a crust where love is

I started this blog three and a half years ago.  This is my three hundred and fifth post.  And, though I'll be leaving this site on the web, it's my last.

Apparently blogging in general has been going out of fashion in favour of facebook; I haven't got either the face or the temperament for facebook, but my posts had been tailing off anyway.  I started blogging at a time when I was underemployed as an Assistant Vicar; now I'm a "full" Vicar (and husband and dad) I don't have the spare capacity.  All the more so since, as of September 20, I'll be Rural Dean for South Chelmsford.

South Chelmsford Deanery consists of 22 anglican churches stretching from central Chelmsford, via the suburbia of Galleywood and Great Baddow, through some small villages, down to the new town of South Woodham Ferrars.  About 1100 people worship at the churches of the deanery, supported by 14 full-time clergy.  My job will be to welcome and care for the clergy, and work for the equipping of every member to serve South Chelmsford and tell of God's love.   It's an exciting role, with lots of opportunities, though in exaggerating moods I say that the trouble with the deanery is that it holds no power, has no direction and does not really exist.
   

Stopping "a crust where love is" does not mean leaving the web entirely behind.  Check out http://chelmsfordsouth.weebly.com/ for my latest internet adventure.  Your input and comments will be invaluable as, together, we try to work out what a cluster of churches can achieve.

fondly,

Andy 

 
... it probably is. There’s no such thing as a free lunch. Take this letter, addressed to the Vicarage Hall, which arrived on my doormat recently:

Dear Miss Hall,

it began, presumably on the understanding that “Vicarage” is a rather charming female first name.

Dear Miss Hall,

I am very pleased to tell you that it has been discovered that, through colonial ancestors, you are the rightful ruler of Abuja Province. Abuja Province, you should know, contains 40% of the oil reserves of Nigeria.

Excellent! I’m rich! Or the Vicarage Hall is. No one could say she doesn’t deserve a lucky break. And there couldn’t be a catch, could there?

Simply send an international money order for $250 to PO Box 244...

Ah, there’s the catch. Remember the saying: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The only time it really is true, even though it seems too good to be true...

...is when it’s God’s amazing offer of new life. Alone among the world’s great religions, Christianity does not say “here are the steps I have taken in order to be accepted”. A Christian says “I am accepted without conditions, even when I’m unacceptable. My faith is simply gratefully accepting the gift of being accepted, on the understanding that having such a faith will change my life utterly. My motivation for a life that makes the world a better place is not fear or duty or to get God to love me, but joyful gratitude and delight in God.”

And yet still, at the back of our minds, there’s this nagging sense that every gift has a price tag. Surely someone has to pay for the gift of new life?

And the Bible tells us that there was indeed a great cost. A cost so high, you and I would have no hope of paying it even if we were millionaires, even if we were the rightful ruler of Abuja Province. The cost to God was the death of Jesus, his Son. In the words of a song we sometimes sing,

“The price is paid, come let us enter in

to all that Jesus died to make our own.

For every sin, more than enough he gave,

and bought our freedom from each guilty stain.

And so with all my heart, my life in every part,

I live to thank you for the price you paid!”

fondly,

Andy

I've just been to Marriages Animal Feeds Ltd.  I was buying some pig food. 

No, I don't own a pig.  It's for me.

You see we're doing the Parable of the Prodigal Son in church on Sunday and at his lowest point in the story, the PS sits down in great hunger and longs to eat the food the pigs are eating.  I'm dramatising it, so I thought I'd better have the real thing.  (I've also got a ring, a cloak, a "road home" and a "Welcome Home" banner, but I don't have a real live calf to slaughter.  That's going too far, even for me).

We'll tell the story, and then I'll eat the pig food.

Well, when I say I'll eat the pig food, I'll eat a handful of the pig food.  You can only buy it in enormous great bags, so even a pig would have trouble eating all of it straight away without a drink of water and a roll around in the mud.

After the service, I'm going to donate the pig food to a local pig farmer.  He already thinks I'm crazy. 

