Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions.
Abraham Joshua HeschelRead
The true meaning of existence is disclosed in moments of living in the presence of God
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that the essence of life is understood through our moments spent in divine presence.
Abraham Joshua Heschel suggests that to truly grasp the meaning of existence, one must experience moments of deep connection with the divine. It implies that these sacred moments illuminate our understanding of life and purpose, revealing insights that transcend the everyday existence.
In practice
This quote can be shared during a spiritual retreat to inspire reflection.
Celebration is a confrontation, giving attention to the transcendent meaning of one's actions.
Normal consciousness is a state of stupor, in which the sensibility to the wholly real and responsiveness to the stimuli of the spirit are reduced. The mystics, knowing that man is involved in a hidden history of the cosmos, endeavor to awake from the drowsiness and apathy and to regain the state of wakefulness for their enchanted souls.
Prayer cannot bring water to parched fields, or mend a broken bridge, or rebuild a ruined city; but prayer can water an arid soul, mend a broken heart, and rebuild a weakened will.
The worship of reason is arrogance and betrays a lack of intelligence. The rejection of reason is cowardice and betrays a lack of faith.
We worship God through our questions.
When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.
When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so. God is not a demiurge [demigod] or a magician, but the Creator who gives being to all entities. Evolution in nature is not opposed to the notion of Creation, because evolution presupposes the creation of beings that evolve.
I shall try to tell the truth, but the result will be fiction.
It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly use false standards of measurement -- that they seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admire them in others, and that they underestimate what is of true value in life.
Days, months, years fly away, and irrecoverably sink in the abyss of time.
It is as hard and severe a thing to be a true politician as to be truly moral.
It is the worst oppression, that is done by colour of justice
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