Lent 2013 (Easter Sunday)

 

 

 

EASTER SUNDAY

March 31, 2013

 

 

We affirm today that "I AM resurrected into a new dimension of the life, light and power of God."  THANK YOU, GOD!

 

 

Everything that Jesus did in His lifetime was intended as a demonstration for us, to awaken us to the Presence and Power of God within us. "The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do," He assures us.  (John 14:12). We will love unconditionally, we will heal, we will manifest abundance for ourselves and others. We will achieve this new state of consciousness most easily if we follow His guidance and example, but we will achieve it.

 

What, then, are we to make of the Resurrection that we celebrate on Easter Sunday as the culmination of the Lenten process? It is usually presented as such a dramatic and unique intervention of God into the affairs of man that it can never hope to be duplicated --- certainly not in each and every one of us.

 

But to believe this would violate everything Jesus taught and lived. There are no exceptions to Divine law --- although there are certainly higher levels of understanding of Divine law. Jesus was not uniquely saved from the ravages of death because of His unique relationship with God. He was simply and eloquently demonstrating to us that we are all exempt from death, because as eternal Spiritual beings, death has no reality for us at all. Jesus experienced death as the shadow it is, a doorway of transformatiion into another form of expression. And He calls us to the same realization.

 

We have all experienced resurrection moments, transition points after which our lives were forever altered because our consciousness, our awareness of life and love expressing, had permanently shifted. This Easter, then, let us allow the Resurrection of Jesus to remind us of our own resurrection experiences and let us appreciate the Spiritual awareness we have come to, the crucifixions with which we have released old patterns of thinking and expressing, and the wonderful new possibilities that lie before us.

 

 

 

PRAYER:

 

Thank You, God, for Your love and support through this Lenten process and for the changes in consciousness that are expressing in every area of my life as love, health, joy and abundance. As I move forward into new challenges and new dimensions of Spiritual possibility, I will return to this process when I need to remember and appreciate how far my journey has taken me. I am grateful for all that has been, and for all that is expressing in my life at this moment. And I am open and fully receptive of all that remains to be experienced, discovered and shared.

 

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"

Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Easter Sunday, March 31, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 20:1-9

For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.
--- John 20:9


My offering to God:

I will rejoice in Christ's gift of eternal life. I praise Almighty God, for His only begotten Son's death and resurrection which allows us to enjoy eternal life with Him.

EASTER LEGEND (The Tradition of the Pretzel)

 

 

 

 

The Tradition of the Pretzel

 

 

     Pretzels began in the 6th century at an Italian monastery.

     A monk was preparing unleavened bread for Lent and twisted the scraps of bread dough to resemble arms in prayer. He named his creation Pretiola, a word meaning little reward, and gave it as a treat to the children who recited their prayers.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY (The Empty Egg)

     Jeremy Forrester was born physically handicap and mentally challenged. At 12 years old, he was in the second grade and his teacher, Doris Miller, often became frustrated with him because he would squirm in his seat and make grunting noises which distracted the other students. Yet, other times, he spoke and behaved very well.
     One day, at a parent teacher conference, Miss Miller told the Forrester's, "Jeremy really belongs in a special needs program. I believe he would feel more comfortable if he were surrounded with others with similar disablities."
     Mrs. Forrester was very disheartened and began to softly cry, while her husband spoke.
     "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school with special needs programs nearby. It would really disappoint Jeremy if he had to leave this school because he has told us how much he likes coming here."
     The teacher sat stoic, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to penetrate her heart and soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters, after all, their only child has a terminal illness. But it was very hard for her to teach the other students with Jeremy's daily distractions. She felt he would never learn to read or write and that it was a waste of time to keep trying.
     "Well, I'll give it a few more months and see if he improves. Meanwhile, I highly suggest that you look into other resources to help him become successful." said Miss Miller.
     When the Forresters left, she sat at her desk and thought about the situation as guilt overwhelmed her. "Here I am complaining because I can't seem to reach him and yet, his parents struggle with this more often. My situation is nothing compared to his parents. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy."