Prayer and Meditation as ways to correct our imperfections

The necessity of Christ in prayer

Above all, I advise that prayer should be understanding and with the heart. The best prayer of all bears in mind the life and passion of our Lord; look at him often in meditation. Your soul will be like him, you will learn to feel as he felt and act as he a cted... Children listen to their mothers and play with them, and so finally learn their language; so we, if w e spend time close to the Saviour in meditation, and hear his words acts and emotions will learn - by his grace - to speak, act and feel like him. Stop there, Lover of God. Believe me when I say there is no other gate that will lead us to God. Just as a mirror couldn't stop our view unless it was backed with metal, so God could not be viewed in this evil world if he had not been joined to the holy humanity of the Saviour. The Saviour's life and death are the most appropriate, lifegiving, delightful and useful things we could choose for our meditations.

<At this point comes Francois's "method of meditation", which I have moved to part V. He advises that when we do one of these meditations we should spend an hour on it before dinner>

How should I pray in the morning?

Thank and praise God from the depths of your heart that he kept you safe last night. If you sinned during the night, ask his forgiveness.

Visualize the day ahead. Say to yourself, "I'm going to make this day count for eternity!"

Visualize the business and tasks of the day... Work out how you can use the means at your disposal to serve God and live the life of devotion. It is not enough to resolve to do this, you need to work out HOW you will do it ....

Then humble yourself before God... Recognize that you have in yourself no power to do the things you've planned today. Take your imaginary heart in your hands and offer it to your King, Jesus!

How should I pray in the evening?

Just as before dinner you make your spiritual dinner <the meditations to be found below >, so before your nightcap you should have a spiritual supper - or at least a spiritual snack!

Imagine Jesus on the cross. Lie down before him, and re-light the <interior> fire...

Thank him for keeping you safe

Examine how you behaved today - who did you meet, where, and what did you do? If you did something good, thank God; if you did something bad in word or deed ask forgiveness from the King...

Then offer into his hands your body, your soul, the Church, your relatives and friends; ask Our Lady and the angels to watch over us; and, with God's blessing, you will sleep the sleep he wants you to have.

How should I pray at work?

Be eager for God, Lover-of-God, and make your eagerness known by short but glowing heart-messages... Plant the cross in your soul like a flag, and let your heart be moved in a thousand ways so that you receive God's love... Several people have made collections of the sort of short prayer that you can use, but my advice is: don't plan what to say, just speak (whether out loud or in the heart) those that Love suggests at the time.

<After this Francis suggests attendance at Mass (you can use the time for one of his meditations if you aren't getting much out of the service!) and Vespers on Sundays and Holy Days>.

What are "Inspirations"?

Inspirations are what we call all the types of attraction, movements, feelings of remorse, illuminations and messages of knowledge that God causes to happen within us... Inspirations are the Bridegroom knocking on the door, speaking to his fiancee's heart, waking her when she is asleep, crying when she isn't there, inviting her to gather flowers in his garden, singing to her, making his sweet voice echo in her ears.

Now for an engagement to take place there are three things that should happen. First, the man must make a proposal. Then, the woman must feel attracted to the idea. And thirdly, she must say yes. This is how God deals with us. (Incidentally, there are the same three steps towards sin - first an "inspiration" to sin, then the feeling of attraction to the idea, and then the act of consenting by saying yes to sin...). Take pleasure in God's inspirations - they are extra proposals of marriage by Jesus.

"Ah", says someone, "but the feeling is not enough - it is not equivalent to actually doing something good" That's true, but it points us in the right di rect ion. Accept God's inspirations wholeheartedly... say, yes unwaveringly ... and put it into practice - which is the summit of virtue!

Which good quality should I aspire to most?

Each profession needs particular virtues. A bishop needs some, a prince others, a soldier others, a mother at home with her children others, a widow others, and so on. Ideally, we should all have every virtue, but since we don't need them equally we should try to concentrate on the ones our way of life calls for...

Now there are certain things which are sometimes called "virtues", but are not, and I need to say a word about them. They are ecstasies, trances, losses of consciousness, losses of feeling, "unions with God", levitations, transfigurations, and - well, there are many other such "perfections" and plenty of books about them. The books promise that you can elevate your soul to a contemplation of the spirit; they call it the "supereminent life"! Lover-of-God, these "perfections" are NOT virtues. Perhaps they are responses of God to virtues, or more likely they are foretastes of the life to come. And God does give them to people to make them desire the wholeness of Paradise . But Lover-of-God, don't aspire to such states of Grace. They are not necessary for loving and serving God, and our only aspiration should be to love and serve him... That way, if God chooses to lift our hearts to angelic perfections, we'll be good angels..

