BEGINNING TO SAVE THE WORLD

Without suffering, "love" is mere sentimentality and not nearly enough to save the world--or anybody. -- Fr. Richard Rohr, "Daily Meditation," June 10, 2015

In Rohr's meditation, he uses physical pain (i.e., St. Francis's stigmata) as his example of suffering.

In today's world with all the (according to me, too many) drugs and meds available for the relief of pain, I had to see Rohr's statement as referring also to mental pain, in particular, the ego-deflating kind we must suffer that comes from snubs, slights, our rues, regrets and remorses, i.e., our self absorption.

Fortunately, there is no permanent relief for that kind of pain...only the daily reprieve that comes by seeking still more spiritual growth.

We begin by inviting our ego-piercing pain out into the open. And, may I say, that is suffering. The suffering of making the decision to go against our reasoning mind which for sure is doubting the wisdom of that action. But that is the way the love of God, and only the love of God, can bring us relief...by our looking that very pain in the eyeball thereby transmuting that pain to love.

And that's it...our invitation is issued when we become willing to flow with the ego pain rather than stop it...flow through to utter acceptance of it as our gold...not trying to justify or condemn our or another's actions in relation to those slights and snubs, or to explain them away, or to guilt ourselves over them. 

We find that transmuted love within our own self. That is the love of God within us. There. That is the beginning of the way to save the world.

According to me.

Thank you.