     A few months later as spring was arriving and while she was trying to teach, Jeremy unexpectedly stood up and limped over to her. He wrapped his skinny arms around her legs, looked up at her face and said loud enough for the whole class to hear, "I love you, Miss Miller."
     The other children began to giggle and mock him. Her face turned a beet red as she replied, "That's very nice, Jeremy. Now please go take your seat."
      Jeremy went back to his seat and the excited children began telling Miss Miller about their anticipation of Easter coming. Then Miss Miller began telling the story of Jesus and emphasized the idea of new life springing forth. She gave each of them a large plastic egg, "Now I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that represents new life," she told her class.
     The next day at school, all the children placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miler's desk. She picked up the first egg, opened it and found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower certainly is a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here."
     A small girl in the first row waved her arm, "That's my egg, Miss Miller."
     The next egg contained a plastic butterfly. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that is new life too." Miss Miller said.
     A small boy raised his hand, "That's my egg, Miss Miller. My dad helped me."
     Then she opened another egg. She gasped when she saw the egg was empty. Realizing that it was Jeremy's egg, assuming he didn't understand the assignment, she didn't want to embarrass him so she set the egg aside and reached for a different egg.
     Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up, "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?'
     Flustered she replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty."
     "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty too." He said.

     Then she asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?"
     "Oh yes," Jeremy excitedly replied, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

     The recess bell then rang and the children leapt up out of their seats and ran outside. Miss Miler sat in her seat and all the coldness she felt towards Jeremy suddenly melted away.
     Three months later, Jeremy passed away. Those who went to pay their respect at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket... all of them empty.

PRAYER (Powerful Prayer of Gratitude)

Dear God,
     I want to thank You for what You have already done. I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears... I am thanking you right now!

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves... I am thaking You right now!

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get that raise or until I get the job... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has caused me pain or grief... I am thanking You right now!

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed... I am thanking You right now!

I am thanking You because I am alive!

I am thanking You because I know I can make it through the day's difficulties.

I am thanking You because I have walked around the obstacles.

I am thanking You because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and to do better.

I am thanking You because GOD... You have NOT given up on me!

THANK YOU GOD!

MOTIVATIONAL STORY (Suspended Coffee)

     One day as my friends and I entered a coffee shop we heard the person before us place their order.
     "Five coffees, please. Two for us and three suspended."
     They pay for their order, take the two coffees and leave. Then a young couple came in, "We'll have four coffees. Two for us and two suspended." They pay for their order, take the two and leave.
     Four people enter, order four coffees, pay and leave.
     The next person came in, "I'll have five coffees, one for myself and four suspended."
     I didn't understand what was going on so I asked my friends, "What is suspended coffee?"
     My friends glanced at each other then replied, "Wait a few minutes and you'll see."
     As we sat around enjoying our coffee, there were more people coming and ordering the suspended coffee. I patiently waited to find out the meaning of this as I watched the snow outside gently landing on the ground.
     Then an old man, dressed in worn out clothing and appearing homeless, entered the coffee shop. He slowly crept up to the counter and asked, "Do you have any suspended coffee today?"
     The girl behind the counter replied, "Yes, we do." She then hands him a nice hot cup of coffee. He takes the cup and goes into a corner to sit and drink it.

The tradition of the 'suspended' coffee started in Naples and has spread across the world. People pay in advance for coffee meant for those who can't afford it. Sometimes, if the place offers it, people will also pay for a hot meal to go with it.

One small act of charity can make a difference in someone's life. No kind deed is too small to start an everlasting ripple in making this world a better place.

SPREAD KINDNESS AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

Bless and be blessed!
    

HUMOR HELPS HAPPINESS (Your Tax Payment is Due!)

    A nervous taxpayer was unhappily conversing with the IRS Tax auditor who had come to review his records. At one point the auditor exclaimed, "Mr. Carr, we feel it is a great priviledge to be allowed to live and work in the USA. As a citizen you have an obligation to pay taxes and we expect you to eagerly pay them with a smile."
     "Thank goodness," said Mr. Carr, with a giant grin from ear to ear on his face. "I thought you were going to want me to pay with cash."

