pleasures of this limited three-dimensional existence. That is, one must begin to live a life of love to God. Love is all you need. This dying to oneself is done in any number of ways and is more than dying to oneself when receiving absolution for one’s sins. In absolution (the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance) one is admitting his or her sin before God, and in the other (admitting one’s worthlessness), one is divesting him or her self of all self love and the love of materialism. This latter is accomplished by placing the needs of one’s neighbor above one’s own desires. This is laying down one’s life for God. The method a person uses to lay down his or her life for God would depend upon his or her own age, martial status, family dependency, health and things of this nature. For example, those who are in ill health or have family members depending on them would not choose the same method as those who are in good health or those who are single or without any parental obligations. One should not worry about such trivial matters, for Jesus Christ will take care of everything. All one needs to do is turn to our Lord and completely surrender his or her life to Him by praying that the will of God should prevail in his or her heart at all times. If one is honest in his or her surrender, if one follows a logical, rational course of action in everything one does and if one does not lose sight of their final goal — to love all — then God will not let one down. He will be there in times of need. God is in absolute control of everything in this world. One may obtain a better idea of how God controls this world by observing how a master chess player completely controls a chess board when competing against an amateur. Every move the amateur makes is in “check” by the master. So also is it with God. Every thought that enters a person’s mind is in check by our Lord. Just as a master chess player can offer sacrifices or make threats in order to get the amateur to move to a certain position at a certain time, so also our Lord can get mankind to do the will of the Father. He can inspire a child of God. He can offer materialistic goals to someone or He can introduce fear of breaking the law into a person’s mind in order to get a person to do the will of God. Just as a master chess player must limit the movement of his or her opponent’s pieces in order to give his or her own pieces more freedom to move, so also must our Lord limit the thoughts and activities of those who break the law in order to give the children of God more freedom. This limitation is actually a form of protection for those who break the law. Does one allow an infant child to play with matches or does one prevent such freedom of play in order to protect the child? The same is true with God. He does not allow those who break the law complete freedom in thought in order to protect them. This is because a sinful and loveless individual becomes a slave to evil. Evil becomes his or her master and prevents him or her from perceiving truth and justice. Such an individual cannot be allowed to control all their own thoughts and actions for he or she may harm him or her self or may harm someone else. A classic example of how evil can cause destruction was in the construction of the R.M.S. Titanic. The owners wanted to build a ship that was unsinkable. God allowed their evil will to control its construction. Their greed for money and power caused them to build a ship with inferior steel and with limited construction in the water tight bulkheads. Then again on her maiden voyage their greed for fame and prestige caused them to ignore warnings of icebergs. They did not care for truth and justice and in the end fifteen hundred innocent people (about two/thirds of those on board) perished in the icy waters of the North Atlantic. Nor is this limitation an infringement upon a person’s free will. For just as an amateur chess player is free to move anywhere on the chess board, so also are all mankind free to do as they please. A master chess player offers an opponent a sacrifice or threatens an opponent with superior force. The master does not force the amateur to move, but allows the amateur to move where he or she will. The same is true with God. He does not force anyone to do His will. He offers man materialism or threats of violating the law and allows mankind to do as they will. Those who insist upon breaking the law, our Lord will decide the circumstances under which they will break the law (how, when, where, who will be effected, etc.). However, when one confesses his or her sins and begins to accomplish his or her works with love and in a logical, rational manner, then our Lord can allow one more freedom of thought. God does not have to place the thoughts of one of His children in constant check. For our Lord knows that His child will not destroy either him or her self or someone else. The more love of God and man one has, the greater control over his or her own life and over his or her own thoughts our Lord grants such a soul. Also, the easier it is for Jesus Christ to get such a soul to do more good deeds. It follows, that the one who loves the most perceives the most, has the better understanding of life and has the most freedom. One may liken God to a computer software program with many doors and windows. Behind each door or window are many secrets of His kingdom. Those who have perfected their love of God are able to utilize all the doors and windows, for they are able to enter the interior hallway. This main entrance or gateway allows access to the entire kingdom. Those who love themselves more than they love God are still able to enter many doors and windows but because they have not entered the innermost mansion or castle of their soul, they do not have access to the entire kingdom. Their access to God is limited, for they limited their love while alive in the physical world. The more love one has, the more he or she wants to help his or her neighbor find truth — be it history, science, math, art, religion, music, social studies or whatever the subject. One with perfect love will force him or her self by his or her own love of God and man to try to help those who are lost and blind. The only pain one with perfect love feels is the pain of seeing his or her neighbors sinning and hurting themselves, to see their helplessness and to see that they do not understand. Such a soul’s only question will be why it is so hard to convince his or her peers that truth is in all mankind, that truth can be found if one only looks for it. The less love one has the farther away from the innermost mansion one’s soul dwells. In order to get back into perfect love again one one must shift toward the violet and then clear light. That is, must increase his or her humility and decrease his or her pride. Upon gaining perfect love again, one shares the perfect joy of Jesus Christ. A soul in perfect love becomes so completely absorbed in and by God that the two become as one being. Hence, those souls in perfect love are, as it were, Gods, knowing all good.
