Do you not know… that when Jesus rose again and appeared to His disciples, He placed Himself “in the midst of them,” and not at the head or elsewhere? He acted thus to show that He is in the midst of us and that we cannot wish harm, nor do wrong to anyone, without first doing it to Him.
Saint John of Ávila
Jesus in Our Midst
1–2 minutes
5 responses to “Jesus in Our Midst”
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Oh yes. So timely. Someone said something about me, making a judgement and I was offended. Then the still, small voice points out that my being offended is only my pride, and that to retaliate is not loving as He loves. I really need to get my ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ out again.
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Great words, aren’t they? Many things make me want to come back to John of the Cross, too. That century and place (16th century Spain): John of Avila, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross. Quite an amazing period and place for spiritual writing!
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Oh I am ignorant. I thought John of the Cross was the same as John of Avila. Any suggestions on what to look for, book-wise?
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=) I personally like John of Avila’s letters (for example, the collection ‘Finding Confidence in Times of Trial’). But ‘Audi, Filia (Listen, O Daughter)’ is certainly a more organized and impressive work.
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That John of the Cross and John of Avila are different people is certainly a bit confusing (!), in part because John of Avila also knew Teresa of Avila (just like John of the Cross, of course). But John of Avila was the older of the three, and his main relationship to Teresa was to encourage her, confirming for her that her ‘Life’ was written truly (Teresa had often been told she was deceived by demons, of course, and needed voices of support). If I recall correctly, he died not too long after that, and Teresa cried. But he had done a lot of important writing and clerical work before that.
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Contemplative in the Mud 