Lent 2013 (40th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Holy Saturday, March 30, 2013

 

 

Completion

 

Today we rest in the completion of our Lenten process. We give thanks for the transformation now expressing in our lives. We are open to our resurrection. We accept our good. We leave the final step to God. We are at peace.

 

 

The Saturday between the crucifixion and resurrection is a time of release and trust --- a time of stillness in the rich and fertile silence of the tomb. A human life that began in a borrowed manger ends in a borrowed crypt and both locations serve the same purpose. They are gateways through which Jesus Christ passed as He took up and then put down human form. The silence is a silence of all possibility. "We are resting in God." Charles Fillmore said, "and at the same time gathering strength for the power of greater demonstrations to follow."

 

Mr. Fillmore could be speaking of Jesus Christ in the tomb, or of us today, at the end of our Lenten journey, when he writes these words: "A degree of cleansing, a wiping out of sense consciousness has been accomplished. By mentally reviewing our experiences, we recognize that nothing is really destroyed, but rather transmuted. Through faith we take stock of the progress we have made and find that we are getting a consciousness of radiant substance and of a higher life.

 

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"  
Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Holy Saturday, March 30, 2013)

Gospel reading:  Luke 24:1-12


"He is not here, but is risen! "Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."   --- Luke 24:6-7


My offering to God:

I will give thanks and praise to the Lord for all He has done for me.

Stations of the Cross 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Preparation Prayer

     Almighty God, each of us are called to discipleship with Your Son Jesus through the sacrament of Baptism. We are sent to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus, to share the Good News of Your saving love. Please hear our prayer as we remember the teaching Jesus gave as He continues to call us to walk in His way, renewing His church and caring for His people. We thank You for those who have answered Your call. We ask that You send the Holy Spirit to fire up the Spirit within us so that we may continue to dedicate ourselves with undivided hearts to the love of Christ and His Kingdom. In Jesus Name we pray. Amen.

 

 

 

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The First Station: Pilates Condemns Jesus To Die

Reflect on how Jesus Christ, after being beaten, spit upon, mocked and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilates to die on the cross.

Jesus, we ask that You call Your people to publicly accept and follow You in spite of what others may think or say. Give us a passion for reaching out through Your love to the needs of others.

 

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The Second Station: Jesus Accepts His Cross

Remember that Jesus walked this road with the cross on His shoulders, thinking of us, and offering our Heavenly Father in our behalf, the death He was about to suffer.

Jesus, help us to see in the cross the symbol of union with You. Give us the zeal and talent to minister to those who are burdened with pain, sorrow, confusion and loneliness. Let them see that in the cross there is life.


 

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The Third Station: Jesus Falls The First Time

Reflect on the first time Jesus fell. The loss of His blood from the horrific beating and the crown of thorns had weakened Him so much that He could hardly walk; and yet, He had to carry that great load upon His shoulders. As the soldiers cruelly beat him, He fell several times under that heavy cross.

Jesus, remind us that we don't have to be perfect. Let us be open to Your transforming grace that can accomplish more than anyone could imagine. Give to those who respond to Your call to preach the Gospel, a deep trust that You will complete what You have begun in them.

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The Fourth Station: Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

Reflect on how the Son met His mother on His way to Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their gaze was so touching the love was felt by many who witnessed it.

Jesus, instill in us the desire to come to know Your mother and to find in our prayerful reflection of Scriptures, a woman of faith, hope and love whose teaching is an example for us all. Help parents to promote and support teachings among their children.

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The Fifth Station: Simon Helps Jesus Carry The Cross

Reflect on how weak and weary Jesus was. At each step He was at the point of giving up. Fearing that He would die on the way when they wanted Him to die on the cross, they forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross after our Lord.

Jesus, send Your grace to those You call to leadership in the church. Help them to accept and affirm others' gifts in building the community, in proclaiming Your message and in reaching out to others in service.


 

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The Sixth Station: Veronica Offers Her Veil To Jesus

Reflect on the compassion of Veronica. Seeing Jesus in such distress, His face soaked in sweat and blood, she wiped His face with her veil. Afterwards, the cloth left an image of His face.

Jesus, help us to see Your face on everybody we meet. Help Your people to truly understand that whatever good is done to the least of Your brothers and sisters is done to You.