Let's leave supereminence to the supereminent - you and I deserve no such glorious name, we'd be happy serving in the King's kitchen as go-fors or woodcarriers, and if he chooses to include us in his cabinet that's a matter for him.

How to develop good qualities

Humility

Nothing develops humility like seeing the goodness of God... Don't be afraid that thinking of what he has done for us will puff us up - we know that the good that is in us is not from us. "What do we have that we haven't received? And if we received it, why are we proud of it?" No, thinking about Grace will make us humble, because it will awaken feelings of gratitude...

Gentleness

When you see that you are being moved to anger, ask for God's help. Imagine that you are one of the disciples in the wind and the storm of the lake, and that Jesus is going to call on our anger to cease, and there will be a great calm. I warn you - if you are angry and praying for gentleness, pray softly not aggressively! ... If you suddenly realise that your anger has already led you to sin, repair the fault by an act of gentleness towards the same person ... Then, when you can get to a quiet place and your anger has subsided, rehearse gentleness and good Grace, going through a range of actions as gently as you can.

Gentleness is also needed with regard to ourselves. We should never despise ourselves, or our imperfections. our natural reason will tell us we're deformed and not nice to know! It just doesn't help, if after you have got angry with someone else you get angry with yourself for having been angry, or if we make ourselves sad because we've got depressed, or despise ourselves for having despised someone else... Anger against oneself, making oneself sad, and self-hatred lead to pride and are linked with selfishness...

If this was my situation, I wouldn't say:

"Miserable, abominable Francois, after all your good resolutions have you given in to vanity? Die of shame and do not lift your eyes to heaven, you blind presumptuous traitor, unfaithful to God!"

I would correct my heart by way of compassion:

"O no, my poor heart! Here we are, fallen in the ditch again, and we were so sure we'd stay out of it this time! Let's get up and get out of it! Let's claim God's mercy and put our hope in him, that his grace may help us stand firm in future and keep us on the road!"

Chastity

Chastity starts in the heart and is exercised in body. It can be shaken both by sense-experien ice from the outside and thoughts and desires from the ins-de. So it is important not to look at, listen to, say, or touch things that could lead the heart to feel unc haste emotions.. .St Basil once said "I don't even know what a woman is. And I'm not a virgin."

< a long section is then devoted to true friendships, which are important, and flirting, which can have a bad effect on our emotional lives.>

What about mortification of the body?

I've read books about country-living which say that if you write a certain world on an almond, then put it back in its shell and plant it, the nuts that grow on that tree will all be engraved with the same word. I'm not convinced, Lover-of-God. And I'm not convinced by the method of those who wish to use exterior means to change us on the inside - as if the expression on our face, or our clothes, or our hairstyle reformed us morally.

It seems to me that we need to start on the inside. "Be converted to me," says God, "with your whole heart" (Joel 2:12)...When someone has Jesus Christ in his heart, the exterior actions will soon follow. That's why my dearest wish is that you should have "LONG LIVE JESUS" engraved on your heart. Then you will produce all the actions which are his fruits. When Jesus lives inside your heart, he will live in your behaviour, he will look through your eyes, he will speak with your mouth, he will touch with your hands, and if he's interested in hairstyles, he will show himself there too; and you will say with Paul, "it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

How can I fortify my heart against temptations?

From time to time, ask yourself which bad emotions are dominant in your soul. Once you've discovered them, make a rule of life which will be likely to combat them. The rule will include your thoughts, words and actions.

For example, if you are inclined to vanity, think often about how wretched the human condition really is.. .Spend time pondering how childish it is to be pleased with baubles, etc. Speak to yourself about vanity - and even if it appears to you that your heart is unconvinced, keep going, you will ruin the reputation of the opposition. Keep talking to yourself until the heart is moved, and hates the vanity which at the beginning it felt affection for. Let the good works you do be despised by the world... for in this way you will get used to humility and your vanity will be weakened.

