In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
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"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade"
In "The Last Crusade" anthropology professor / adventurer
Indiana Jones enters with his companions into the "Temple of the Sun"
and must then successfully meet 3 challenges or die on the way into the chamber
containing the Holy Grail. While this is a fictional adventure drama, the
authors have borrowed elements that are true to life. Here are the challenges.
1. The Breath of God - "Only the penitent man will pass."
The object of the first challenge was to kneel before the breath of God. At the
start, a person would feel the wind (the Breath) blow through the chamber's
thick cobwebs. He would then have to kneel quickly in order to avoid being decapitated
by two huge circular saws.
2. The Word of God - "Only in the footsteps of God will he
proceed." The second challenge had a series of lettered tiles on the
floor. The object was to figure out and step on the correct spelling to the
Word. The answer was Jehovah, but was to be spelled in Latin as
"Iehova". Incorrect tiles would break through, causing the seeker to
plunge into a deep chasm below the floor.
3. The Path of God - "Only in the leap from the lion's head
will he prove his worth." In the last of the challenges, the person must
take a "leap of faith" from a sculpture of a lion's head across a
huge canyon, when in reality there is a hidden path that is painted to look
like the depth of the canyon. The object was for the person to believe they can
cross whether or not they can see the path.
In Henry Jones' Grail diary, he abbreviated
the three challenges in Latin as "The Pendulum," "The
Cobbles," and "The Invisible Bridge." Although credited as
having only three challenges to get to the Grail, the final one was, according
to the Grail Knight, to "choose wisely" among a set of many cups,
plates, and bowls to drink spring water out of. Finding the true Grail brought
eternal life, which lasted until crossing the Great Seal, the price for
immortality. The one who found the Grail was expected to use their eternal life
to guard and protect the Grail. Choosing a false Grail and drinking from it
would cause instant death.
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Let us see now how
these dramatic images actually apply to life and the journey to God. The reason
there are so many different religions and "paths" to God - even many
"versions" of God - is that God chooses to remain mysterious. This is
also why so many people find connecting with God
difficult. This is not because God is playing "hard to get", but it
is due in large part to our inclination to approach life on our own terms with
attitudes ranging from apathy or superiority to arrogance and contempt for
others and for God. While the strong may succeed in imposing their will on the
weak; God loves us too much to allow us to harm ourselves by trying to impose
our will on Him, the flawed on the perfect.
Jesus revealed that God is actually a Holy
Trinity of divine Persons: the Father, the Son (the God-Man Jesus) and the Holy
Spirit: together they are a perfect and eternal community of life and love,
respect and harmony. We would do ourselves great harm in trying to approach God
with an attitude of superiority or control; so God remains inaccessible to such
approaches. The only way we can successfully approach God is to allow the Holy
Spirit to lead us into the proper humble attitudes and receptive dispositions
for opening ourselves to join in this perfect communion of persons which is
God.
1. The "Breath of God" - the Hebrew word for
spirit "ruah" even sounds like wind and breath. The three divine
Persons are spirit, not flesh, with the exception of the human flesh or nature
the Son took from Mary. The Holy Spirit conceived the Son in Mary's womb and
the Son came to be known as the man Jesus, son of Mary and also Son of God.
John in his Gospel, chapter 3, records Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus, an
elder of Israel, in which He explains that God remains mysterious like the wind
but very real. The 3 divine Persons are autonomous from us and act in accord
with their own perfect will. The only option we have if we wish to approach God
is with an attitude of humility or penitence, which is symbolized in kneeling
as an expression of authentic openness and receptivity.
2. The "Word of God" - In his Gospel Prologue, John expresses the
faith of the apostles and disciples in seeing Jesus as the eternal Son of God,
the divine Word spoken by the Father Creator from the beginning of time. This
eternal Word became flesh because God wanted to get closer to humanity by
becoming one of us. The only true path to come to know God in his true nature as
Holy Trinity is by experiencing his love through Jesus of Nazareth. The holy
Name of God is his life-giving Word to us, Jesus. The Father calls us to heed
Jesus, his Word, obey his commands, and follow in his footsteps. This is what
it means to be a disciple, one who follows in the steps of the master and
becomes like the master.
3. The "Path of God" - For human beings to trust in the
"Breath of God" and to listen to the "Word of God" and
follow in his steps is very demanding of our mortal human nature. We are so
insecure that we cling to our illusions of control. We don't let go of the
desire for control very easily. To put our trust in anyone we need to let go of
our fears and impulse to seize power. We do that every time we get in an
airplane, on a train, bus, or ship, and being in the company of others doing
the same thing helps. When it comes to trusting in God we hesitate because of
God's mysterious divine nature; yet Christians find great support in one
another's company on the journey of faith. It's easier to make the "leap
of faith" together.
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We offer this web page to all people of good
will who seek an authentic, personal relationship with God our Creator. As we
journey together we will make good use of various practices which have proven
essential for this journey of faith. We are called, each in our own way,
to develop a personal "Rule of Life" to help us "sync"
with God. These are elements and disciplines of living that enable us to live
our whole life in the Presence of God by accepting to be drawn into the life,
love, and communion of the Most Holy Trinity, where alone is to be found truth
and goodness, beauty and light, justice and mercy, unity and harmony, and that
authentic life which is lasting peace.
In the "New Covenant" made by our Creator God with humanity (Jeremiah 31:31-34) every person can know God from within - because the Holy Spirit is revealing our Creator to all who are willing to know the Lord and trust in Him. We can still help each other along the way; so may you be pleased to find here a variety of helps to the life of faith in God through Jesus Christ. G.S.
© 2006-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal QC
© 2006-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC
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