 

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The Seventh Station:  Jesus Falls A Second Time

Reflect on how the second time He fell under His cross it renewed the pain in all His wounds and those witnessing His affliction.

Jesus, teach those You have called to preach to accept their own and other' limitations, relying on God's merciful grace. Help them in these times of darkness to reach out especially to those whom the world calls "fallen" --- people who are addicted, imprisoned, poor, aged, of ill health.


 

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The Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks To The Women


Reflect on how the women cried with compassion when they saw Jesus so helplesss and dripping in blood as He walked along. Jesus said to them, "Weep not so much for Me, but rather for Your Children."


Jesus, remove any prejudices or judgments from those of us whom You have called to walk with You to preach Your Good News. Let those of us who follow You see that all God's people are created equal, male and female, regardless of race or culture, and that our Heavenly Father has no favorites. Let their words and example speak of Christ's justice, peace and joy.

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The Ninth Station: Jesus Falls The Third Time

Reflect on how Jesus Christ fell for the third time. He was extremely weak and the cruelty from His executioners was excessive. They tried to make Him move faster but He barely had the strength to move.

Jesus, help those You called to preach the Good News know that they are grace-filled. Priests, Pastors, Deacons, sisters and brothers --- married and single --- are all favored by God. Instill in them the understanding that nothing can separate them from the love of God who is actively present in good times and bad.

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The Tenth Station: Jesus Is Striped Of His Garments

Reflect on how Jesus was violently stripped of His clothes by His executioners. The inner garments stuck to His exposed wounds and the soldiers tore them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Have pity for the way Jesus was so cruelly treated.

Jesus, help us to clothe ourselves with sincere compassion, humility, kindness, gentleness and patience, forgiveness and thankfulness... and over all these virtues, let us put on love.

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The Eleventh Station: Jesus Is Nailed To The Cross

Reflect on how Jesus was hung upon the cross. He stretched out His arms and offered to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet and then raised the cross leaving Him to die in agony and anguish.

Jesus, instill in us today a deep desire to make a difference in the world no matter what the cost. Let the courageous example of the modern martyr inspire us to meet all challenges with faith, hope and love. Fill us with Your presence and the grace to respond to the call to "go out into the world."

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The Twelfth Station: Jesus Dies Upon The Cross

Reflect on how Jesus, after three hours of agony on the cross, is finally overwhelmed with suffering and, abandoning Himself to the weight of His body says, "It Is Finished." He then bows His head and dies.

Jesus, please give us a deep love for Your passion, death and resurrection. Help us to find daily renewal in our lives through You, with You and in You, giving You glory and honor to God our Father.

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The Thirteenth Station: Jesus Is Taken Down From The Cross

Reflect on how, after Christ had died, He was taken down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted mother. She tenderly held Him and pressed Him close to her bosom.

Jesus, touch the minds, hearts and Spirits of those You called to serve the people of God. Enable them to respond to Your call to bring Your redeeming presence to a world grieving, fearful and hungry for Your Truth through prayer and service.

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The Fourteenth Station: Jesus Is Placed In The Tomb

Reflect on how the disciples carried the body of Jesus to the tomb while His mother, Mary, went with them and arranged it in the tomb with their own hands. They then closed the tomb and departed.

We thank You, Jesus, for the infinite power of Your death and resurrection which brought salvation and healing to the world. We thank You for all whom You have called to follow You in the past 2000 years dedicating their lives to the spreading of the Gospel. May we all be steadfast to respond to Your call, "Come follow Me."

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Prayer To Jesus Christ Crucified

My good and dear Jesus, I kneel before You, asking You most earnestly to engrave upon my heart a deep and lively faith, hope and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. As I reflect upon Your five wounds, and dwell upon them with deep compassion and grief, I recall, dear Jesus, the words of the prophet David spoke long ago concerning You: "They pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones."

HUMOR HELPS HAPPINESS (Tax Time Humor)

     A Dutchman was explaining the red, white and blue colors on the Netherlands flag to an American:
     "Our flag is symbolic of our taxes. We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bill and blue after we pay them."
 
     The American nodded and said, "It's the same in the USA, only we see stars too!"