Or, if you have a tendency to be stingy with money, imagine yourself being enslaved to something that is supposed to serve you. Imagine your death, and how you'll have to leave everything. Imagine the long goodbye of your soul to your body! Imagine that your heir wastes his inheritance, or that he is ruined because of it, etc. Speak against meanness to your heart, tell it how good it is be no lover of the world. Force yourself to give money to missions and charities, and let an occasion to make more money pass untaken.

Conclusion

The world will tell you, Lover-of-God, that I've given you so many exercises and so much advice that people who want to observe them won't have time for anything else.. .And of course, if you had to do all these exercises every day they'd take 24 hours. But I never said you should use them all, at the same time and place, but only the ones that suit...

Finally, dear Lover-of-God, I beg you by all that is holy in heaven and earth, by the baptism you received, by the nipples that suckled Jesus Christ, by the loving heart with which he loved us and the deep feelings of mercy in which you hope: keep going in the happy task of the life of devotion.. .When the going gets tough, sing a song with Francis of Assisi:

"For the good that awaits me,

The hard-work is like a pass-time for me:"

LONG LIVE JESUS to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and forever and ever. So be it!

Prayer and Meditation as ways to correct our imperfections

The necessity of Christ in prayer

Above all, I advise that prayer should be understanding and with the heart. The best prayer of all bears in mind the life and passion of our Lord; look at him often in meditation. Your soul will be like him, you will learn to feel as he felt and act as he a cted... Children listen to their mothers and play with them, and so finally learn their language; so we, if w e spend time close to the Saviour in meditation, and hear his words acts and emotions will learn - by his grace - to speak, act and feel like him. Stop there, Lover of God. Believe me when I say there is no other gate that will lead us to God. Just as a mirror couldn't stop our view unless it was backed with metal, so God could not be viewed in this evil world if he had not been joined to the holy humanity of the Saviour. The Saviour's life and death are the most appropriate, lifegiving, delightful and useful things we could choose for our meditations.

<At this point comes Francois's "method of meditation", which I will be including later. He advises that when we do one of these meditations we should spend an hour on it before dinner>

How should I pray in the morning?

Thank and praise God from the depths of your heart that he kept you safe last night. If you sinned during the night, ask his forgiveness.

Visualize the day ahead. Say to yourself, "I'm going to make this day count for eternity!"

Visualize the business and tasks of the day... Work out how you can use the means at your disposal to serve God and live the life of devotion. It is not enough to resolve to do this, you need to work out HOW you will do it ....

Then humble yourself before God... Recognize that you have in yourself no power to do the things you've planned today. Take your imaginary heart in your hands and offer it to your King, Jesus!

How should I pray in the evening?

Just as before dinner you make your spiritual dinner, so before your nightcap you should have a spiritual supper - or at least a spiritual snack!

Imagine Jesus on the cross. Lie down before him, and re-light the <interior> fire...

Thank him for keeping you safe

Examine how you behaved today - who did you meet, where, and what did you do? If you did something good, thank God; if you did something bad in word or deed ask forgiveness from the King...

Then offer into his hands your body, your soul, the Church, your relatives and friends; ask Our Lady and the angels to watch over us; and, with God's blessing, you will sleep the sleep he wants you to have.

How should I pray at work?

Be eager for God, Lover-of-God, and make your eagerness known by short but glowing heart-messages... Plant the cross in your soul like a flag, and let your heart be moved in a thousand ways so that you receive God's love... Several people have made collections of the sort of short prayer that you can use, but my advice is: don't plan what to say, just speak (whether out loud or in the heart) those that Love suggests at the time.

<After this Francis suggests attendance at Mass (you can use the time for one of his meditations if you aren't getting much out of the service!) and Vespers on Sundays and Holy Days>.

Over the last five weeks I've been teaching a course called "The Rough Guide to Spirituality". We've met various definitions of spirituality:

-For Francois de Sales and the French School, spirituality is the process whereby the Holy Spirit transforms our character as we meditate on the inner states of Christ.

-For Josef Wresinski and Liberation Spirituality, spirituality is discerning what Jesus is doing and where Jesus is to be found – especially in the guise of the poor – in today’s world, and aligning ourselves with what he is doing.

-For Meister Eckhart and the apophatic tradition, spirituality as unmediated relationship with God – beyond words, beyond sacraments, beyond priesthoods. Just you being you in the presence of God being God. -

-For John Piper and Christian hedonism, spirituality is joyfully treasuring Jesus, whose glory we encounter, meditated through the text of Scripture.

