#wisdom of the gospel of thomas

[brother-hermes]

AWAKENING: DRUNKARDS & EMPTINESS

Before we approach the esoteric meaning behind the Wedding At Cana we need to look at the concept of drunkenness. To be full is to be content. Without thirst there would be no need for living water right. Let’s dive into why one must be empty of all understanding to receive. Rock with me as we take the journey within.

[wisu]

The Hidden Message: The Gospel of Thomas

The 114 Sayings of the Gospel of Thomas The Gospel of Thomas is a fascinating text that offers a unique perspective on the teachings of Jesus, distinct from the narratives found in the canonical Gospels. Discovered in 1945 among the Nag Hammadi library in Egypt, this collection of 114 sayings attributed to Jesus invites readers to delve into a world of spiritual exploration and self-discovery.…

[undaughtered]

do you have any favourite historical overviews or introductions to christian mysticism that you could please recommend? ilysm habibti

works marked with * are what i would recommend for absolute beginners on the topic.

introductory works:

thomas merton, a course in christian mysticism: thirteen sessions ith the famous trappist monk*

william a. richards, sacred knowledge: psychadelics and religious experiences (on the practical applications of entheogenic, or drug-induced, mysticism)

william james, the varieties of religious experience, especially lectures 16 and 17*

bernard mcginn, the essentials of christian mysticism (arguably the best starter anthology of christian mystical writing)*

mircea eliade, the sacred and the profane

robert s. ellwood, mysticism and religion*

ed. amy hollywood, the cambridge companion to christian mysticism*

steven t. katz (ed.), mysticism and sacred scripture, especially the first chapter, "mysticism and the interpretation of sacred scripture," and the second chapter, "mysticism and scriptural justification"

primary works:

anon, the cloud of unknowing and other works (a.c. sperings translation for penguin is probably the most accessible)

teresa of avila, the life of saint tereesa of avila by herself

simone weil, waiting for god*

julian of norwich, revelations of divine love*

john of the cross, spiritual canticle (i recommend this to newcomers to christian mysticism over dark night of the soul, which is extremely dense and often devastating)

meister eckhart's sermons- though the book i'm linking is essentially a primer to german mystics

hildegard of bingen's scivias; but this selected works is a good place to start

margery kempe, the book of margery kempe by herself*

bernard of clairvaux’s sermons on song of songs*

marguerite porete, the mirror of simple souls

rebecca jackson, gifts of power*

catherine of siena, dialog

secondary works:

evelyn underhill, mysticism: a study in the nature and development of spiritual consciousness

evelyn underhill, practical mysticism*

caroline walker bynum, jesus as mother: studies in the spirituality of the high middle ages

caroline walker bynum, wonderful blood: theology and practice in late medieval northern germany and beyond

caroline walker bynum, holy feast and holy fast: the religious significance of food to medieval women*

grace m. jantzen, "eros and the abyss: reading medieval mystics in postmodernity"

grace m. jantzen, becoming divine: towards a feminist philosophy of religion

denys turner, the darkness of god: negativity in christian mysticism

jeffrey kripal, roads of excess palaces of wisdom: eroticism and reflexivity in the study of mysticism (+a lecture by him)

marsha aileen hewitt, freud on religion*

sarah clairmont, "she'll eat him up she loves him so" (one of my all time favourite papers)

also, the bible: which is probably the most vital of works on christian mysticism, as nothing you read about mysticism will not be influenced by it. i personally have recently been reading a combination of the JPS tanakh and the jewish annotated new testament, but the new revised standard edition (+apocrypha) is generally standard. if you are reading the bible academically for learning about mysticism, or have absolutely no background with reading the bible, i recommend the following books specifically:

the torah (genesis*, exodus*, leviticus, numbers, deuteronomy*)

the major prophets isaiah* and ezekiel*

the minor prophets (all of which constitute my favourite part of the bible) joel*, jonah*, micah*, malachai*

psalms*, job*, the song of songs*

the gospels, especially mark* and john (mark is the oldest and most "jewish," john is the most recent and most "gentile"; matthew and luke are probably more familiar than both)

the epistles: james*, jude*, 1-3 john, 1-2 peter, hebrews

the revelation to john

everything i've recommended here you can find online (internet archive or annasarchive); i've also tried to keep it extremely general and limited to work that i've personally read and vetted. if there's specific aspects or topics you're interested in (ie women's mysticism, medieval mysticism, mysticism and eating, freud and mysticism, commentaries on specific mystics etc) just drop me an ask! very honoured you've asked me beloved <3

[thesiltverses]

I don’t know who types up the ask answers on this blog but to whoever’s reading this: how do you all feel about being alive and sentient? What keeps you going, what purpose propels you through this chaotic void? What do you think (or hope) waits for you after your inevitable end? What do you think constitutes a life well lived?

I'm going to answer this in the most wayward and stupidly overlong manner possible, because the previous ask had me thinking about puppets, and I was already mid-way through writing up a book recommendation that's semi-relevant to your questions.

Everyone (but especially people who've enjoyed The Silt Verses and all the folks on Tumblr who loved Piranesi by Susanna Clarke) ought to seek out Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban.

Riddley Walker is a wild and woolly story set in post-apocalyptic Kent, where human society has (d)evolved into a Bronze Age collective of hunter-gatherer settlements. Dogs, apparently blaming us for our crimes against the world, have become our predators, hunting us through the trees. Labourers kill themselves unearthing ancient machinery that they cannot possibly understand.

A travelling crowd of thugs led by a Pry Mincer collect taxes and attempt to impose themselves upon those around them with a puppet-show - the closest possible approximation of a TV show - that tells a mangled story of the world's destruction, featuring a Prometheus-esque hero called Eusa who is tempted by the Clevver One into creating the atomic bomb.

