Mystics and the Margins<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nLight Within<\/strong>\nFriday, \u202fOctober 2, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>First\ngathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the\nQuakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn\u2019t\nmean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time\n(and even our times) when it came to women\u2019s legitimate place in spiritual\nleadership, abolitionism, pacifism, and even the necessity of silence to hear\nthe voice of God. From the beginning, they insisted that every individual had\naccess to the \u201cLight Within\u201d and must follow their own conscience. It took the\nCatholic Church until Vatican II to state that clearly! In this passage by\nQuaker mystic Thomas Kelly (1893\u20131941), I hear echoes of the writings of Thomas\nMerton, as Kelly encourages his readers to recognize, trust, and live\nauthentically from the \u201cLight Within.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deep\nwithin us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a\nDivine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity\nis at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with\nintimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to\nthese persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and\ncompletely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic\ncenter, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within\nthat illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the\nhuman face. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah\nof the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring\nto be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And\n[Christ] is within us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\nwho read these words already know this inner Life and Light. For by this very\nLight within you is your recognition given. In this humanistic age we suppose\nwe are the initiators and God is the responder. But the Living Christ within us\nis the initiator, and we are the responders. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic response of the soul to the Light is internal adoration and joy, thanksgiving and worship, self-surrender and listening. The secret places of the heart cease to be our noisy workshop. They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on [God] who has found us in the inward springs of our life. . . . Powerfully are the springs of our will moved to an abandon of singing love toward God; powerfully are we moved to a new and overcoming love toward time-blinded human beings and all creation. In this Center of Creation all things are ours, and we are Christ\u2019s and Christ is God\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"224\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-500x224.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-500x224.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-768x344.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM.png 1902w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mystics and the Margins The Light Within Friday, \u202fOctober 2, 2020 First gathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn\u2019t mean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time (and even our times) when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19371"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19375,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371\/revisions\/19375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>First\ngathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the\nQuakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn\u2019t\nmean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time\n(and even our times) when it came to women\u2019s legitimate place in spiritual\nleadership, abolitionism, pacifism, and even the necessity of silence to hear\nthe voice of God. From the beginning, they insisted that every individual had\naccess to the \u201cLight Within\u201d and must follow their own conscience. It took the\nCatholic Church until Vatican II to state that clearly! In this passage by\nQuaker mystic Thomas Kelly (1893\u20131941), I hear echoes of the writings of Thomas\nMerton, as Kelly encourages his readers to recognize, trust, and live\nauthentically from the \u201cLight Within.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Deep\nwithin us all there is an amazing inner sanctuary of the soul, a holy place, a\nDivine Center, a speaking Voice, to which we may continually return. Eternity\nis at our hearts, pressing upon our time-torn lives, warming us with\nintimations of an astounding destiny, calling us home unto Itself. Yielding to\nthese persuasions, gladly committing ourselves in body and soul, utterly and\ncompletely, to the Light Within, is the beginning of true life. It is a dynamic\ncenter, a creative Life that presses to birth within us. It is a Light Within\nthat illumines the face of God and casts new shadows and new glories upon the\nhuman face. It is a seed stirring to life if we do not choke it. It is the Shekinah\nof the soul, the Presence in the midst. Here is the Slumbering Christ, stirring\nto be awakened, to become the soul we clothe in earthly form and action. And\n[Christ] is within us all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\nwho read these words already know this inner Life and Light. For by this very\nLight within you is your recognition given. In this humanistic age we suppose\nwe are the initiators and God is the responder. But the Living Christ within us\nis the initiator, and we are the responders. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The basic response of the soul to the Light is internal adoration and joy, thanksgiving and worship, self-surrender and listening. The secret places of the heart cease to be our noisy workshop. They become a holy sanctuary of adoration and of self-oblation, where we are kept in perfect peace, if our minds be stayed on [God] who has found us in the inward springs of our life. . . . Powerfully are the springs of our will moved to an abandon of singing love toward God; powerfully are we moved to a new and overcoming love toward time-blinded human beings and all creation. In this Center of Creation all things are ours, and we are Christ\u2019s and Christ is God\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"224\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-500x224.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-500x224.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-300x134.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM-768x344.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Screen-Shot-2020-10-02-at-10.23.49-AM.png 1902w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mystics and the Margins The Light Within Friday, \u202fOctober 2, 2020 First gathering in 17th-century England as the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers have always existed on the margins of Christianity, but that doesn\u2019t mean their impact has been small. In many ways, they were ahead of their time (and even our times) when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19371"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19375,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19371\/revisions\/19375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}