True prayer arises from our limitless desire for an infinite Good, i.e. God. For Gregory, because God is infinite and we are finite, the satisfaction of our desire gives rise to yet greater desire. In the near presence of God, there is, in fact, never ending growth and transformation.
While Solomon entertained the queen of Sheba, his kingdom crumbled beneath him. An American plutocracy of corporate wealth and power now dominates our policies while an underclass suffers and a middle class stagnates. These are not signs of stability.
I’ve seen one map promoted by Christian Zionists that declares that God has given to Israel the land in the Middle East stretching from the Mediterranian to the Euphrates, from Egypt to Turkey. Anyone who does not support Israel’s domination of this territory is an enemy of God, they say.
Where is our Temple? Where do we turn when we direct ourselves toward God?
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his host! Praise
They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He
Peter’s greatest triumph is his subsequent willingness to live with his failed self and to renew his confidence.
“Love and hatred are not merely subjective feelings, affecting the inward universe of those who experience them, but they are also objective forces, altering the world outside ourselves. By loving or hating another, I cause the other in some measure to become that which I see in him or her. Not for myself alone, but for the lives of all around me, my love is creative, just as my hatred is destructive.
I would propose that the greatest division in our nation lies along this fault line: What is our relationship to the poor?
sit at your window and be deeply and penetratingly aware. Whatever you see is God’s offering to you. Whatever you see is a prayer!