Riddley himself, a twelve-year-old folk hero in-the-making surrounded by strange portents, ends up sowing the seeds of rebellion and change by becoming a conduit for the anti-tutelary anarchic madness (one apparently buried in our collective unconscious) of Punch 'n' Judy.

It's a book in love with twisted reinterpretation, the subjectivity of interpretation, buried or forbidden truths coming back to light (the opening quote is a curious allegory about reinvention and cyclical change from the extra-canonical Gospel of Thomas, which is a good joke and mission statement on a couple levels at once) and human beings somehow stumbling into forms of wisdom or insight through clumsy and nonsensical attempts to make sense of a world that is simply beyond them.

It rocks.

The book starts like this:

On my naming day when I come 12 I gone front spear and kilt a wyld boar he parbly the las wyld pig on the Bundel Downs any how there hadnt ben none for a long time befor him nor I aint looking to see none agen. He dint make the groun shake nor nothing like that when he come on to my spear he wernt all that big plus he lookit poorly. He done the reqwyrt he ternt and stood and clattert his teef and made his rush and there we wer then. Him on 1 end of the spear kicking his life out and me on the other end watching him dy. I said, 'Your tern now my tern later.'

Riddley's devolved language - a trick which has been nicked/homaged by many other works, most notably Cloud Atlas and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome - is a masterwork choice which may seem offputting or overwhelming at first, but which has its own brutal poetry and cadence to it, and ultimately which makes us slow down as readers and unpick the wit, puns, double-meanings and playful themes buried in line after line.

(Even those first five sentences get us thinking about cyclical change, ritual and myth in opposition to the dissatisfactions of reality, and 'tern' to paradoxically indicate a rebellious change in direction but also an obedient acceptance of inevitable death.)

In one of my favourite passages in literature and a statement of thought that means a lot to me, Riddley has been smoking post-coital weed with Lorna, a 'tel-woman', who unexpectedly declares her belief in a kind of irrational, monstrous Logos that lives in us, wears us like clothes, and drives us onwards for its own purpose:

'You know Riddley theres some thing in us it dont have no name.' I said, 'What thing is that?' She said, 'Its some kynd of thing it aint us but yet its in us. Its lookin out thru our eye hoals...it aint you nor it dont even know your name. Its in us lorn and loan and shelterin how it can.' 'Tremmering it is and feart. It puts us on like we put on our cloes. Some times we dont fit. Some times it cant fynd the arm hoals and it tears us a part. I dont think I took all that much noatis of it when I ben yung. Now Im old I noatise it mor. It dont realy like to put me on no mor. Every morning I can feal how its tiret of me and readying to throw me a way. Iwl tel you some thing Riddley and keap this in memberment. What ever it is we dont come naturel to it.' I said, 'Lorna I dont know what you mean.' She said, 'We aint a naturel part of it. We dint begin when it begun we dint begin where it begun. It ben here befor us nor I dont know what we are to it. May be weare jus only sickness and a feaver to it or boyls on the arse of it I dont know. Now lissen what Im going to tel you Riddley. It thinks us but it dont think like us. It dont think the way we think. Plus like I said befor its afeart.' I said, 'Whats it afeart of?' She said, 'Its afeart of being beartht.'

While Hoban is, I think, deeply humanistic to his bones and even something of a wayward optimist, the notion of human beings as helpless and ignorant vessels, individual carriers - puppets, if you like - for an unknowable and awful inhuman power-in-potentia and life-drive that lacks a true shape or intent beyond its own continued survival (even when that means destroying us or visiting us with agonising atrophy in the process) conjures up the pessimism of Thomas Ligotti, another big influence on our work and a dude who was really into his marionettes-as-metaphor.

Let's go to him now for his opinion on the thing that lives beneath our skin. Thomas?

Through the prophylactic of self-deception, we keep hidden what we do not want to let into our heads, as if we will betray to ourselves a secret too terrible to know… …(that the universe is) a play with no plot and no players that were anything more than portions of a master drive of purposeless self-mutilation. Everything tears away at everything else forever. Nothing knows of its embroilment in a festival of massacres… Nothing can know what is going on.

Curiously, both Ligotti and Riddley Walker have appeared in the music of dark folk band Current 93, whose track In The Heart Of The Wood And What I Found There directly homages the novel and ends with the repeated words,

"All shall be well," she said But not for me

These words, in turn, hearken back to Kafka's* famous reported conversation with Max Brod:

'We are,' he said, 'nihilistic thoughts, suicidal thoughts that rise in God's head.' This reminded me of the worldview of the gnostic: God as an evil demiurge, the world as his original sin. 'Oh no', he said, 'our world is only a bad, fretful whim of God, a bad day.' 'So was there - outside of this world that we know - hope?' He smiled: 'Oh, hope - there is plenty. Infinite hope, just not for us."

So, we walk on.

We carry this thing that's riding on our backs, endlessly bonded to it, feeling its weight more and more with every passing day, unable to turn to look at it. Buried truths come briefly to life, and are hidden from us again. Perhaps they weren't truths at all. We couldn't stand to look the truth directly in the eyes in any case.

If there is hope, it's for the thing that looks out from our eyeholes, which thinks us but cannot think like us. We'll never get to where we're going, and the thing will never be born. There's no hope for it. Perhaps we don't want it to win anyway. It's nothing, and the key to everything.

The Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas says:

'When you see your own likeness, you rejoice. But when you see the visions that formed you and existed before you, which do not perish and which do not become visible - how much then will you be able to bear?'