Lent 2013 39th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Good Friday, March 29, 2013

 

 

Resurrection

 

Our resurrection is guaranteed as long as we neither run from the Cross nor cling to it. Crucifixion is not the high point of anyone's life. It is simply a necessary step to the Spiritual glories that lie beyond.

 

Jesus was always the Christ in potential, just as we are. And His realization of the Christ, His ability to express it, to be it, grew through His mediataions with His followers --- yes, and with His enemies. His realization of His Christ potential was quicker than ours, but He trod the same Spiritual path that we do, showing us that it could be done.

 

As Charles Fillmore wrote in His Good Friday Lenten lesson, "Jesus' crucifixion on calvary was a final step in a work that had been going on in Him for 33 years." Fillmore also explained that crucifixion is "a mental process with a physical effect," which helps us to more clearly see the crucifixion experiences that we have moved through ourselves. When we cross out in consciousness patterns of error thought that have become deeply ingrained in us, we are experiencing crucifixion.

We are releasing the mortal to reach the immortal within us, dissolving the limits of the physical realm to more fully express our Spiritual nature.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"   

Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Good Friday, March 29, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 18:1-19 and 42


So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.      --- John 19:30


My offering to God:

To honor Christ's great sacrifice for me, I will also sacrifice myself for others.

HUMOR HELPS HAPPINESS (Tax Season)

Have you ever wondered why the IRS calls it FORM 1040?

It's because for every $50.00 that you earn, you get $10.00 and they get $40.00

HUMOR HELPS HAPPINESS (IRS Time)

IRS TAX FORM CHANGE ALERT!!!!

     We've just been informed that the Internal Revenue Service has simplified it's 1040 forms for next year in the spirit of becoming a "kinder, gentler" IRS.
     It goes like this:

(A) How much did you make last year? ________________
(B) How much do you have left? ______________________
(C) Send in amount on line B.

Lent 2013 (38th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Maundy Thursday, March 28, 2013

 

Gethsemane

 

We surrender the error thoughts that do not conform to our new Spiritual awareness and allow them to pass away. We are new Spiritual beings, centered in and expressive of the Christ Presence within us.

 

 

As He sat alone in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus Christ decided to set aside once and for all time every appearance of limitation --- to stand forth in His true Spiritual identity as a shining example for all humanity of the God Presence eager to shine forth from each of us. What is often referred to as His agony was a regretful realization that nothing would ever again be the same. He had richly enjoyed His human experiences as Jesus; He would gladly have continued it longer if that were possible; but He acceded to the Will of God, the Spiritual energy that moved Him forward.

 

We can easily identify with the bittersweet awareness that change is inevitable, that our comfortable and secure existence takes turns into the unknown. We may know, as Jesus surely knew, that only greater and greater Good awaits. But we also know that every step into a new Spiritual dimension seems at first tp produce confusion and disruption. Emily Cady, in 'Lessons in Truth', called this process "chemicalization." It is brief, but it can be intense.

 

Charles Fillmore wrote that "this breaking up and passing away of old error states of mind and making ready for new is a process in soul evolution of all those who are faithfully following Jesus" in his full expression of the Chrsit.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"  
  Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate.


My Lenten Devotional (Maundy Thursday, March 28, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 13:1-15

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet."                --- John 13:12-14


My offering to God:

I will humble myself and serve another person.

Lent 2013 (37th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

 

Communion

 

Today we affirm that the pure life and substance of God are constantly renewing and rebuilding our bodies, which are God's Holy Temple.

 

 

The details and importance of the Seder, the Passover meal, have changed very little for Jews in the 2,000 years since Jesus' time. From its ritual questions and answers to its traditional food and drtink, the Seder focuses on the central event in Jewish history: the deliverance of the Hebrew people from slavery in Egypt through God's active intervention on their behalf.

 

Wine and unleavened bread are important elements of the Seder meal and had been for hundreds of years before the time of Jesus. Jesus honored the Seder traditions during the final Passover celebration of His life, but He gave them a different dimension. He moved the emphasis from group obedience to individual responsibility.

