Gandhi reminds us that "all miracles are due to the silent and effective working of invisible forces", of which he believes nonviolence to be the most invisible and most effective. But even more subtle and invisible is the power of the Holy Spirit working through love, a love that knows no defeat because it has abandoned the need for success.
~ Walter Wink in "The Other Side", July/August 1993
Too easily are we inclined to
imagine that God created this
world for a purpose. We are so
caught up in purpose that we
would feel more comfortable if
God shared our preoccupation
with work. But God plays. The
birds in a single tree are
sufficient proof that God did not
set out with a divine
no-nonsense attitude to make a
creature that would perfectly
achieve the purpose of a bird.
What could that purpose be I
wonder? There are titmice,
juncos, and chickadees; woodpeckers, gold finches, starlings and crows. The only bird
God never created is the no-nonsense bird. As we open our eyes and hearts to God's
creation, we quickly perceive that God is playful, a God of leisure.
~ from GRATEFULNESS, THE HEART OF PRAYER by Br. David Steindl-Rast