Kafka, writing to his father, begins by expressing the inexpressibility of his own divine terror:

You asked me why I am afraid of you. I did not know how to answer - partly because of my fear, partly because an explanation would require more than I could make coherent in speech…even in writing, the magnitude of the causes exceeds my memory and my understanding.

Kafka concludes that while he cannot ever truly explain himself, and that the accusations in his letter are neat subjectivities that fail to account for the messiness of reality, perhaps 'something that in my opinion so closely resembles the truth…might comfort us both a little and make it easier for us to live and die.'**

It doesn't bring comfort to Kafka, whose diarised remarks both before and after the 1919 letter make it clear that he views his relationship with the things (people) that birthed him as an endless entrapment that prevents him from attaining any kind of self-actualisation or even comfort, since he cannot escape their influence or remember a time before them:

I was defeated by Father as a small boy and have been prevented since by pride from leaving the battleground, despite enduring defeat over and over again.

It's as if I wasn't fully born yet...as if I was dissolubly bound to these repulsive things (my parents).*** The bond is still attached to my feet, preventing them from walking, from escaping the original formless mush. That's how it is sometimes.

Samuel Beckett returns again and again (aptly) to this pursuit of a state of true humanity and final understanding that is at once fled and unrecoverable, yet to be born, never to be born, never-existed, endlessly to be pursued, pointless to pursue. From the astonishing end sequence of The Unnameable:

alone alone, the others are gone, they have been stilled, their voices stilled, their listening stilled, one by one, at each new-com- ing, another will come, I won’t be the last. I’ll be with the others. I’ll be as gone, in the silence, it won’t be I, it’s not I, I’m not there yet. I’ll go there now. I’ll try and go there now, no use trying, I wait for my turn, my turn to go there, my turn to talk there, my turn to listen there, my turn to wait there for my turn to go, to be as gone, it’s unending, it will be unending, gone where,where do you go from there, you must go somewhere else, wait somewhere else, for your turn to go again

I’m not the first, I won’t be the first, it will best me in the end, it has bested better than me, it will tell me what to do, in order to rise, move, act like a body endowed with despair, that’s how I reason, that’s how I hear myself reasoning, all lies, it’s not me they’re calling, not me they’re talking about, it’s not yet my turn, it’s someone else’s turn, that’s why I can’t stir, that’s why I don’t feel a body on me, I’m not suffering enough yet, it’s not yet my turn, not suffering enough to be able to stir, to have a body, complete with head, to be able to understand, to have eyes to light the way

From Thomas' Jesus:

When you make the two one, and you make the inside as the outside and the outside as the inside and the above as the below, and if male and female become a single unity which lacks 'masculine' and 'feminine' action, when you grow eyes where eyes should be and hands where hands should be and feet where feet should stand and the true image in its proper place, then shall you enter heaven.

Tom's Jesus makes a particularly Gnostic habit of both insisting that the hidden will be revealed and demonstrating the impossibility of attaining a state where the hidden ever can be revealed. Contrary to C.S. Lewis, we will never have faces with which to gaze upon the lost divine and the mysteries that shaped us, and crucially, as Christ puts it, we would not be able to bear the sight of ourselves if we did.

We will never become the thing that's riding on our backs.

Jesus again:

The disciples ask Jesus, 'Tell us how our end shall be.' Jesus says, 'Have you found the beginning yet, you who ask after the end? For at the place where the beginning is, there shall be the end.'

The Unnameable:

I’ll recognise it, in the end I’ll recognise it, the story of the silence that he never left, that I should never have left, that I may never find again, that I may find again, then it will be he, it will be I, it will be the place, the silence, the end, the beginning, the beginning again, how can I say it, that’s all words, they’re all I have, and not many of them, the words fail, the voice fails, so be it

The final passage of The Unnameable, which often is hilariously shorn and misinterpreted as an inspirational quote about how if you don't succeed, try again:

all words, there’s nothing else, you must go on, that’s all I know, they’re going to stop, I know that well, I can feel it, they’re going to abandon me, it will be the silence, for a moment, a good few moments, or it will be mine, the lasting one, that didn’t last, that still lasts, it will be I, you must go on, I can't go on, you must go on. I’ll go on, you must say words, as long as there are any, until they find me, until they say me, strange pain, strange sin, you must go on, perhaps it’s done already, perhaps they have said me already, perhaps they have carried me to the threshold of my story, before the door that opens on my story, that would surprise me, if it opens, it will be I, it will be the silence, where I am, I don’t know. I’ll never know, in the silence you don’t know, you must go on, I can’t go on. I’ll go on. †

We bear this thing that's riding on our backs. We'll never get to where we're going, and the thing will never be born. If it was born, it'd be too terrible for us to bear. There's nothing riding on our backs.

It will never speak us into being.

We keep on calling out into the silence, we keep trying to explain or understand the thing that's riding on our backs, searching for a way to birth it before we die. Our words about the thing are crucial, and they're meaningless, and they're all we have, and they're nothing at all. We cannot name it and we cannot express it, but we cannot stop trying, and we will keep turning back to our words about the thing, obsessing over them, tearing them to pieces, putting them back together.

I'm fumbling at something I can't think or say, but fumbling is all we're capable of. There could be beauty and meaning and comfort in the fumbling, but it's also vain, and foolish, and pointless, and we're lying to ourselves about the beauty and the meaning and the comfort, and we're indulging ourselves pointlessly by going on and on about the pointlessness of it. Nothing can know what's going on. We will never get close enough to understand without being destroyed.

Thomas' Jesus again, warning those who seek to reveal what's hidden:

He who is near me is near the fire.

Riddley Walker, reflecting on the Punch puppet's inexplicable desire to cook and eat his own child:

Whyis Punch crookit? Why wil he al ways kill the baby if he can? Parbly I wont ever know its jus on me to think on it.