This evening, we'll look at one last thinker.

Bishop NT (Tom) Wright is Bishop of Durham, and one of the most influential leaders in the contemporary British church. Among his contributions to Christian spirituality is his understanding of Christian living as improvisation within a narrative framework – a little like jazz or experimental drama. He has also brought a spirituality of “speaking in tongues” into the “mainstream”. And his “trinity prayer”, a development of the Orthodox “Jesus Prayer”, is becoming more commonly used:  (http://www.ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Prayer_Trinity.htm)

Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth:

Set up your kingdom in our midst.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God:

Have mercy on me, a sinner.

Holy Spirit, breath of the living God:

Wright recommends: “If the angels constantly repeat their “Holy, holy, holy,” I cannot see why Christians should not repeat words about the threefold and glorious God. It is vain repetitions that we are called to forswear. I suggest that, for some Christians at least, a prayer such as the one I have suggested can become, by constant repetition, the very centre of their human existence.

This is in part because it builds on two features that are common to humans in general. The first of these concerns human breathing. In Genesis 2:7, it is said that God breathed into human nostrils the breath of life, so that Adam became a living being. There is a strange truth here which we do not usually grasp. If we even think about the act of breathing, we probably regard it as a purely “natural” or “scientific” phenomenon. Genesis regards it as part of the gift, to humans, of God’s own life. Breathing sets up a rhythm that quietly gets on with the job of enlivening and energizing us.

The first clause of each couplet can be said in the mind while breathing in. We are drawing in God’s breath, God’s gift of life. Then, having in each case, as it were, “inhaled” the truth and life of God himself, the miracle occurs. God’s own life becomes ours. Just as God’s breath becomes our breath, so the prayer that has invoked the living God becomes prayer that is both God’s own prayer, part of the constant, loving, and joyful prayer of the Trinity, and our own prayer. As John 14 makes clear, the closer we come to understanding the threeness of God, the more we are summoned to fully Christian prayer. We respond, exhaling the breath that has become our own. If we thus capture the God-given rhythm of breathing itself, a new wholeness results. It is as though breath becomes more fully what it already is by becoming prayer, and as though prayer becomes more fully what it already is by becoming breath.

The second feature upon which such a practice can build concerns the human semi-conscious mind. Most humans, most of the time, have comparatively empty minds, which fill themselves from moment to moment with vague snatches of memory, of odd words and phrases, odd hopes and fears, odd snatches of songs or music. Indeed, it can be a thorough nuisance to have something, as we say, “in the head” and not to be able to get rid of it. The use I have suggested for this prayer gently takes this fact about our humanness, this habit of the mind to be continually murmuring on to itself, and woos it with the gospel. It takes responsibility for the times when the mind is “in neutral.” It replaces the casual, irrelevant, involuntary mental chatter with a quiet, glad repetition of words whose content is incalculably challenging and at the same time incalculably consoling.”

Today, we’ll look at perhaps Wright’s most celebrated “spirituality text”, a talk which he gave at General Synod in 1991, reproduced as The Crown and the Fire (London: SPCK, 1992), pp67-78. This is based on Romans 8.22-27.

All creation is “groaning in the pangs of giving birth to the new world that God desires and intends” (p72).

Within the world, the church, too, is groaning. “Paul deliberately uses the same words for the church as he used for the world - groaning in verses 23 and 22, longing in verses 23 and 19. The female image of the church groaning in travail is placed within the female image of the world... The present task of the church is to share and bear the sufferings of the world... to become the place where its pain and grief is concentrated and so healed... This is Christian spirituality.” (pp72-73)

Within the church, the Spirit herself is groaning “till we become the place wherein the Holy Spirit utters her groaning” (p77). As we tune in to (“resonate with”) the pain of the world and the pain of the Spirit, she brings about a new world through us.

By the way, if anyone does find this translation helpful, feel free to use it any way you like without credits or permissions. Today, Francois gets to the heart of the matter: how to stop wanting to sin.

How can I stop feeling affection for sin?

