I just finished a book "St. Francis of Assisi" by G.K.Chesterton. I don't know when it was written, as I got it on my kindle and I can't retrieve the title page! My main insight: At Francis' time the church was involved in Adoration of Christ. Francis introduced Imitation of Christ. Karen Bueno In a message dated 7/2/2012 2:07:24 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, cfhahn30@gmail.com writes: Hey Rod, Thank you for passing this wonderful piece along. Reminds one of the strength and power we experienced in the OE. Charles On Sun, Jul 1, 2012 at 10:22 PM, Rod Rippel <_rodrippel@cox.net_ (mailto:rodrippel@cox.net) > wrote: From: _Pauline_ (mailto:peacepwr@cox.net) Sent: Sunday, July 01, 2012 4:45 PM To: _Rod Rippel_ (mailto:rodrippel@cox.net) Subject: Fw: Daily Meditation: Power and Powerlessness / Right and Left -- July 1, 2012 you will like this, I think. P From: _Center for Action and Contemplation_ (mailto:cac@cacradicalgrace.org) Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 11:09 PM To: _peacepwr@cox.net_ (mailto:peacepwr@cox.net) Subject: Daily Meditation: Power and Powerlessness / Right and Left -- July 1, 2012 Having trouble viewing this message? _Click here to view as a webpage_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdHG1eDu1saZPc4zgjtJU0XaE-xRJOMAHErS0... fw8qfUCblnj2ymqyeNIDPOuka5EZrpLwYvKP2POPRB2ykYnAwjJK5ggVOP6cdGxvotwXVw==) . Image courtesy of Aaron Reddin, _aaronreddin.com_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdFGBkii78m jJA-P9LjQdTA1Hnmk8vweeUj5k6WTEZ3Lla4mmfPteL8Crp-aZEFZuOVvyvAKiKlXvPxcRcTB9EHVMJhDU8NG-VmUDxuKRmjvjQ==) POWER AND POWERLESSNESS / RIGHT AND LEFT Lenin is supposed to have said, shortly before he died, that if he had to do his Russian revolution over again, he would have asked for ten Francises of Assisi rather than more Bolsheviks. He realized that something imposed by domination and violence from above only creates the same mirrored response from below. It is just a matter of time. He realized that the only communism that would ever be helpful to the world was the voluntary and joyous simplicity of a Francis of Assisi. (As a Franciscan, I am indeed a “ communist” as we share all things equally and from a common purse.) That element of the practice of the early church (_Acts 2:44_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdF_nVDBEuS-UzpqLXV9l5w0GO9DVJAnLi0Cd... 4pD2BTn3BFCf1i04B8vNzZJv60ql8xOv1HYTfqan4A-943MX2iCgZ42Fjdtdu_wlJOd8K7GBlU_y HrNZSTYelqbA1yRlJWKx676JxaNHDDDmia1LbiHOFOCcMqio2gmeRrU4qr_1Mcc6uGwi0g==) ) and of Jesus (_John 13:29_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdHO6J3XoANRWO5EVyHXWT8AdOnaIAHrlANJt... 9vs7tBqcgpqgQvRcv9pUFnAjUmX6KomP4qZx2GKGqrviohMTYsurPhA9pM1p1MKp0AzmZfZlTbZ6 HcjyJFtCF73S2pXMM9bb0pvBMVjC17ADQAjOQR_l-czjA==) ) was never taught with any great seriousness. It was never expected of the clergy—certainly not of the higher clergy—and therefore why would we, or could we, ask it of the rest of the church? Jesus was training the leaders, because you can only ask of others what you yourselves have done first. He was initiating them as spiritual elders, much more than ordaining them as “priests” (which is an Old Testament word never used for his apostles). Once we saw the clerical state as a place of advancement instead of downward mobility, once ordination was not a form of initiation but a continuation of patriarchal patterns, the authentic preaching of the Gospel became the exception rather than the norm—whether Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant. The first human “demon” that normally needs to be exposed is the human addiction to power, prestige, and possessions. These tend to pollute everything. Once we preach the true Gospel, I doubt if we are going to fill the churches. Adapted from _A Lever and a Place to Stand_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdHJlP0gydF1ZPwRAZkuY4rjH1WrLvFhr5Lz-... XMM9RA2fSBzAlu5GtZGgHBLdWIOB29QTaMjdYWGS65vh3xqZntOLhSptwkUsg97OJjQ_eEpQKJm2 T1VmnF93MIYRthxp_Z-015KpbsbYr8UIoYxKhUoC3tcdPcykm1hmFGd8Cc5BGxNrPYnAcZ3IuOW5 g6SjEpNP9IX7FDc6DsDF4vU56xlRuyWxyEE6l-gE=) , pp. 95-96 Prayer: I am powerless without You. _Share on _ (http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://conta.cc/NZeomR) • _Share on _ (http://twitter.com/home?status=http://conta.cc/NZeomR) (http://conta.cc/NZeomR%20#fblike) _More sharing options ..._ (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&pub=ctctproductstrategy&url=http://conta.cc/N ZeomR) Permalink (for linking to this): _http://conta.cc/NZeomR_ (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001JWrBfQvQQdHG1eDu1saZPc4zgjtJU0XaE-xRJOMAHErS0... mqyeNIDPOuka5EZrpLwYvKP2POPRB2ykYnAwjJK5ggVOP6cdGxvotwXVw==) _Click here to forward this to a friend_ (http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=isz87kdab&m=1103098668616&ea=peacepwr@cox.net&a=1110367700401) . Announcing ... 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