A soul in perfect love is completely one with God; it is the image and likeness of Him. As God is, so also is man’s soul a trinity (1Jn.4:17). One may say that God photocopies Himself each time He creates another human being. However, one must not forget that God is the original; each person is merely a copy. There is the soul’s spiritual head or mind, which is one with the Father. There is the soul’s spiritual body or heart, which is one with the Son. Finally, there is a person’s own spirit or will, which is one with the Holy Spirit. The spiritual head directs the spiritual body, for the body (or heart) proceeds from the head (or mind). But both the mind and the heart direct the spirit, for it flows from them both. However, all three “persons” of one’s soul are equal in authority and subject to our Lord, the Headmaster over all. Hence, one’s soul consists of three separate but equal beings, all of which are of the same personality, the personality of he or she who possesses the soul. A person’s soul is not exclusively male nor is it exclusively female. One could say that one’s soul is both sexes. One could say that one’s soul is animus, masculine and one’s soul is also anima, feminine. The same is true regarding God. As an analogy, one could say that the Father (one’s spiritual head) is positive or male, the Son (one’s spiritual body) is negative or female and the Holy Spirit (one’s own spirit) is neutral. Additionally, it is just as true to say “in the name of the Mother and of the Daughter and of the Holy Spirit” as it to say “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” One could also say “in the name of the Husband and of the Wife and of the Holy Spirit.” The traditional Sign of the Cross given by our Lord (Mt.28:19) reflected the customs of mankind at the time. But today one knows that neither sex is superior to the other sex. They are equal and both are needed for procreation of the species. Jesus Christ does not support a sexist theology. One should not forget that He exalted and chose a woman to be the instrument through which He entered this world and He chose to be a member of the male sex because the Jews at that time were a patriarchal society. The Trinity of God, (1Jn.5:5-7) in whose image and likeness one’s soul is created to resemble, consists of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Father (or First Person) directs the Son (or Second Person), for the Son proceeds from the Father. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ, who is the Second Person, said that the Father is greater than I (Jn.14:26-28). Both the Father and the Son direct the Holy Spirit (or Third Person), for it proceeds from them both. However, all three persons of the Blessed Trinity are equal in authority, for they are of one nature. One may better understand the trinity of God (or the trinity of one’s own soul) through observation of a combination lock that has three numbers needed to unlock it. All three numbers must be dialed in the correct sequence in order to open the lock. Hence, the second number flows from the first, while the third number proceeds from both the first and second numbers. All three numbers are equal, for they are all needed in order to open the lock. Yet all three numbers, although separate and unique, are of one combination. Hence, there are three separate and unique but equal numbers in the one combination. The same is true with our Lord. There are three separate and unique but equal persons in one God. Just as there are three distinct persons in the one God, so too are the children of God (1Jn.5:8), for one’s soul is made to God’s image and likeness (Gen.1:26). Each human being has one soul that consists of three distinct “beings.” These are the spiritual head or mind, the spiritual body or heart and one’s own spirit or will, all of which are of one personality — one’s own personality. The relationship among these three beings is unique. In the gospel of St. John Jesus Christ reveals the nature of the relationship among the soul’s spiritual head, spiritual body and one’s own will.