If you got to the end of this, congratulations: but the above is honestly the most appropriate patchwork of what I believe, what propels me, what I feel.

As for what comes after life, I think it's fairly straightforwardly a nothingness we are tragically incapable of fully knowing or accepting - it's Beckett's unimaginable and unattainable silence, a silence that his characters' voices keep on shattering even as they cry out for it.

-Jon‡

*I can't remember if Kafka makes prominent reference to Czech puppets in his work, which is interesting in its own right given the thematic relevance (the protagonist in The Hunger Artist is perhaps a kind of self-directing puppet show?).

However, Gustav Meyrink - who some unsourced Google quotes suggest was pals with Czech puppeteer Richard Teschner - did write a strange little story, The Man On The Bottle, about an audience watching a 'marionette show' who are too wrapped up in performances and masks to interpret the reality that they're actually watching a human being suffocate to death.

**Thomas Ligotti: "Something had happened. They did not know what it was, but they did know it as that which should not be.

Something would have to be done if they were to live with that which should not be.

This would not (be enough); it would only be the best they could do."

***Beckett's Malone Dies actually kicks off with a related sentiment:" I am in my mother’s room. It’s I who live there now. I don’t know how I got there...In any case I have her room. I sleep in her bed. I piss and shit in her pot. I have taken her place. I must resemble her more and more."

† I don't necessarily align myself in humour with Ligotti on a lot of this stuff but I imagine he would recognise both Beckett's writing and Kafka's frustrations re explaining the causes of his hatred for his father as sublimation: finding artistic and philosophical ways of sketching the inexpressible horror and uncertainty of our existence in order to reckon with it at a remove without destroying ourselves. A higher form of self-deception, but self-deception nevertheless.

‡Muna's more of an anarcho-nihilist, I think.

[santmat]

Gospel of Thomas Studies - Message and Key Verses: Need For A Living One, Not Just Old Scriptures

52. His Disciples said to him: Twenty-four prophets preached in Israel, and they all spoke of you. He said to them: "You have ignored the Living One who is in your presence and you have spoken only of the dead."

59. Jesus said: "Look to the Living-One while you are alive, otherwise, you might die and seek to see him and will be unable to find him."

5. Know what is in front of your face and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.

(108) Yeshua said, Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me. I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to that one.

What the Living Master Reveals to the Student

17. The Master says: I will give to you what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, what hand has not touched, and what has not occurred to the mind of man."

Or as Kabir Has Said

“It is the mercy of my true Guru that has made me to know the Unknown;

I have learned from Him how to

walk without feet,

to see without eyes,

to hear without ears,

to drink without mouth,

to fly without wings." 

After the Teacher Dies, All We Have Are Old Scriptures From Now On? Rather, There is Succession and a New Living One Appointed For the Next Generation in the Gospel of Thomas   

12) The students said to Yeshua, We know you will leave us. Who will be our leader?

Yeshua said to them, Wherever you are, seek out Yaakov the Just. For his sake heaven and earth came into being.

12. The Disciples said to Jesus: We know that you will go away from us. Who is it that will be our teacher?

Jesus said to them: Wherever you are, you will go to James the Righteous, for whose sake Heaven and Earth were made (came into being.)

For Whose Sake Heaven and Earth Came Into Being, an Old Hebrew Axiom of Wisdom Explained  

"Whenever feeling downcast, each person should vitally remember, 'For my sake, the entire world was created.'" (Baal Shem Tov)

The Baal Shem Tov is sort of the "Rumi" or "Kabir" of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), an example of a towering figure and great mystic of one of the great schools of spirituality. The ending part, "For my sake, the entire world was created", is a variation of an ancient axiom of wisdom. A version of it even turns up in saying twelve of the Gospel of THOMAS: "The students said to Yeshua, 'We know you will leave us. Who will be our leader?' Yeshua said to them, 'Wherever you are, seek out Yaakov the Just [James the Just]. For his sake heaven and earth came into being.'"

Martin Buber elaborates and expands on this axiom in a way that includes us all: “Every person should know and consider the fact that you, in the particular way that you are made, are unique in the world, and no one like you has ever been. For if someone like you had already been, there would be no reason for you to be in this world.” (Ten Rings: Hasidic Sayings, Martin Buber)

Here's a big picture view from the Sikh scriptures of India, the Adi Granth, Peace Lagoon translation: "It was for the sake of the God-conscious beings that our True Lord created this earth, and began this play of death and birth".

[locustheologicus]

The America article above celebrates the veneration of St. Thomas Aquinas’ skull and relics that came to Washington DC on November 29. In it Father James Brent, assistant professor of philosophy at the Dominican House of Studies, said “an exceptional way” to gain wisdom and understanding “is to pray for it in the presence of the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas.” Fr. Gregory Pine, OP offered this quote for the event at St. Dominic’s church which included a Mass, veneration, and solemn prayer:

In a time of renewed interest in the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas, the jubilees of his canonization (700 years in 2023), death (750 years in 2024), and birth (800 years in 2025) draw our attention to the masterwork of wisdom and sanctity which God wrought in him. The opportunity that we have to receive and venerate his relics makes this grace all the more proximate and precious to us.

I went to the 12:15pm mass at St. Dominic’s church where Archbishop Wilton Gregory presided and preached at. The gospel reading from John was where Jesus invites his disciples to recognize the love that God has for them through his own witness and invites them to ask for gifts from him. The archbishop preached on the practice of venerating relics and how Aquinas’ relic is a great spiritual gift for us and draws us closer to God and the wisdom and knowledge of God.

