Conversations with Calliope-My Brother's Visit

(Amish Buggy)
JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe. How are you today?
JOE: Excited.
CALLIOPE: On what account?
JOE: My brother from Honolulu is in town for a few days.
CALLIOPE: When did you see him last?
JOE: Last fall.
CALLIOPE: What plans do you have?
JOE: We had planned golf with another of my brothers this morning but the weather does not seem very cooperative.
CALLIOPE: So what else do you have planned?
JOE: He has become interested in Spiritus Christi Church which I recently started attending. We will visit some of its people to discuss their views.
CALLIOPE: Do you expect them to differ much from what you believe?
JOE: I'm not one much for dogma. I believe in God and try to act as a Christian but don't like to haggle about specific beliefs.
CALLIOPE: I'll be interested to see how it goes.
JOE: I'll let you know. We don't meet until Saturday. Talk with you tomorrow.

Conversations with Calliope- Spiritus Christi

(Lisbon Skyline)

JOE: Good morning Calliope.
CALLIOPE: Good morning Joe How are you today?
JOE: Quite well thank you.
CALLIOPE: Any surprises this weekend?
JOE: One. Carol and I finally decided to try Spiritus Christi Church.
CALLIOPE: What kind of church is it?
JOE: More or less Catholic but without much of the rigidity.
CALLIOPE: You mean things like female priests and inviting non-Catholics to communion?
JOE: Exactly.
CALLIOPE: What was it like?
JOE: Returning home after many years. The experience brought me to tears.
CALLIOPE: How so?
JOE: I felt pushed out of the monastery many years ago for asking too many questions. Eventually the Catholic church's rigidity became too stultifying for me and I finally left.
CALLIOPE: And now you are back?
JOE: Not quite. Spiritus Christi is out of favor with the powers that be but has recreated a Christian community much like the one that existed in the first days of the church, or at least how I imagine it to have been. Talk with you tomorrow.

Who Owns God?

Karen Armstrong wrote a book called The Battle for God. In it she wrote about the struggle over a period of centuries for people of the major religions to come to terms with the implications of the modern world and their age old traditions. It does not seem that this battle has ended. Some people have opted to reject the modern world and cling to their own particular beliefs. Others have chosen the modern world, rejecting all religions. Some have tried to forge their own way realizing that their solitary path has few guideposts to make their journey easier. Some people see it as their job to convert others to their view of God and reality. Others see it as their job to get others to see the fallacy of any religion. Still others have chosen to live the best life they can without help or interference from others. Those of us who think about why we are on earth struggle to make sense of our lives and discover the purpose for which we are here. Is there a way for us to help each other with this search without being dogmatic in our efforts?

(Stone relief in Santillana, Spain)

Writing, Religion and Spirituality

In our writers' group meeting this week, we listened to each other read our writing and were able to make constructive suggestions to each other. Our final discussion was of a passage which centered on a spiritual experience. We had more difficulty with this one. It was interesting to me that of all the topics we discussed, spirituality should be the only one (so far) which has caused us any problems. Spirituality or lack thereof seems to be a very emotional topic for at least some people. There are people for whom their spirituality is their lifeline, those for whom the mention of spirituality recalls for them bad memories of religion being forced on them or or disappointments arising from unmet expectations of God. Others think the whole idea of spirituality is silly and illogical. Some don't seem to know what to think of the whole topic. It occurred to me that the difficulty of listening to others talk about religious and spiritual views which differ from our own is part of what makes nations war with each other. We can't change the whole world by tolerating differing beliefs, but at least it is a start.

(Westminster Abbey)