What is it then to be stable? It seems to me that it may be described in the following terms: You will find stability at the moment when you discover that God is everywhere, that you do not need to seek Him elsewhere, that He is here, and if you do not find Him here it is useless to go and search for Him elsewhere because it is not Him that is absent from us, it is we who are absent from Him..This is important because it is only at the moment that you recognize this that you can truly find the fullness of the Kingdom of God in all its richness within you; that God is present in every situation and every place, that you will be able to say: ‘So then I shall stay where I am.’
-Metropolitan Anthony Bloom
Wonderful words. It was such a jolt, in a good way, when it dawned on me, while reading a book by Dallas Willard in which he was talking about the Lord’s Prayer, that God truly is everywhere, filling all things, and not far, far away, to be met only in the distant future, on the other side of life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sara’s words. Me, too. Thank you, Gretchen!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Amen!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fenelon has been trying to teach me this as well for two decades. I always forget.
I do love this quote and will have to put it in my quote book. It says it so wonderfully and simply. I am going out to chop weeds so I will chop and ponder.
Have a lovely day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is one of the basic principles of Benedictine spirituality. They pracitice stability by committing to stay at one monastery their entire life. Apparently when Benedict wrote his Rule it was common for monks to move around from one monastery to another – much like today’s tendency to move from one church community to another.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Clearly, Met. Anthony – one of my favorite authors – didn’t have the travel bug! 😉 The beauty is that here he speaks of the beginning… not the end… of wonder. Sadly, it seems to take us a lot longer to get to where we already are… than it should, huh?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very timely for me. To remain somewhere like a rock in a river that is honed and smoothed…all the jagged edges slowly disappearing. But I must remain.
LikeLiked by 1 person