 

The Seder meal took on a new dimension of communion. "Take, eat," Jesus said of the bread, "this is my body." "Drink ... all of you." He said of the wine, "for this is my blood." (Matthew 26:26-28). Charles Fillmore explains that the bread symbolizes substance, a body of Spiritual ideas. The wine is life, the circulation of Divine ideas that will purify our minds and hearts and renew our strength.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth" 
  Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate.


My Lenten Devotional (Wednesday, March 27, 2013)

Gospel reading:  Matthew 26:14-25


Now as they were eating, He said, "Assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."
--- Matthew 26:21

My offering to God:

I will reflect on the many times I have and continue to  betray Jesus by not doing as He commands.

Lent 2013 (36th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

 

Forgiveness

 

 

We allow the purifying flames of Divine forgiveness to radiate from our hearts to every cell of our bodies, every thought in our minds. We are whole and perfect, one with all of life and one with God.

 

Charles Fillmore's suggested Bible verse for today includes these powerful words from the prophesy of Joel, "And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams."

 

What is the nature of the Spirit of God that must pour out upon all flesh? Clearly it is the Spirit of forgiveness, for forgiveness dissolves any appearance of separation among ourselves and, especially, between us and God. Forgiveness is a Spiritual fire that purifies us from the dross of judgment and error thought.

 

To forgive is to agree to see everything from the perspective of God --- to share the compassionate understanding, the unconditional love with which God embraces all human frailty. Forgiveness opens the way for us to prophesy, to see visions, to dream dreams --- and to find the creative energy of God within us that will make those visions and dreams the reality of our lives.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"

Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Tuesday, March 26, 2013)

Gospel reading: John 13:21-38


Jesus answered him, "Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not "crow till you have denied Me three times."          --- John 13:38


My offering to God:

I will pray for the courage to profess my faith in Christ at all times, even when the opposition is weighing heavily against me.

Lent 2013 (35th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Monday, March 25, 2013

 

 

Transcendence

 

Today we affirm without hesitation that God dwells within us. We are open and receptive to all of the transformations that express in and through us as we surrender to our newly realized Spiritual energy.

 

 

In his 'Keep a True Lent' lesson for the Monday of Holy Week, Charles Fillmore wrote of the new possibility for combining our human experience and our Spiritual truth into one transcendent existence. And Evelyn Underhill, in her mediatation for this same day, wrote about the same energy:

 

 

"The double action of the soul, standing away

from the Perfect in contemplation and seeking

union with it in love, and this double consciouness

of the Holy as both our Home and our Father, are

the characters of a fully developed Christian

Spirituality."

 

 

Jesus demonstrated this double action of the soul throughout His entire ministry, embracing the rich experiences of His human existence without ever losing sight of His true identity as Spirit. He calls us to do the same, to be in the world but not of it.

 

The Book of Revelation expresses this new possibility as the coming of  "a new heaven and a new earth... Behold, the dwelling of God is with men."  (Revelation 21:1-3)

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"

Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Monday, March 25, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 12:1-11


But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."            --- John 12:7-8


My offering to God:

I will do something thoughtful for someone else.

Lent 2013 (6th Sunday)

 

 

 

 March 24, 2013

 

Palm Sunday

 

Today let us enter Jerusalem, choosing to experience our lives from the Power of God radiating from the center of our hearts. All fear and resistance are gently dissolved as we affirm that the love and strength of Jesus Christ dwell in us.

 

Jesus Christ carefully placed the elements of Palm Sunday to guide us into full appreciation of the energies at work in and around us as we stand on the threshold of a new Spiritual awareness. He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, knowing Jerusalem was the very center of the fear that sought to destroy Him.

 

But Jerusalem was also the heart of the world in which He lived, and it is from the heart that His new Spiritual message must radiate. To be centered in the heart is to be in creative control of all aspects of our lives. We typically try to solve all problems and understand all possibilities from our heads --- but only when we are centered in the heart can we fully claim our co-creative power and transform our lives.

 

Thus we allow an indwelling sense of peace to carry us to the Spiritual power of Jerusalem in our hearts. As we move through fear and resistance, we are greeted with loud hosannas. Every cell and every thought begin to vibrate with new possibilities.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"

Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

 

 



My Lenten Devotional (Sunday, March 24, 2013)

Gospel reading:  Luke 22:14-23


"And He took the bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in rememberance of Me."                    --- Luke 22:19

My offering to God:

I will continue to reflect on Christ's sacrifice and purpose here on earth.

