Dw i newydd greu @capelrhondda Dilynwch am newyddion am ein hymgyrch lwyddiannus i achub y capel yn Nhrehopcyn lle canwyd yr emyn-dôn byd-enwog, Cwm Rhondda am y tro cyntaf ar 1 Tachwedd 1907.

Please follow newly created @capelrhondda for news about our successful campaign to save the chapel in Hopkinstown, where the world-famous hymn tune Bread of Heaven was sung for the first time on 1 November 1907.

#cwmrhondda #breadofheaven #achubcapelrhondda #savecapelrhondda#landofsong #cymru #cymraeg

People, indeed, are ignorant who think it is possible to reach this high state of union with God without first emptying their appetite of all the natural and supernatural things that can be a hindrance to them, as we will explain further on. For there is an extreme distance between such appetites and that which is given in this state, which is nothing less than transformation in God.

Instructing us about this way, our Lord stated according to St. Luke: Qui non renuntiat omnibus quae possidet, non potest meus esse discipulus (Whoever does not renounce all that the will possesses cannot be my disciple) [Lk 14:33].

This statement is clear, for the doctrine the Son of Man came to teach is contempt for all things so we may receive the gift of God’s Spirit. As long as people fail to rid themselves of these possessions, they are incapable of receiving God’s Spirit in pure transformation.

We have a figure of this in Exodus [Exodus 16] where we read that God did not give the children of Israel the heavenly manna until they exhausted the flour brought from Egypt.

The meaning here is that first a total renunciation is needed, for this bread of angels is disagreeable to the palate of anyone who wants to taste human food. Persons feeding on other strange tastes not only become incapable of the divine Spirit, but even greatly anger the divine Majesty because in their aspirations for spiritual food, they are not satisfied with God alone, but mix with these aspirations a desire and affection for other things.

This is likewise apparent in the same book of Sacred Scripture [Ex 16:8–13] where it states that the people, discontented with that simple food, requested and craved meat, and seriously angered our Lord because of their desire to commingle a food so base and coarse with one so high and simple that, even though simple, contained the savor and substance of all foods [Wis 16:20–21].

Consequently, while morsels of manna were yet in their mouths, the wrath of God descended on them (as David also says: Ira Dei descendit super eos [Ps 78:31]), spouting fire from heaven and reducing thousands of them to ashes [Num 11:1]. For God thought it shameful for them to crave other food while he was giving them heavenly food.

Oh, if spiritual persons knew how much spiritual good and abundance they lose by not attempting to raise their appetites above childish things, and if they knew to what extent, by not desiring the taste of these trifles, they would discover in this simple spiritual food the savor of all things!

The Israelites did not perceive the taste of every other food that was contained in the manna, because their appetite was not centered on this manna alone. They were unsuccessful in deriving from the manna all the taste and strength they were looking for, not because the manna didn’t have these but because of their craving for other foods.

Similarly, those who love something together with God undoubtedly make little of God, for they weigh in the balance with God an object far distant from God, as we have said.

Saint John of the Cross

The Ascent of Mount Carmel, I, chap. 5, nos. 2–4

John of the Cross, St. 1991, The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, Revised Edition, translated from the Spanish by Kavanaugh, K and Rodriguez, O with revisions and introductions by Kavanaugh, K, ICS Publications, Washington DC.

Featured image: Father Lawrence Lew, O.P. captures this stunning image of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Blackfriars Oxford on 15 May 2010, during the Latin Mass Society’s masterclass for servers and masters of ceremonies. Image credit: Fr. Lawrence Lew, O.P. / Flickr (Some rights reserved)

https://carmelitequotes.blog/2024/08/03/juan-ascent1ch5/

#appetites #breadOfHeaven #Egypt #Eucharist #food #God #manna #SpiritOfGod #StJohnOfTheCross #transformation

James Balmford, English clergyman, writes on conduct during a plague. He says one should not merely be prudent, but to actually say to one’s own soul, to be careful not to to give “opinions” on the infection of the Plague which might be in error. Being wrong may cause great mortality and infinite hurt.

How can we reach members who are caught up in conspiracy theories?

#christian #breadofheaven #bridgesnotwalls #gospel #government

Edward A. Lawrence, Sr., Congregationalist minister in New England. He says the mission of the church is Christian beneficence, and so it should found hospitals, dispensaries, and asylums. Systemic assurance all are covered. He says no place such in “ancient heathenism” such as Rome.

Today, would we view hospitals as crowning achievement of the faith, or as touchstones of the culture war?

How can you support such institutions?

#christian #lightworker #breadofheaven #alwaysreforming #hope