Per Ipsum

You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. Exodus 20:3-5 The Third Sunday in Lent, 2006 I never noticed before but Exodus gives 5 long verses to the first commandment, telling us in excruciating detail that we should not worship anything of this earth. Murder, adultery, lying and theft each get one line. In English, at least, they are more like half a line. I would be the last one to argue that murder, adultery, lying or theft --or envy for that matter--are good. However, I'm thinking that a greater emphasis in conscience formation ought to go into rooting out the things I put in place of God. Who me? Worship idols? Could be, if I could see correctly. If I dare to ask Him, He will show me, I'm afraid. I wonder if the noise I've been considering is the noise of idols.

Dominus Deus ... inspiravit in faciem eius Genesis 2:7 Inspiro=to breathe upon and also to inspire Spiritus=breath and also life So the Lord God breathed into his face the Lord God inspired him, infused life into him, provided him with Spiritus Provided me with Spiritus.

And the Lord God...breathed into his face the breath of life and so man became a living being. Genesis 2:7 I was driven from the chapel Saturday by incense. Odd, that, but I simply couldn't breathe. I went up to my room and worked at breathing for a while. That was followed by a deep sleep. When I read about cultivating silence, the author, whether Catholic, Christian or non-religious inevitably brings the discussion to breathing. Control your breathing, concentrate on your breathing, become aware of your breathing. Silent prayer, truly silent prayer in which you quiet the chatter in your head, usually involves the sound of your own breathing. I've come to see that as focusing on the point at which God holds you, oh so quietly, into existence, the tipping point between being and not being. At some point in faith you ought to be able to give it over utterly to Him. I don't know that I've ever gotten that far. Asthma is a reminder of my frailty. Breath comes, and it could...