Dedication to Jesus

I dedicate this book to my friend who is always by my side and in my heart, who is never far when I am lonely and confused, who always gives me peace to my soul when I am troubled and frightened, and fearful of the future.

I share with Him my deepest secrets, my joy, my sorrow, my accomplishments, my shame. He always understands. He never accuses or criticizes, but often suggests a different way of doing things. When He does He inevitably prepares the way so it is not as impossible as I thought it might be.

Over the years I have learned to trust Him. It was not easy. I thought that in following Him I would have to give up all the fun in my life, but I found that He is the source of all joy and adventure, and, indeed, He turned my life into a great adventure at a time when I thought it was about to come to an end.

I would like to suggest that He could become your friend, too, if you would like Him to be. Do not be afraid !
He will respect your freedom and your independence more than anyone you have ever met, because He created you to be free.

He just wants more than anything that you will accept Him as your Friend. If you do, I can promise you, you will never be alone !

- Joseph F. Girzone, "Never alone"

Imitation of Christ - Part VI

On bearing with the defects of others

There will always be defects in ourselves or others that we cannot correct. These we must simply tolerate until God in His goodness sees fit to change things.

Learn how to be patient in enduring the faults of others, remembering that you yourself have many that offend others. We wish to see perfection in others, but do not correct our own faults.

God wills us to learn to bear one another´s burdens.No one is without faults or without a cross.

Embrace your sexuality !

Hungers and appetites - for sexual release, for food, for life - are as natural to you as clouds are to the sky or waves to the sea. If you suppress or exploit the surging power of your drives, you create obsessions, compulsions, and guilty secrets.
Life is not a matter of indulging or denying the energies of life, but observing, accepting, and wisely channeling them.
Embracing your sexuality celebrates your humanity.

Only when you fully accept your sexuality can you fully accept your humanity and finally feel whole. Clearly, embracing your sexuality does not imply license to sexually exploit yourself or others, but rather to express who you are and to fully aknowledge that you are worthy of love.

Some of our shame or guilt over sexuality stem from religious traditions. Religious dogma is not wrong. The purpose of it is to awaken our highest ideals and possibilities, make demands, stretch our souls, draw forth the highest and best within us. It calls us to our human maturity. Ultimately it may well be best to practice abstinence and direct our sexual energies into other creative pursuits until married.

But this is not what most imperfect humans actually do. Nowadays this dogma doesn´t seem to be realistic. Even many priests and nuns have problems living up to the ideals of the church. We need to realize that sexuality has no inherent morality or immorality. No absolute, sexual guidelines exist.

- Dan Millman

Imitation of Christ - Part V

On the familiar friendship of Jesus

When our Lord is present, all goes well and nothing seems hard to do for His love; but when he is absent, everything is difficult. When Jesus doesn´t speak to our soul, no other consolation suffices; but if He speaks only one word, we feel great inner joy.

To be without Jesus is the torment of hell, but to be with Him is the joy of paradise. He is the pearl of great price, the highest good.

It is a great art to know how to talk with Jesus, and to know how to keep Him with you is great wisdom. Be humble and peaceful and Jesus will be with you. How foolish to put your trust or happiness in any other. It would be better to have the world against you than to hurt Jesus.Of all who are dear to you, let Jesus be your best beloved.

All others must be loved for Jesus´s sake, but Jesus for Himself alone. For Him, in Him, you must love friends and foes alike, praying to Him for them, that all may come to know and love Him.

But you can only attain this if you are led by His grace; so that setting aside all else; you may become one with Him alone.

Pilatus - Vom Henker zum Verkündiger

Pilatus war der Statthalter des römischen Kaisers in der eroberten Provinz Syrien. Er war der Chef der Besatzungstruppe und ein Machtmensch von der übelsten Sorte.

In den biblischen Berichten kommt er noch relativ gut weg. Andere Zeitgenossen wussten Schlimmes über Pilatus zu berichten. Der Geschichtsschreiber Philo von Alexandrien z.B. erzählt, die Amtsführung des Pilatus habe nur bestanden aus "Bestechlichkeit, Gewalttätigkeit, Räubereien,Misshandlungen, Hinrichtungen, fortwährender und unerträglicher Grausamkeit". Pilatus war so berüchtigt, dass ihn schließlich der Kaiser persönlich nach Rom beorderte, damit er sich dort für sein grausames Verhalten rechtfertigen sollte.