Lent 2013 (34th Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Saturday, March 23, 2013

 

Transmutation

 

 

The Christ Presence of God in us is transmuting our bodies and our lives into perfect expression of Spirit.

 

 

Jesus taught and demonstrated that our Spiritual work will give us dominion over our material existence, in the same way that Adam was given dominion over the earth in early Genesis --- not controlling it as lord and master, exploiting it for selfish needs, but rather being responsible for the proper harmony of the whole.

 

When we are fully expressing the Christ Presence within us, the smallest expression of substance will feed 5,000 people, as it did in the great demonstration of Jesus Christ. The substance of God that expresses as water is the same substance of God that expresses as wine. When we truly understand this, creating water from wine or wine from water will be as simple as it was for Jesus at the wedding feast in Cana.

 

Nothing that we love and cherish about our human experience will be denied us in our new Spiritual awareness, but everything will be transformed. Indeed, this process has begun already; it is expressing daily in our newer, more energized lives.

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"
Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate.

 

 

 



My Lenten Devotional (Saturday, March 23, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 11:45-56


Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.    --- John 11:51-52


My offering to God:

I will spend time reflecting on Christ's tremendous sacrifice of love for me.

Lent 2013 (33rd Day of Lent)

 

 

 

 Friday, March 22, 2013

 

Transfiguration

 

 

Let us use Charles Fillmore's great affirmation many times today: "My mind and body are radiant with the light of Spirit and I am triumphant, glorious, splendid."

 

Our consciousness forms our material world. When we connect more fully through prayer with the Presence and Power of God, that energy of love begins to express through every cell in our bodies. We are transfigured --- we glow with a new inner light.

 

In Chapter 17 of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus takes Peter, John and James --- who metaphysically represents the Spiritual faculties of faith, love and discernment --- up a mountain, rising to a higher realm of consciousness, the realm of prayer. "And his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light." (Matthew 17:2  ESV).

 

We are often tempted to think of our bodies as excess baggage destined to be left behind when we move into the Kingdom of Heaven. Yet nothing in the material plane --- nothing! --- is so dense that it cannot be penetrated and transfigured by the prayer-focused power of God. Our cells and organs are never an impediment to God's love and as we continue our Spiritual growth, they become an expression of that love, shining with an eternal light.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's Lent 2013 "A Season for Spiritual Growth"



Unity is a nonprofit organization, supported primarily by freewill offerings, including planned giving. To give a donation, please visit www.unity.org/donate. 

My Lenten Devotional (Friday, March 22, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 10:31-42


And many believed in Him there. --- John 10:42


My offering to God:

I will pray that my faith will be strengthened.

My Lenten Devotional (Thursday, March 21, 2013)

Gospel reading:  John 8:51-59


"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps My word will never see death."   --- John 8:51


My offering to God:

I will trust in Jesus' Word and do my very best to keep it.

Lent 2013 (32nd Day of Lent)

 

 

 

Thursday, March 21, 2013

 

 

Atonement

 

Today we recognize Jesus Christ as our greatest teacher, perfectly expressing Divine love in His teachings, His actions and His example. We open to a clearer understanding of the truth He demonstrated --- the truth that we are all One and always will be.

 

The purpose of atonement is not to placate God into forgiving us, but to forgive ourselves by seeing ourselves from the perspective of God. From the perspective of Divine love, there has never been anything to forgive! The sense of separation between ourselves and the Power of God has been entirely an idea in our own human consciousness and it will dissolve as we are willing to be "at One" with the indwelling Presence of God, the Lord of our Being that Jesus called the Christ.

 

Jesus bravely, gently and lovingly demonstrated everything we need to know and do in order to reach our own sense of atonement. He showed through His teachings, His actions and His own demonstration that death is simply an illusion and eternal life is our true nature. He showed us the Way, the Truth and the Light and assured us that we could do as He did.

 

 

 

reprinted from Unity's "A Season for Spiritual Growth"