The most important thing is a lively, strong realisation of the evil that sin brings; through this we can enter into "contrition" which is a deeply felt hatred of our sins... Now, to reach contrition we need imaginative meditation. <see the meditations below>

Contrition smells so good that it obliterates and dissipates the stink of sin. In Simon's eyes (Lk 7.39ff), Mary Magdalene was a sinner; but in our Lord's eyes she wasn't, and he said that she was to be remembered forever - not for her sins but for the perfumes she poured out and the greatness of her love... And so, Lover of God, you will get rid of your affection, even for small sins. I'm not saying we can stop committing small sins - we can never do that, or at least not for long - but at least we can stop feeling affection for sins. There's a difference between lying once or twice when you're enjoying yourself with friends, and feeling affection for that kind of sin.

Games, balls, parties, processions, and the theatre are things that are neutral; they're not in themselves bad in any way. They can be good or bad, according to the effect they have on our emotions. So they can be dangerous - and the more you feel affection for them, the more dangerous they are. Lover of God, I'm not saying that playing games, dancing etc is bad - but to be more moved by them than by the life of devotion is risky... Again, I am not saying that we shouldn't do things just because they're dangerous, but I am saying that we may never let them be the things that move us most.

What about my personality?

We all have certain natural inclinations. Our sins did not give rise to them, and they are not themselves in any way bad, but they may give rise to imperfections. For example, St Paule had a great tendency to sadness and regret; so much so that after the death of her children and husband she was in real danger of dying of it. It was an inclination, and not at all a sin... Some of us are light-headed by inclination, others aggressive, others sensitive to others' opinions...

Now inclinations are individual and natural to each person. By care, and by developing the opposite emotion, we can moderate them, and even if necessary be delivered from the imperfections; I tell you, Lover of God, this is necessary. There is no nature so unteachable that it cannot be tamed by God's grace and hard work. I am now going to suggest some exercises which can cleanse your soul from the imperfections that result from our inclinations, and thus make you more and more sure of committing serious sin. May God give you grace to follow my advice!

It's like Christmas, all over again.

That's why Luke begins his second book - "Acts" - the way he began his first book.  Luke Chapter 2: Christmas.  Acts Chapter 2: Pentecost.  It's like Christmas, all over again.

OK, the chapter divisions aren't by Luke.  Still, look at the way Luke presents the two events.  At the beginning of the Gospel, Mary is centre-stage, "filled with the Spirit".  Then we've hardly heard about her from Luke at all for 33 years , and now suddenly she's being mentioned again as one of those being filled with the Spirit at Pentecost; the others disciples are catching up on her Christmas experience.  It's like Christmas, all over again.

And John the Baptist is suddenly being mentioned again, too.  John was the opening act, the hors-d'oeuvre, the warm-up artist for Jesus; and now his baptism performs the same function for the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  We lit an advent candle to remember him; we nod to him again now.  It's like Christmas, all over again.

Because at Pentecost Jesus was born once again, not now as a baby but in the person of the church.  Yes, this is not too much to say, for didn't Jesus refer to the church not as "us" or "them" or "her" or "it", but as "me" - "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"  Saul never met Jesus of Nazareth, as far as we know, but when he mistreated the church Jesus took it personally, when he kicked the Christians Jesus winced.  Jesus identified fully with the church.  And Paul never forgot it; he was later to write of the church as the Body of Christ, and my guess is he had that pronoun on the Damascus Road in mind.  And still today Jesus is born in those who follow him, incarnate again in the person of his church.  O holy Lord of Pentecost, descend to us we pray.  Cast out our sin and enter in, be born in us today.  We hear the Pentecost witnesses your great glad tidings tell.  O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel.  It's like Christmas, all over again.

And now we can understand a little better those first words of the book of Acts.  Luke says "In my former book, Theophilus" - Theophilus the person he's writing for, and the former book is what we call the gospel of Luke - "I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and teach."  Began to do and teach?  Well, Luke's got as far as the ascension by the end of Luke 24, so we might have expected him to say that he had written all that Jesus did and taught, full stop.  But no, for Luke his gospel is only the beginning of the acts and teaching of Jesus, because he's still acting and teaching.   What Jesus did on the earth in his tough, compassionate, loving, healing deeds and what he said on the earth in his truthful, authoritative, convicting, comforting teaching was only the beginning of his doing and his teaching. 