Von diesem Gewaltmenschen Pilatus also erzählt das Johannesevangelium nun etwas Überraschendes. Hier wird erzählt, wie ausgerechnet dieser brutale Pilatus, ganz und gar unfreiwillig, zum Verkündiger der christlichen Botschaft wird:

Pilatus lässt nämlich am Kreuz eine Tafel anbringen. Auf der steht geschrieben: "Jesus von Nazareth, König der Juden". Abgekürzt, wenn man nur die lateinischen Anfangsbuchstaben benutzt, ergibt das "INRI". Das lässt Pilatus da hinschreiben, und zwar auf Hebräisch, Lateinisch und Griechisch. In allen wichtigen Sprachen der damaligen Welt. Jeder kann es lesen und verstehen. Bis ans Ende der Erde. Die Hohepriester protestieren. Sie wollen eine genauere Formulierung.
"Schreibe, dass er nur behauptet hat, er sei der König der Juden.", fordern sie. Aber Pilatus lehnt ab: "Was ich geschrieben habe, habe ich geschrieben."

Durch das Anbringen dieser Tafel wird Pilatus, ohne es zu wissen, vom Henker zum Verkündiger. Er wird zum Zeugen für Jesus Christus. Ohne es zu wollen, verbreitet er die Wahrheit über Jesus. Die Tafel am Kreuz sagt es allen, die es sehen und verstehen wollen: Da am Kreuz stirbt nicht irgendwer. Irgendein Gescheiterter, ein Verbrecher, ein Hochstapler oder Aufrührer. Nein, hier stirbt tatsächlich der König der Juden. Der Messias. Gottes Auserwählter. Gottes Sohn. Und die drei Weltsprachen machen es allen klar: Das geht die ganze Welt was an. Das hier ist keine Privatsache. Dieser Tod geht allen Menschen auf der ganzen Erde etwas an. Auch uns heute.

Das verkündigt Pilatus, wenn auch nicht mit Absicht.

(Ein Beitrag von Renate M., vielen Dank !)

Other side - David Grey

There surely is an "other side" !

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

- Romans 8:18

Face your fears !

Fear is a wonderful servant,
but a terrible master.

Like pain, it can alert and advise you,
but may also cloud or limit your life.

Fear appears in many disguises, such as
"I´m not really interested in doing that"
or "Why bother ?" or "I can´t".

You face your fear every day -
fear of failure, of rejection,
even the fear of being yourself.

Your fears are not walls, but hurdles.
Courage is not the absence of fear,
but the conquering of it.

- Dan Millman

Joshua - A religious person ?

An excerpt from the book "Joshua and the children" , by Joseph F. Girzone:

You know, Joshua, you don´t come across as a particular religious person, and yet your attitudes and insights betray a depth of spirituality that could come only from unusual intimacy with God.


Joshua smiled and said:

I do not attempt to be religious. That has no meaning. To be perfectly human, as God made us, sould be our goal. If we appear to be religious or pious, we´ve missed the point and our piety becomes a caricature and unauthentic. Real holiness is the natural growth of the human personality to its full maturity as an individual, and in the process, becoming a beautiful person. That is all that God wants of us.


And since each individual is unique, and has a different task to accomplish in God´s plan, each one has to grow differently, so holiness for each individual is different and has nothing to do with predetermined religious patterns and practices that mimic real holiness.

Jesus lived in Nazareth for thirty years, and the kids he grew up with were shocked when he began to preach. They never looked upon him as particularly holy, and yet he was the holy one of God.

A true story !

Over a hundred years ago in France, a butler attached to a wealthy family knew where the family kept all their wealth, hidden in a vault underneath the château. He methodically plotted to kill everyone in the family and steal the treasure.

One night, when everyone was asleep, he murdered first the father and mother, and then, one by one, the children. Only the youngest escaped because he had heard noises and couldn´t sleep. When he realized what was happening he quietly slipped out of his room and hid in a closet under a pile of clothes.

For years he wandered the streets as an orphan, and later entered the seminary and became a priest. Eventually he was assigned to Devil´s Island as a chaplain.

One afternoon a convict came running in from the fields, frantically calling for the chaplain: "There is a man dying out on the field, Father, come quickly."

The priest ran out with him and reached the dying man. Kneeling down beside him, he lifted his head onto his lap and asked if he would like to confess his sins. The dying man refused.

"Why, my son ?" the priest asked. "Because God will never forgive me for what I have done"

"But what have you done so bad ?" the priest continued. And the man went on to tell the story of how he had killed this whole family so he could have their money, and only the little boy escaped because he couldn´t find him.

Then the priest said to him, "If I can forgive you, certainly God can forgive you. And I forgive you from my heart. It was my family you killed, and I am that little boy."

The convict cried and told the priest how he had been haunted all his life over what he had done, though no one else knew about it. Even the authorities never found out.

The two men cried together. And, as the priest was giving the dying man absolution, the man died with his head resting on the priest´s lap.

That story is a true story and serves as an inspiration whenever people hurt you. It shows how beautiful and godly is the kind of forgiveness that Jesus taught.

Trying to forgive like that can bring a lot of peace into your life.