spring

No separation between God and humans . . . a complete, mutual indwelling: I am in God, God is in you, you are in God, we are in each other. "I am the vine; you are the branches. Abide in me as I in you." . . . There is no separation between humans and God because of this mutual interabiding which expresses the indivisible reality of divine love. We flow into God--and Go into us--because it is the nature of love to flow. . . . The whole and the part live together in mutual, loving reciprocity, each belonging to the other and dependent on the other to show forth the fullness of love.

Faith is a gift that comes, the gift of assurance that the powers of light have conquered and will keep on defeating the darkness.Hope is our own attitude of looking steadfastly toward that victory and trying to order our lives toward it.Faith and hope are far easier attitudes to live with than despair and disillusionment . . . so I deliberately choose to hope.Through hope and faith the inner journey has direction and a goal and meditation becomes a process of discovering the reality of Divine Love.

Hope is what sits by a window and waits for one more dawn, despite the fact that there is not one ounce of proof in tonight's black, black sky that it can possibly come.

We have only begun
to imagine the fullness of life.
How could we tire of hope?
So much is in the bud.

The hope that is left after all your hopes are gone -- that is pure hope, rooted in the heart.

We cannot avoid the question of integrity or wholeness to which all of us proceed. We cannot exclude anyone from the process of becoming fully human, neither a woman nor a man. Personal experience is essential. God gives us the ability to experience ourselves and to assume relationships. As we develop this, we learn to overcome the tensions and the difficulties in life; and those times when there is a lack of love, we are given hope. We experience hope. The great thing about all this is the hope and the realization that it is within our reach.

The gift we can offer others is so simple a thing as hope.

Are we not called to communicate
a mystery of hope
to those around us
by the lives we lead?

The power of love is in hope,
For by it we await the reward of love.
The failing of hope is the disappearance of love.
Hope is a rest from labors in the midst of labors.
Toils depend on it.
Mercy encircles it.
Experiencing the gifts of the Giver of Life engenders hope.
But he who is without experience remains in doubt.

Narrow is the boundary
of "now" and "not-yet"
Deep and dark it stretches
like an ancient passageway
no map has ever marked.
One by one we walk it
step by solitary step.
Not hand in hand,
Not side by side,
But sounding the distance with our tears.
Hope is the chorus sounding, "Come!"
Hope is the embrace, waiting to welcome.
Hope is the companion,
In-Between . . .