The veneration itself was a powerful act of spiritual devotion where many people prayed for personal and social intercessions from this great saint. For my part I prayed for the personal gifts of wisdom, knowledge, justice, and charity. In our society I prayed for our nation and especially for our immigrant community. I asked also for the wisdom and courage for us who are willing to transform our broken political system.

Here is the prayer that was passed out during the veneration.

O God, who poured forth the waters of wisdom upon your Church through the teachings of Saint Thomas Aquinas, grant us, through the veneration of his relics, an increase share in that same holy wisdom and divine charity that inflamed it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Blending Aristotelian philosophy with Scripture and Patristic theology St. Thomas developed a form of natural theology - the belief that people can experience God’s existence through reason and experience, rather than any special revelation - which made his concepts very accessible to all people. Thomas helped further develop the idea of natural law and rights which would have such a profound impact on western civilization. His contributions also included the notion of how we can come to understand God and the purpose of our existence, how the virtues inform who we are and how society can be organized towards the ideals of justice and charity. We are indebted to him for the philosophical underpinnings of our society.

The Dominicans have established this amazing way of learning about Thomistic theology and spirituality called Aquinas 101. It is a great site with videos on all things Thomistic.

As i share this focus on the great saint and theologian I also want to share on the mysterious end of his extensive writing. This has troubled me for some time now. The following article shares some insights on the interesting event.

It is troubling to think of what happened on December 6, 1273 when he stopped writing after going to Mass that day. Many assume that he suffered a stroke that left him incapable of finishing his masterpiece. As the author of the above article tells us:

For his part, Thomas’s explanation of the silence was not physiological but spiritual. As often happened, he entered an ecstasy during Mass. Earlier in the year, on Passion Sunday, while he was celebrating Mass before many witnesses, the experience lasted so long that brothers had to intervene so that Mass could be finished. On this day, the feast of St. Nicholas, Thomas celebrated Mass as usual in the chapel of St. Nicholas in San Domenico Church in Naples. When Thomas’s friend and secretary Reginald brought him back to his senses, he was transformed.

The natural explanation would be that something happened to incapacitate his continued writing, a stroke perhaps. But it is curious to discover that St. Thomas Aquinas communicated this event as a spiritual experience that ended his writing career. It does offer the possibility that in experiencing the diving itself one may be left bereft of expressing this. As his attempt was to create a definitive theological summery he felt that mystery itself cannot have a conclusion thus leaving it open for others to expand on or delve into.

Even so, what he has left western civilization is an amazing work which has been the basis of ongoing work for theologians/philosophers/social scientist.

[eyeoftheheart]

"The lamps are different, but the Light is the same: it comes from Beyond. If you keep looking at the lamp, you are lost; for thence arises the appearance of number and plurality. Fix your gaze upon the Light." — Rumi, The Masnavi, Book I, Line 781-784

Gnosis and Diwali

Gnosis, as a direct, experiential knowledge of the Divine, harmonizes with Diwali’s core teaching of dispelling darkness. In the Gnostic tradition, darkness represents ignorance of our divine nature, while light symbolizes awakening and union with the Divine. Diwali’s symbolism, through this lens, can be viewed as an opportunity for seekers to engage in self-inquiry, moving beyond intellectual knowledge to direct, spiritual knowing.

By meditating on the symbolism of Diwali—the victory of light—we invite Gnosis by striving to awaken the divine spark within. This inner light, or "nous," reveals our connection to the higher realms, bringing us closer to spiritual unity with God. Diwali, then, becomes not only a reminder to light physical lamps but also to ignite the “lamp” of inner wisdom and self-realization.

Christ Consciousness and Diwali

Christ Consciousness aligns beautifully with the themes of Diwali, as it embodies love, unity, and the divine light within every person. In the Christian mystical tradition, Christ represents divine love and the light of God made manifest in humanity. Just as Diwali celebrates the inner light and overcoming darkness, Christ Consciousness calls for each person to awaken to their divine potential, transcending ego and material illusion to embody compassion, forgiveness, and universal love.

Celebrating Diwali from the perspective of Christ Consciousness encourages individuals to practice forgiveness, compassion, and selfless love. The lighting of lamps symbolizes the inner journey of “Christing,” where we realize our unity with the Divine and with each other. It is about the realization that we are all children of the light and that divine wisdom and love are inherently within us.

"I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through—listen to this music."— Hafez, The Gift, translated by Daniel Ladinsky

Bridging the Teachings in a Personal Practice

Diwali, approached through the lenses of Indo-Tibetan teachings, Gnosis, and Christ Consciousness, offers a powerful opportunity for introspection and transformation. Here are some ways to integrate these teachings in your Diwali celebration:

1. Inner Reflection: Spend time in meditation or contemplation, focusing on areas of inner darkness—fears, doubts, and judgments—that you wish to illuminate with love and wisdom.

2. Lighting Lamps with Intention: As you light each lamp, visualize dispelling inner ignorance and affirm your connection to divine wisdom and compassion, invoking the presence of Christ Consciousness or Buddha nature within.

3. Selfless Service: Diwali is also a time to practice generosity and kindness. Acts of service, particularly those that uplift the marginalized, embody the compassion of both Christ Consciousness and the Indo-Tibetan path of compassionate action.

4. Chanting and Prayer: Engaging in mantra chanting or prayer is a way to tune into the vibrational aspect of divine light, inviting it to dissolve blockages within and around you.

Diwali, as a spiritual celebration, is ultimately about the journey of illumination, a path that is not bound by any single tradition but resonates through various streams of wisdom. Whether approached through the lens of Hindu philosophy, Tibetan Buddhism, Gnostic insight, or Christ Consciousness, Diwali reminds us of our potential to embody and share divine light.

