joy of nine9

I can live on many levels, in my mind , my wounded emotions or I can let go of my exterior self and go deeper into my  inner spirit.

Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty. Saint Augustine

When I simple allow my awareness to sink deep within, in silence, I smile. In spite of myself, no matter how I felt a moment ago, in my surface emotions, joy bubbles up. I have not earned this joy; it is simply present because my spirit is connected to God, just like yours is.

“For me prayer is a surge of the heart, it is a simple look towards Heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.” 
-St. Therese of Lisieux

This silent, wordless prayer is simply enjoying a flow of love between my heart and God. It is the simplest, easiest prayer because God does all the work, I just look at Him and He heals, delivers, transforms me with no effort on my part.

Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul.

Saint Augustine

I realized today that perhaps people don’t understand  what I mean by my spirit or inner heart

The Heart

• the innermost core of a person
• the spirit.
• our innermost chamber, our secret dwelling place where God lives.
• a dimension of interior consciousness, awareness
• where we come in touch with an inner space, a space of no dimensions.
•  a timeless consciousness
•  a space, in which we find a Divine Reality
•  from which we are called to live.
•  Christ’s palace.

It is my birthday today and Jesus gave me a wonderful gift during silent prayer. It was a sense of deliverance while I simply lay, resting in his presence, smiling like an idiot, full of joy while a burning orb of light pushed out tension and control out of my body. It was a simple exchange of light for darkness and a sense of expansion within as my capacity to receive light, joy and life increased,

O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams. -St. Augustine

This was the result of prayers from an Augustinian priest, who quoted wonderful passages from St. Augustine.

“Our hearts were made for You, O Lord, and they are restless until they rest in you.” 
-St. Augustine