In a dream our Lord revealed the same thing to the patriarch Jacob and then promised him that through him all the earth would be blessed.
What Jacob saw in his dream and what our Lord described to the apostles is what the angels do in heaven and what the children of God do upon gaining entrance there. That is, one’s spirit ascends from the spiritual body to the spiritual head. It remains there for a while before descending back to the heart. After a while the process is repeated. Separating the mind and the heart (the head and the body) is what one could call an unlocked, open door or open window. Which is to say that there is nothing to hinder the will or spirit from passing from the spiritual head to the spiritual body and back again and again. When one’s spirit is with the body one experiences many joys, consolations, ecstasies and other gifts from the Father. Here one adores God and acknowledges his or her unworthiness to be with Jesus Christ and receive such pleasures. Then passing into the head one perceives all the glory of our Lord and praises Him and His great mercy. The amount of pleasure one receives and praise one gives is proportional to the amount of love one manifested while alive in the physical world. The greater the love, the greater the pleasure one receives and the greater praise one gives. One should note that those individuals in mortal sin may be said to have a closed, locked door or locked window separating the head from the body. Their spirits cannot cross the chaos that separates the two (Lk.16:19-26). Their spirits exist with neither the head nor with the body and they cannot bind together. Hence, the three are in complete misery. One’s own existence in the physical world provides an excellent example of this ascending and descending; it provides a good analogy. Everything that one experiences in the physical world can — and is — experienced by one in one’s dreams. Everything one hears, sees, tastes, smells and feels, every emotion, every desire and every dislike and aversion that one has in the physical world, one also encounters in one’s dreams. Yet, the person that one is in the physical world is not the same person that one is when one dreams. It is as though there are two parallel worlds in which one lives. When one is awake, he or she perceives one type of world, but when one goes to sleep, one ascends to and perceives a different type of world. One’s dream life may be seen as the first person and one’s waking life may be seen as a second person. Yet, one’s own thoughts and beliefs, which travel from one “world” to the other, may be seen as a third person. When one is awake, one perceives space and time, matter and form. But in one’s dream life there is no matter to take up space, while form and time seem to be omnipresent and eternal. One may say that the dream world is a Parmenidean One. The same is true regarding one’s soul. When one’s spirit is with the mind, one experiences one type of peace and joy with God. Then when one’s spirit is with the heart, one experiences another type of peace and joy with God. With the one, one’s soul gives, while with the other, one’s soul receives. With the one, one’s soul perceives, while with the other, one’s soul reflects back to our Lord what he or she understands. With the one, one’s soul penetrates, while with the other, one’s soul is penetrated. With the one, one’s soul is saturated, while with the other, one’s soul is desiccated. With both, one’s soul is in complete joy and ecstasy. If one could imagine him or her self riding upon a comet that is in an elliptical orbit around the Sun, such would be a good analogy of these different experiences. The comet is always facing the Sun, with its tail always pointing away from the Sun. It is either forever climbing away from the Sun — to the outer edges of the solar system where the Sun appears as a mere star, a dot of light on the horizon — or forever falling toward the Sun — until it approaches so close that the Sun fills its whole sky from horizon to horizon. So also is it with God. In God’s world one never loses sight of our Lord; one’s attention is always focused on Him. That is, one is forever moving toward God. His magnificence grows from the depths of one’s soul to the fullest of one’s capacity. Upon reaching one’s fullest capacity, His magnificence then begins to dim again and continues to do so until the soul can stand His diminishing no longer, at which point His magnificence begins to grow once again. One is forever receiving and giving, rising and falling, penetrating and being penetrated. God is forever entering into one’s soul until one can accept no more, until one reaches his or her fullest capacity. Then God begins to withdraw from one’s soul until one can tolerate no more of His absence, until one can no longer stand His reduction. Then He begins to grow again.