"Do not cease seeking day or night and do not let yourselves relax until you find the mysteries of the Kingdom of Light, which will purify you and make you into pure Light and lead you into the Kingdom of Light."— Pistis Sophia, Chapter 7

"If they say to you, ‘Where did you come from?’ say to them, ‘We came from the Light...’"— Gospel of Thomas, Saying 50

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

15th April >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Monday Third Week of Eastertide 

(Liturgical Colour: White. Year: B(II))

First Reading Acts of the Apostles 6:8-15 They could not get the better of Stephen because the Spirit prompted what he said.

Stephen was filled with grace and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people. But then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from Cyrene and Alexandria who were members of the synagogue called the Synagogue of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia. They found they could not get the better of him because of his wisdom, and because it was the Spirit that prompted what he said. So they procured some men to say, ‘We heard him using blasphemous language against Moses and against God.’ Having in this way turned the people against him as well as the elders and scribes, they took Stephen by surprise, and arrested him and brought him before the Sanhedrin. There they put up false witnesses to say, ‘This man is always making speeches against this Holy Place and the Law. We have heard him say that Jesus the Nazarene is going to destroy this Place and alter the traditions that Moses handed down to us.’ The members of the Sanhedrin all looked intently at Stephen, and his face appeared to them like the face of an angel.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 118(119):23-24,26-27,29-30

R/ They are happy whose life is blameless. or R/ Alleluia!

Though princes sit plotting against me I ponder on your statutes. Your will is my delight; your statutes are my counsellors.

R/ They are happy whose life is blameless. or R/ Alleluia!

I declared my ways and you answered; teach me your statutes. Make me grasp the way of your precepts and I will muse on your wonders.

R/ They are happy whose life is blameless. or R/ Alleluia!

Keep me from the way of error

and teach me your law. I have chosen the way of truth with your decrees before me.

R/ They are happy whose life is blameless. or R/ Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation John 20:29

Alleluia, alleluia!

‘You believe, Thomas, because you can see me. Happy are those who have not seen and yet believe.

Alleluia!

Or:

Matthew 4:4

Alleluia, alleluia!

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Alleluia!

Gospel John 6:22-29 Do not work for food that cannot last, but for food that endures to eternal life.

After Jesus had fed the five thousand, his disciples saw him walking on the water. Next day, the crowd that had stayed on the other side saw that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that the disciples had set off by themselves. Other boats, however, had put in from Tiberias, near the place where the bread had been eaten. When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’

Jesus answered:

‘I tell you most solemnly, you are not looking for me because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that cannot last, but work for food that endures to eternal life, the kind of food the Son of Man is offering you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’

Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to do the works that God wants?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is working for God: you must believe in the one he has sent.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[liskadaebabbit]

Hidden Wisdom or Heresy? The Enigma of the Gospel of Thomas

[wutbju]

Howard Eugene McCullough Sr., 94, died peacefully at Baptist Village, on February 8, 2024. He was a devoted husband, father, father-in-law, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, friend, and pastor. His last days were spent surrounded by his family before he was united with his Lord and Savior.

Brother Gene was born September 7, 1929, in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up. He graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1948. He attended Bob Jones University in Greeneville, SC, and graduated in 1955. He married Mary Jean McCullough on June 27, 1957, and shortly after their wedding, began attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, TX, where he graduated in 1960. His ministry began at Beatty Baptist Church in Pauls Valley, OK, and continued at First Baptist Church of Orange Park, FL for seven years. In September of 1967, he and his family moved to Folkston, where he served at First Baptist Church for 30 years, retiring in 1998.

His life’s mission was to serve others and reach the lost through preaching the gospel. His spirit of humility, his heart of compassion, and his words of wisdom allowed him to witness to his church and community. His servant’s heart was evident through his support of domestic and foreign missions. He incorporated his passion for woodworking as a vacation bible school activity to minister to the youth and lead them to Christ. Another way he impacted the youth of Charlton County was through annual trips to church camp at Lake Yale.

He enjoyed simple pleasures like gardening, making things for others such as mayhaw jelly or chocolate fudge, sharing life experiences/stories, and fellowshipping with those close to him. Although he touched so many lives, his purpose was always to do all things for the glory of God.

Brother Gene was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 56 years, Mary Jean McCullough; his father, Thomas Henry McCullough; his mother, Selma Whitten McCullough; his brothers: T.H., Jim, and Jack McCullough; and his sister, Marion McCullough Shannon.

He is survived by his children: Howard Eugene McCullough Jr. and his wife Cindy of Folkston, John Alan McCullough and his late wife Dawn of Woodbine, and Joy McCullough Boyce of Charlotte, NC; his seven grandchildren: Adam and Matthew McCullough, Dylan Brown and his wife Katie of Jesup, Caleigh Depew and her husband Lance of Folkston, Caroline, Ella, and Olivia Boyce; his four great-grandchildren: Jackson, Ezekiel, Gabriel, and Jude McCullough, and Lainey Brown; several of his nieces and nephews.

Visitation was held at Shepard-Roberson Funeral Home, Folkston, on Sunday, February 11, 2024. The funeral was held on Monday, February 12, 2024 at First Baptist Church of Folkston with Rev. Randy Jacoby and Rev. Mark McCullough officiating. Burial followed at Pineview Cemetery.

Flowers may be sent to Shepard Roberson Funeral Home or in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The McCullough Mission Fund at First Baptist Church of Folkston.

