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Poem: Palace of Hallowed Flesh
I ascended to the heights of airy delight
Only to descend to the lowest depths of imprisoned pain
I discovered that the flight of my soul to God
Was a flight into myself, and the gates of Heaven
Are the entrance to this palace of hallowed flesh
Quote
To be always withdrawn from corporeal things … is the trait of angelic spirits [but] not those who live in mortal bodies.
*St. Teresa of Avila
A Love Letter From God
In your being wounded, you seek to escape your body in the name of spirituality. You think the soul or spirit is more holy than the body. You seek to transcend the emotional pain stored in the cells of your flesh. But, do I not come to you in Nature? Do you not eat and drink my body in Holy Communion? Did I not appear in the man Jesus of Nazareth? Did he not walk and talk, eat and sleep, and have the same physical needs and desires that you have? Was he not a sensual and sexual being, like you? You cannot ascend and remain in union with me apart from your body. You must descend into the body and befriend it and its history, to ascend in spirit to enjoy me as Spirit. By returning fully and gently to your body, I will heal the pent up frustrations and losses stored there. See, I gave you a body. I want you to look in the mirror at that body and rejoice in it, even as I rejoice in the same body. If you reject your body, you are rejecting my gift to you. By living fully in your body, you can live a truly Christian life, one that is growing into wholeness. In this process, I will be transforming your body even now, preparing it for a final resurrection. So, today, come home to your body, live in it fully, be thankful for it, and dedicate it to me. You are one with the body of Creation, and coming to your body with acceptance, you come back to all Nature and can feel one with the body of the Universe, which is my body, too.
Spiritual Exercise
Play some praise music. Dance. Do not worry about how well you are dancing. Jump. Sway. Turn. Twist. Whatever… Let your body become one with the music.
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spiritual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net.
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