The New Normal - Jesus Restores Walks In the Garden

Good morning Papa!

Good morning son!

Papa, I am struck by Bishop Barron’s words today. They seem to be affirming the sort of prayer I and so many others have learned to practice and that is comforting.

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John 15:9–17

Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus announces to his disciples: “I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father.”

Many mysticisms and philosophies of the ancient world—Platonism and Gnosticism come readily to mind—spoke of God or the sacred, but they spoke of it as a force or a value or an ontological source. It was impersonal and at an infinite remove from the world of ordinary experience. These ancient schools find an echo in many modern and contemporary theologies. Think of deism, which was so influential on the founders of the United States, or even the New Age philosophy of our time. These speak of a “divine” principle or power, but one would never dream of addressing such a force as “thou” or of engaging with it in intimate conversation.

Then there is the Bible. The Scriptures obviously present God as the overwhelming, transcendent, uncontrollable, inscrutable Creator of the heavens and the earth, but they insist that this sublime and frightening power is a person who deigns to speak to us, to guide us, and to invite us into his life.

In making that utterance—that he no longer called his disciples slaves, but friends—Jesus turned all of religious philosophy and mysticism on its head.

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5/16/24

Son it should indeed comfort you to know that you are not on this path alone. Remember what I've told you before? It is not chatting with me personally that is odd, it is the lack thereof.

Remember, I sent my Son into the world to infuse it with grace and inject the antidote into the physical cosmos through his body, blood, soul and divinity which is now forever intertwined into the dimension you call 'The Universe'. There is no undoing this. As I've mentioned before, it is like Neo in the Matrix, only in slow motion. It is also indeed like Leeloo's explosion of light and love to stop arrest evil and save the world from evil… again, in slow motion. And finally, remember that the enemy is like the severed wasp that doesn't realize the dreadful thing that has been done to it.

All of these images in motion in your heart testify to the reality that Jesus has radically transformed reality. He has opened a portal of friendship with Me that can never be closed and is impinging on the world more daily. This is why your world is in turmoil, because people love darkness more than light and the enemy is insuring the fight harder as the dawn is impending. Surely the enemy is more aware of this than your race which by and large tries to ignore the entire dimension of eternal light that is slowly eclipsing the darkness.

Remember son, darkness is just a speck in the light.

So when my son Robert Barron propounds on the reality of this radical shift from slave (read this as employee or worker in this context) to friend and family members, he is right on track.

Friends and family chat with their father. Jesus came to restore things to their intended order. Just like I chatted with Adam and Eve in the Garden, Jesus came to invite all my offspring to that same intimacy. And that is only the beginning.

I see Papa, this is part of the design, long before the Oxford group or AA started to emphasize two way prayer or continuous conscious contact with you. Examples abound down through the centuries of you chatting with folks in their hearts. Those that did this and dared to speak of it were not always treated kindly.

No they were not son, but don't let that stop you. All of my offspring were meant to stroll and chat with me, or sit and listen to me speak just as you are now in the depths of your heart and writing it in your journal. This is the new normal that Jesus inaugurated. This is what it means to listen to my Spirit within and respond to it as one would in any normal conversation.

Worry not that you might miss the point, get it wrong or misunderstand me. I'll tell you again. I'm always whispering my song of love in your heart and hoping you'll tune in to listen to the chorus again and again.

Thanks Papa, that is beautiful and reassuring.

You're welcome son, I love you.

Love you too Papa.

Amen.

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[Bold print represents what Seb is sensing God whispering in the depths of his heart during his prayer time. Bold italic print represents what Seb is sensing a Saint whispering to his heart in prayer. NONE of this is to be taken as authoritative instruction for us all. Click here to learn more about what this type of two way prayer is and is not.]

Deleting Suspicion of Joy

Papa, I'm happy to be going to confession this morning. I need healing from the wound of that deadly sin scraping me up last Saturday night. Ugghhhh… heal me Jesus.

I do want to heal you and cleanse you from that son. I will meet you there in person.

Thank you Lord, I am so grateful for the voice of the Holy Spirit within that you and all the Saints channel through to counsel and console me. I am so grateful you are teaching me to listen. Lord I do so wish I could stop the 15 - 18 times that Fr. J suggests during the day to tune into you. I fear I do not do so. Even when I do pause when switching tasks and ask you to guide me I'm not sure I really do let you guide me… I don't know what to think about this Lord… sometimes it feels like I'm just bursting to share things with people and I don't know if it is you guiding me or simply my own joy and enthusiasm.

Son, why can it not be both? You seem to be thinking that just because your enthusiasm and joy have bowled people over in the past that it cannot also be my joy coursing through you. Can you trust me to sort it out and trust me in others to sort it out as well? People are more understanding and forgiving than you give them credit for. They are not always judging you in a negative light. It isn't even good to ponder over much on how they are thinking of you… simply be with me in the moment, allow me to course my joy and love for them through you and worry not if you are over enthusiastic doing this. 

It is our joy together that brings the tears so often to your eyes and to mine. I have eyes as well now, remember? And I weep with joy when we are loving other people in our thoughts, words and deeds in, with and through each other. This spiritual form of nuptial embrace is life giving. It is the marriage of heaven and earth sowing life into hungry and sometimes famished souls. Please son, stop doubting yourself in this, only believe. Trust that all will be well and that your efforts to channel my love no matter how imperfect are redemptive… our merging in body, blood, soul and divinity is energizing and good. You don't look at the physical marital embrace with such suspicion do you son? Neither look at our spiritual merging to lovingly bring forth life in others, to call out the good, true and beautiful with suspicion.

Ok Lord, I will try to clear this suspicion from my heart, better yet, you cleanse it from me in your strength Lord. I love you.

We all love you son and are well pleased with your progress on the journey.

Amen.

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[Bold print represents what Seb is sensing God whispering in the depths of his heart during his prayer time. Bold italic print represents what Seb is sensing a Saint whispering to his heart in prayer. NONE of this is to be taken as authoritative instruction for us all. Click here to learn more about what this type of two way prayer is and is not.]