[faithnfrivolity]

From Kissing Fish Book 1-8-25 "We need a non-creedal Jesus." "The story goes that Jesus of Nazareth showed up at a football game between the Catholic Crusaders and the Protestant Punchers. The Crusaders scored first, which prompted Jesus to throw his hands up wildly and cheer profusely. But then, when the Punchers scored, Jesus responded in the very same manner. This puzzled the man sitting behind him, who asked him which side he was rooting for. Jesus said, “Oh, I am rooting for neither side. I am just enjoying the game.” The man turned to his friend and said, “Hmm, an atheist.” After the game, someone asked Jesus if he was in the habit of never taking sides. Jesus replied, “I side with people rather than religions. I told my fellow Jews once that the Sabbath was invented for human beings, not human beings for the Sabbath.” The Jesus movement was quite diverse from its beginning, but unfortunately, scholarship only discovered this over the last couple of centuries, because history always tells its stories from the side of the victors and those in power, who redact and embellish it, so it presents the picture they want to paint. Jesus was not worshiped as God, superior to all other human beings, by all the early followers of Jesus. The recent accessibility of some early texts such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary make this clear. I highly recommend a book by Harvard scholar, Karen L. King titled, “The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle.” Her chapter on “The History of Christianity” is excellent. I advocate for replacing “Christology” with “Jesusology,” with a focus on both the canonical and non-canonical Gospels. What is most needed today is a non-creedal, pluralistic, inclusive understanding of Jesus that can begin to break apart the Jesus of Christian exclusivism and exceptionalism. It’s time we let Jesus be who he really was – not God walking around in a human body, but a truly enlightened human being. A sage, prophet, seer, mystic, healer, exorcist, and wisdom teacher, who beautifully and abundantly manifested the attributes and qualities of Spirit, the foundational and essential attribute from which all the others arise being divine love (agape). If Christianity could part with its exclusive claims on Jesus, and let Jesus be a model, guide, and exemplar for everyone, a Jesus who doesn’t take sides, maybe Christianity could actually become a positive influence for the spiritual and moral evolution and the common good and well-being of our planet." ~ Chuck F. Queen

[yhwhrulz]

Charles Spurgeon's "Morning & Evening" Devotional for December 15

Morning

“Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith.”

James 2

James 2:3 , James 2:4

The man is more than his clothes. A saint in vile raiment is not vile, neither is a wicked man honourable because of his goodly apparel.

James 2:5

There can therefore be no reason for preferring the rich to the poor, since they are rarely the Lord’s chosen.

James 2:6 , James 2:7

Most of the persecution against the gospel has been stirred up by the great: the church has, therefore, no excuse for flattering them.

James 2:8 , James 2:9

You fail to act as Christians should do if you despise the poor. Whatever else you may do that is right and good, you ought not to err in this matter.

James 2:13

Mercy reigns in our salvation, let it reign in our conduct to others. To us it is not sweet to take vengeance, but to grant forgiveness.

James 2:18 , James 2:19

So that they have a more practical faith than those who say they believe and yet live in sin without qualms of conscience.

James 2:23 , James 2:24

Faith alone justifies, but not a faith which is alone and without works.

James 2:25

In any and every case suitable works attend upon saving faith, and it is idle to claim to be saved by faith, unless our lives are holy.

Come unto me, O come to me,

Thou blessed Spirit, come;

To fill my heart with sanctity,

And use it as thy home.

Thy pure and holy influence

Grant, Lord, my soul within;

Expelling, by thy presence, thence

The love and life of sin.

Evening

“Lord, open Thou my lips.”

James 3

We are generally too fond of talking, and are not always careful as to what we say; let us hear attentively what the Scriptures have to say of unholy tongues.

James 3:1

masters or teachers

James 3:1

Men are too ready to set up for teachers and censors, but if they knew the increased responsibility of the position they would prefer to be learners.

James 3:2

and this should make us slow to assume leadership

James 3:3-5

It walks through the earth, attacking the best of men, and even daring to assail heaven itself.

James 3:3-5

If it be fire from heaven it brings a Pentecost; if fire from hell it makes a Pandemonium.

James 3:6

not a nation, or a city of sin, but a whole world of evil

Stella says an unruly tongue is worse than the fire of hell, for. that torments only the wicked; but this afflicts all, both bad and good.

James 3:7 , James 3:8

God alone can subdue it, and teach it to be silent, or to speak to his glory. This lion cannot be bound even by a Samson, but the Lord can transform it to a lamb.

James 3:9 , James 3:10

Inconsistent language is monstrous. Our speech should be all of a piece, and altogether holiness unto the Lord. Is it so?

James 3:13

Holiness, meekness, and gentleness in conversation are the best signs of a really instructed mind. God alone by his Holy Spirit can give us this wisdom.

James 3:14-18

Old Thomas Adams has wittily said: “It is a singular member. God hath given man two ears; one to hear instructions of human knowledge, the other to hearken to his divine precepts. Two eyes, that with the one he might see to his own way, with the other pity and commiserate his distressed brethren. Two hands, that with the one he might work for his own living, with the other relieve his brother’s wants. Two feet, one to walk on common days to his ordinary labour, the other, on sacred days to frequent the congregation of saints. But among all, he hath given him but one tongue; which may instruct him to hear twice so much as he speaks; and to walk and work twice as much as he talks.”

Words are things of little cost,

Quickly spoken, quickly lost;

We forget them, but they stand

Witnesses at God’s right hand.

Grant us, Lord, from day to day,

Strength to watch and grace to pray;

May our lips, from sin set free,

Love to speak and sing of thee.

Copyright Statement This resource was produced before 1923 and therefore is considered in the "Public Domain".

[cmcsmen]

The (Third Sunday of Advent) Weekly CMCSMen Blog and Man Moment Message.

Photo: ' Sunrise on the Winter Pine ' - A beautiful backyard pine tree, covered with fresh snow, absorbs the winter sunlight. Copyright Frank J. Casella All Rights Reserved.

