Spirituality has to do with the transfiguration of distance, to come near to ourselves, to beauty and to God.  At the heart of of spirituality is the awakening of real presence.  When you are truly present, you are there as you are: image and pretension are left aside.  Real presence is natural.  Perhaps the secret of spiritual integrity has to do with an act of acceptance, namely, a recognition that you are always already within the Divine embrace.

John O’ Donohue Divine Beauty – The Invisible Embrace, p. 237

A beautiful quote that speaks of authentic spirituality – at least as I have experienced it.  In this context, it comes as no surprise that Jesus speaks of the Holy One as father and that Jesus is recorded as saying that he longs to gather up the lost like a mother hen gathers up her chicks.  Jesus reveals an intimate loving parent God – beyond all the ghoulish fears that can haunt us.  The Divine’s Loving embrace is what we are invited into and called to awaken to.

Much of my work as a minister is seeking to create space for people, both as individuals and together, for this awakening to occur.  What a privilege to share in this deep ‘soul work’.

Blessings on you in your journey to authentic spirituality.

Rev. Sal Douglas