spirituality cafe.

CLASSIC QUOTE. "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains." (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain; HarperSanFrancisco reprint edition, 2001)

GOOD STEW. "I like food that is flavorful. Simmering food slowly, for a long time, helps the juices penetrate the whole. Hardly anyone simmers anything anymore. Everything is zapped in the microwave or cooked as quickly as possible. I think this reflects our spiritual life as well. Wisdom and wholeness deepen in us when we reflectively allow ideas and feelings to sit inside us for awhile." (Joyce Rupp, Dear Heart, Come Home; Crossroad, 1996)

IN THIS SEASON. For Labor Day comes this bit of prose from Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889), the English Jesuit priest and poet: "It is not only prayer that gives God glory but work. Smiting on an anvil, sawing a beam, whitewashing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God some glory if, being in his grace, you do it as your duty. To go to Communion worthily gives God great glory, but a man with a dungfork in his hand, a woman with a slop pail, give him glory, too. He is so great that all things give him glory if you mean they should." (From Ordinar), Graces; Bell Tower, 2000)

PHILOSOPHY 101. "I have read in Plato and Cicero many sayings that are very wise and very beautiful, but I never read in either of them such words as these: `Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.'" (Saint Augustine, in his Confessions)

RESOURCE; Writing the Journey, an online set of tools and exercises to enhance journal writing. Find it at www.writingthejourney.com

DESERT LESSONS. "The desert--the Egyptian desert of the Abbas and Ammas, but also our own spiritual desert--has a double quality: It is wilderness and paradise. It is wilderness, because in the desert we struggle against the `wild beasts' that attack us, the demons of boredom, sadness, anger, and pride. However, it is also paradise, because there we can meet God and taste already his peace and joy. Amma Syncletica said, `In the beginning, there is struggle and a lot of work for those who come near to God. But after that, there is indescribable joy. It is just like building a fire: At first it's smoky and your eyes water, but later you get the desired result. Thus we ought to light the divine fire in ourselves with tears and effort.'" (Henri Nouwen, in his introduction to Desert Wisdom; Orbis Books, 2001)

IN PRACTICE. "`Judge not, that you not be judged.' In judging other people we automatically set standards by which the world will most certainly judge us, and in doing so we make our critical censure a boomerang. Psychologists tell us that we ourselves offend at the very points for which we criticize others because the fault we find most irritating in another person is usually the fault we most hate in ourselves but which we have not the courage to face." So says Leonard Griffith, quoted in the forthcoming book Wisdom from a Pastor's Heart by Douglas Connelly (Jossey-Bass, 2001).

One deceptively simple way to put this into practice is suggested by Spirituality & Health's Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat (www.spiritualityhealth.com): "Whenever you find yourself making a judgment about someone--negative or positive--add the phrase `just like me.' For example: `She is so selfish, just like me.' `He is so generous, just like me.