--

-- Keep Doing Good Things -- Something I like about fresh snow is how it illuminates the sunlight. The sunlight, especially in the morning, illustrates for me the warmth and blessing of God on his creation. And in order to see the beauty of the sunlight, we have to see the shadows behind it. The interplay of both is what I think makes this beauty interesting ... different from day to day .. such as with our own lives. Life is messy and full of struggles and shortcomings. Our lives and culture are full of fault-finding. But there is hope, if we accept it: Mercy. " Mercy is the first attribute of God. God does not want anyone to be lost. His mercy is infinitely greater than our sins " -- Pope Francis Saint Thomas Aquinas defines God's Mercy as the eternal perfection of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier in His relation to people. Through Mercy, God brings creatures out of poverty and replenishes their shortcomings. Jesus tells us the next step, “ wisdom is vindicated by her works. ” In other words, let the good things you’re doing do the talking. Keep your eyes on God. And keep doing the good that God is calling you to do. We are now in the season of Advent ... waiting for Christmas. This waiting period is a time to prepare, by removing the clutter in our lives, known as sin, and to better practice what we believe. And not to disbelieve because our expectations have not been met. Like a pine tree is changed by the beauty of the fresh snow, so too can we be changed by Mercy. A blessed Advent, and a Merry Christmas to you!

Frank J Casella, CMCS Executive Director

---

Catholic Man Moment Message

Learn more about:  Living a Just and Charitable Life.  St. John The Baptist's words remind us that we are all to a greater or lesser degree tax collectors and sinners, and that we should strive to be just and charitable to our fellow-men.

Gospel - Lk 3:10-18

The crowds asked John the Baptist, “What should we do?” He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none.  And whoever has food should do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He answered them,  “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion,  do not falsely accuse anyone,  and be satisfied with your wages.”

Now the people were filled with expectation,  and all were asking in their hearts  whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying,  “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn,  but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Exhorting them in many other ways,  he preached good news to the people.

[eternal-echoes]

I ask the pope if and how this is also true in the case of another important cultural frontier, the anthropological challenge. The understanding of human existence to which the church has traditionally referred, as well as the language in which the church has expressed it, remain solid points of reference and are the result of centuries-long experience and wisdom. However, the human beings to whom the church is speaking no longer seem to understand these notions, nor do they consider them sufficient. I begin to advance the idea that we now interpret ourselves in a different way than in the past, using different categories. This is also due to the great changes in society, as well as a broader conception of what it means to be human. At this point the pope stands up and takes the breviary from his desk. It is in Latin, and is worn down by continued use. He opens it to the Office of the Readings of the Feria Sexta, that is Friday, of the 27th week. He reads a passage to me taken from the Commonitórium Primum of St. Vincent of Lerins: "ita étiam christiánae religiónis dogma sequátur has decet proféctuum leges, ut annis scílect consolidétur, dilatétur témpore, sublimétur aetáte" (“Thus even the dogma of the Christian religion must proceed from these laws. It progresses, solidifying with years, growing over time, deepening with age.”)

The pope comments: “St. Vincent of Lerins makes a comparison between the biological development of man and the transmission from one era to another of the deposit of faith, which grows and is strengthened with time. Here, human self-understanding changes with time and so also human consciousness deepens. Let us think of when slavery was accepted or the death penalty was allowed without any problem. So we grow in the understanding of the truth. Exegetes and theologians help the church to mature in her own judgment. Even the other sciences and their development help the church in its growth in understanding. There are ecclesiastical rules and precepts that were once effective, but now they have lost value or meaning. The view of the church’s teaching as a monolith to defend without nuance or different understandings is wrong. “After all, in every age of history, humans try to understand and express themselves better. So human beings in time change the way they perceive themselves. It’s one thing for a man who expresses himself by carving the ‘Winged Victory of Samothrace,’ yet another for Caravaggio, Chagall and yet another still for Dalí. Even the forms for expressing truth can be multiform, and this is indeed necessary for the transmission of the Gospel in its timeless meaning. “Humans are in search of themselves, and, of course, in this search they can also make mistakes. The church has experienced times of brilliance, like that of Thomas Aquinas. But the church has lived also times of decline in its ability to think. For example, we must not confuse the genius of Thomas Aquinas with the age of decadent Thomist commentaries. Unfortunately, I studied philosophy from textbooks that came from decadent or largely bankrupt Thomism. In thinking of the human being, therefore, the church should strive for genius and not for decadence. “When does a formulation of thought cease to be valid? When it loses sight of the human or even when it is afraid of the human or deluded about itself. The deceived thought can be depicted as Ulysses encountering the song of the Siren, or as Tannhäuser in an orgy surrounded by satyrs and bacchantes, or as Parsifal, in the second act of Wagner’s opera, in the palace of Klingsor. The thinking of the church must recover genius and better understand how human beings understand themselves today, in order to develop and deepen the church’s teaching.”

-INTERVIEW WITH POPE FRANCIS by Fr Antonio Spadaro, August 19, 2013

[santmat]

The Gnostic Gospels: A History of the Destruction of Wisdom 

Muhammad ‘Ali al-Samman’s mother would often grab a few pages of Coptic texts to use them for kindling in the morning to light the family woodstove and make tea, perhaps do some cooking also. No doubt it was very nice tea, brewed thanks to the sacrifice of a few pages of unknown and lost Nag Hammadi pages, perhaps from the Gospel of Mary or lost book of Third Allogenes! The misplacing, forgetting, and random destruction of wisdom is all very much part of the story of Gnosticism on planet earth. But perhaps we can remain hopeful like the author of the Gospel of Thomas: 

"Know what is before your face, and what is hidden from you will be revealed to you. For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor anything buried which will not be raised." (Saying Five of the Greek Gospel of Thomas)