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Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Give yourself a treat for seasonal contemplation

Thomas Moore's site, careofthesoul.net will send you an unpublished 19-page chapter for his book, Writing in the Sand, after you register for this free .pdf download with your name and email address. The chapter, "No Room in the Inn" explores the birth of Jesus, emphasizing nature, magic, inclusivity and the ways of the kingdom. Visit Moore's homepage for instructions.

Moore suggests, "Jesus also represents the possibility of a transfiguration of human life. It is possible to transcend corruption and violence on a cultural level. It is possible for genuine community to succeed. But this good outcome entails a spiritualization of the ordinary, an interpenetration of ideals and ordinary situations. God becomes human so that humans can become divine: the two-sided mystery of incarnation. [John Moriarty]"

A few pages after this passage, Moore writes, "The traditional Christmas crèche is more than a sentimental nod to virtues of peace and brotherhood. The combination of manger, animals, magic, star, and angels perfectly pictures the scope of the Jesus event from the very beginning. He is deeply human and alarmingly humble. But he is also a turning-point in the development of the human species, indeed of the cosmos itself, according to [Teilhard de] Chardin. The challenge is to embrace a spirituality of such scope and radical implications. How can each of us be completely human, foolishly humble, and imaginative enough to see our roles in the unfolding of human potentiality?"

Register to download the chapter. Read Moore’s reflections.

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