What does this mean for you and me tomorrow morning?  It means that we are called to be Jesus.  Not Jesus in his context - you don't have to wear sandals and  learn carpentry skills.  But living out Jesus' attitudes and actions in our jobs and our world.  Forgiving people who ignore us or hurt us or cut in on us on the A12.  Taking the blame for the errors of those around us, and learning not to condemn those who are wrong.  Cheering our workplaces by a positive attitude.  Practising small acts of kindness.  All of this is Pentecostal.  Remember, you - if you have trusted in Jesus and turned fom your sin - you have been clothed with power from on high, and the Holy Spirit has rested on you with an invisible flame.  Feel for it tomorrow morning when you can't live the Christian life without it.  I like the cartoon which has the apostles standing round with flames on top of their heads, and one of them is clearly in great pain through a burnt hand.  The caption says "Thomas had to check for himself that the fire was real!".  The power is real, feel for it tomorrow.  Jesus wants to walk into your workplace, your home, your church, on your legs.  He wants to be incarnate here and now, through you.  It's like Christmas, all over again.

I should say by the way that I made this translation about 10 years ago when I was living at Maisons Laffitte in France. I am very grateful to David Bates for taking my paper copy and converting it into electronic form. Thank you, David.

Today, I post Francois' answers to the questions "What is the life of devotion?" and "How can we start to have one?".  I particularly like the bit about diarrhoea.  There's not usually much about diarrhoea in classics of spiritual writing.

What is the life of devotion?

The true life of devotion, lover of God, is nothing but loving God. But this is a special kind of love. When God pours this kind of love into our hearts it's called Grace, and enables us to please him. When he gives us the power to act in a loving way towards our neighbours, it's called Charity. But when it is such that we don't only do what is right but do so wholeheartedly, frequently and voluntarily, it is devotion. In brief, the life of devotion is nothing but a spiritual willingness and liveliness whereby love acts in us and we act in love, spontaneously and with our emotions engaged.

And inasmuch as the life of devotion consists in having a certain degree of this excellent love, it doesn't only makes us active and diligent to obey God's commands, but actually makes us want to do as many good works as we can, and to do them spontaneously and with our emotions engaged... <Someone who lives this kind of life> doesn't just walk, he runs and jumps in the ways of God's commands - yes, and on the by-ways of his inspirations, too!...

If charity is milk, devotion is cream; if charity is a plant, devotion is a flower; if charity is a gem, devotion is the sparkle on a diamond; if charity is an ointment, devotion is a perfume, a perfume of God's gracious love that comforts humankind and makes the angels sing!

How do I start on the life of devotion?

Now there are some - such as St Paul - who reach the life of devotion by one sudden cleansing ... But normally healing, whether of the body or of the spirit, takes place little by little, step by step, with effort and time... The cleansing of the soul cannot and should not be perfect until this life is over; so let's not be troubled that we're still imperfect...

*First of all, we must cleanse ourselves from sin.

<Here Francois stresses the necessity of confession; he says that "at least at the beginning" we should make a general confession of our sins to a Priest, and he suggests some books that can help. From this point on he assumes we have done this and that our active sins have been forgiven.>

*Then comes the second cleansing, not only from sin but from an affection for sin. The Israelites left the land of Egypt , but they didn't leave it emotionally; that's why, once they got to the middle of the desert, a number of them wished they still had the garlic and meat of Egypt . In the same way, many penitents leave a life of active sin, but don't stop feeling affection for it. Yes, they really resolve not to sin any more;... yes, they renounce evil; but they still cast some wistful glances over their shoulder like Lot 's wife. They do without sin the way a man with diarrhoea, who loves melons, does without melons. He doesn't eat them because the doctors threaten him with terrible consequences, but he wants at least to smell one little melon, and he envies those who can eat melons... It's like a man who is determined to take his revenge. He goes to see a Priest, and he changes his will - he decides not to take his revenge. But look how he enjoys talking with his mates and saying that if he wasn't in awe of God he'd have done such and such to his enemy! Ah, that man may be saved from sin, but he's not saved from affection for sin...

Quite apart from the danger that a continued affection for sin will in fact lead to sin, these emotions will always be obstacles to your spirit, and will so weigh it down that you won't spontaneously, wholeheartedly and frequently want to do good works - which is the essence of the life of devotion!