Our Lord draws one into the inner chamber of His love to drink from His breasts, which are more delicious than the choicest of wines. He penetrates one’s heart and one becomes inebriated with His passion. Then ever so slowly He begins to withdraw His spear. He rises from the dungeons of one’s soul to the pinnacle of His castle. One is desiccated by His reduction and in torment by His absence.
One longs for His presence, His gentle caress, His enrapturing kiss. But relief is not yet. This sweet delectable pain will continue until one can no longer stand His diminishing, until one’s thirst is consummate and one’s anguish is absolute. Then He will once again enter one’s soul, giving one desirous relief. He thrusts His lance into one’s womb.
He rends the foundation of one’s soul, the core of one’s being, bringing a new gratifingly, luscious affliction. A joyous torture one longs for, one yearns for, one cannot live without. From complete desiccation to total saturation, one is tossed among the waves of His passion, the rapture of His love. Escape is neither possible nor wanted. One’s only desire is to be drunk with His love.
Rising and falling, penetrating and enveloping, divesting and covering, diminishing and filling, one’s emotions run a gauntlet from exquisite agony to unbearable pleasure, from endless desolation to eternal bliss and from complete dessication to total saturation. One only hungers for more.
Of course, those with the greater love can accommodate more than those of a lesser love. God is the center of all things and no matter where one goes in His world one always ends up facing either the Father or the Son (one’s spirit is always with the Holy Spirit). God is the center of all life. He is the tree of life. Finally, one must acknowledge that this understanding of the trinity of God (or the trinity of one’s soul) was not obtained by one on one’s own efforts. Try as he or she might, one cannot learn of the mysteries of God without divine help. The best analogy that one can hope to obtain on his or her own effort is but a hazy shadow of the real thing. One must not forget that the tree of life without one of its leaves is still a tree but a single soul separated from the tree is no longer part of the tree. It falls and dies and will be burned as though it were a mere weed (Jn.15:1-6). It is also possible to liken the law of God to a tree. The law of love to one’s neighbor being the trunk and each separate law the individual leaves. The more love of God and man one has the closer one is to the tree. The more love one has the better one can see the individual laws of the tree. Hence, the more distinct the law becomes and the clearer is one’s understanding of the whole law. Those people who allow their love of self and their love of secularism to interfere with their spiritual growth are far from the tree. They perceive a blurred tree and their understanding of the law is distorted. Love is the food of one’s soul. The less love one has, the less he or she feeds his or her soul and the weaker is his or her tree. The soul that has reached a perfect love of God and man is a soul that our Lord does not have to worry about bringing home to His world. Such a soul knows the way to truth and life. Such a soul knows that it is one with God, who is the Tree. Remember, no one begotten by man is God. By the mercy and love of God our Father one is able to become as a God. This gift is given freely to all human beings for obeying the law and doing our Lord’s will. His law and will are fulfilled today the same way it was thousands of years ago, the same way it is done today and the same way it will be as long as human beings are in the physical world, the spiritual world or in any world that God should choose to create.
One accomplishes this by being completely honest and just with one’s neighbor in all things and at all times. One must temper his or her honesty with wisdom and his or her justice with mercy, for such is following a logical thought and acting in a rational manner. It matters not what one’s occupation or study happens to be, as long as one places honesty and truth tempered with wisdom, and the law and justice tempered with mercy, above one’s own, personal desires, and as long as one follows logical thought with rational actions, then one is doing the will of God. One cannot emphasize it too much. Obedience to the law only requires one to place honesty and truth tempered with wisdom, and the law and justice tempered with mercy above one’s own, personal desires and to be logical in thought with rational actions. One does not have to recite the rosary or any particular prayer. One does not have to do any particular penance or fasting. One does not even have to support any church or charity. (Such actions are for those who seek perfection.) One only needs to obey this law of love. By following such a course of action one will be helping to establish peace on earth. If a person is not accomplishing his or her deeds according to this philosophy, then he or she is not doing the will of God. It is the will of Jesus Christ that mankind establish peace on earth by obeying His law, which is not heavy and is just a restating of the Golden Rule that He gave at the sermon on the mountain and again in a different version at the Last Supper.
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