2022/05/30

41. "My church" and the Triune God

Jesus' "my church" (Matthew 16:18) has the significant role of being a community where visitors can encounter God, as Peter's confession indicates (cf. Matthew 16:16). God made known the one God through Jesus in three modes of existence - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - so that people may fully realise they were created in the likeness of God. People fulfil what they conceived with their "will" and "knowledge" by making it into "word" and putting it into an act, and then they again verbalise what was done and memorise it as "information". As Jesus said, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only" (Matthew 24:36), so in the case of God, the Son fulfils what the Father conceived with "the will of God" and "the knowledge of God" by making it into "the word of God" and putting it into an act, and then the Holy Spirit re-verbalises what was done and memorises it as "divine information." The following description in Genesis illustrates this fact: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:1-2). When God created the heavens and the earth, "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters," in other words, the Holy Spirit was recording what the word of God had fulfilled as "divine information." Jesus came to earth carrying the "will of God" and the "knowledge of God" from the Father to be born human into the world. The ''life'' Jesus said in the phrase: "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself" (John 5:26), can be considered to be the ''will of God." The Father and the Son share the "knowledge of God" because Jesus said, "the Father knows me and I know the Father" (John 10:15). On the other hand, as Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, "All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you" (John 16:15), the Holy Spirit, who was to descend, received everything Jesus had accomplished and made it "divine information." After that, the Holy Spirit established the New Testament by connecting with the disciples, who had been taught by Jesus and had the worldview of Jesus Christ, drawing from their memory the words spoken by Jesus and collaborating with them (cf. this blog № 40). As we have been discussing, the Holy Family was prepared in the likeness of the Triune God so that Jesus, the Triune God, could become a man. Therefore, the Holy Family is the model of Jesus' "my church" (cf. this blog № 31, № 34). The idea of the Holy Family receiving the only Son of God is based on the fact that the relationship between God and people is that of parent and child (cf. this blog № 26, № 27, №28). However, this basis has been left ambiguous. Next time, I will discuss the circumstances and start the second half from chapter 13 of Book of Revelation.

Maria K. M. 

 2022/05/23

40. The Formation of the Holy Spirit and the Mystery of the Third Incarnation

Jesus' parable, which begins with the loving words to the Father, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser" (John 15:1), tells the whole story of the event that can be called in a way the mystery of the third incarnation. As the faithful continue to receive the formation of the Holy Spirit (cf. this blog № 39), they begin to gain the experience of the Father rewarding them (cf. this blog № 38). Then they become aware of the God visiting them even in concrete everyday situations; that is, they begin to receive the sense of God's no-information touching them for a moment. If they pay attention to this no-information of God and try to connect with it, the Father will reward them in this scene through the experience of collaborating with the Holy Spirit. So, Jesus tells us, "Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit" (John 15:2). The Father takes away the branch "that bears no fruit," that is, memories connected with man's accidental information, and prunes the one "that does bear fruit," that is, the memory of having received the formation of the Holy Spirit, so that it may bear fruit more abundantly. So, Jesus then encourages them, saying, "You are already made clean by the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you" (John 15:3-4). However, if the faithful do not maintain the "word which I have spoken" that has purified them, namely the worldview of Jesus Christ, they will feel as if they are not connected to Jesus. Jesus gives those in this state the following warning: "If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned" (John 15:6). Therefore, the faithful need to make a small effort to read aloud the words of the Revelation of John every day, even only a few lines, so that, by hearing the voice, what is written therein may enter their unconscious realm, and it is constantly overwritten (cf. Revelation 1:3). For if we lose the worldview of Jesus Christ, there is always an imminent danger of becoming strongly connected again to man's accidental information and no longer distinguishing it. In addition, the Holy Spirit sometimes brings the worldview of Jesus Christ placed in the unconscious realm of the faithful out into their conscious realm so that it is easier for them to imagine the way God wants them to collaborate with the Holy Spirit. At this time, the faithful see and believe that the "word which I have spoken" is within themselves. The fact that the faithful saw and believed becomes the joy of Jesus, and no other joy can fill their joy than this joy of Jesus. Thus, the faithful become willing to offer God the time of their lives to collaborate with the Holy Spirit. This desire, the desire to lay down their lives for the sake of their friends, this tremendous desire Jesus calls "love." "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you" (John 15:13-15).

Maria K. M.

 2022/05/16

39. The Formation of the Holy Spirit, Part 3.

A person is a mass of information already from the very beginning of development, the stage of fertilised egg. And the flood of information greets the person who is born. People seek information, grow up absorbing it, use it and live in it. Therefore, when confronted with a state of non-information, they instinctively, so to speak, pass it by, regarding it as something of no value. However, non-information is God’s sole information because Jesus has made known all that he had heard from his Father (cf. John 15:15). And the Holy Spirit will bear witness to him (cf. John 15:26). If God is the being of non-information in the world, then his believers will try to remember the non-information as a form of information. Jesus once rebuked cities that had not repented despite many miracles he had performed there. The wise and the learned may experience the work of God but do not realise it is of God. On the other hand, the Father reveals his will to babes who, like Jesus, trust God as their Father. These infants come to the Eucharist simply believing Jesus' words: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt 11:28). Jesus encourages them to stay before the Eucharist and learn in the formation of the Holy Spirit, who works in the form of non-information, saying, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart" (Matt 11:29). The yoke of simply abiding in the presence of the Eucharist is easy, and the burden of bearing the state of non-information is light, so they fit the babes of the heavenly Father. People, the information itself, can get true peace only when the realm of their consciousness is in a state of non-information by being connected to non-informational God. Human beings have borne the burden of man’s accidental information, of which God once declared: "[C]ursed are you above all cattle, and above all wild animals" (Gen 3:14). They may flee from it and take fleeting comfort among nature, plants and animals, but these comforts are also accidental information (cf. this blog #4). However, when we remain before the Eucharist and focus on non-informational God, various memories and fictions disturbing us develop and easily catch us and sweep us away, for we are usually connected to the accidental information in our memories. So, we can heal this symptom by shifting our attention to the Christ on the Cross because Jesus, who became the enmity itself placed by God, in union with the heavenly Father, draws us (cf. this blog #23, #24). Then, his prayer of thanksgiving to the Father becomes that of the congregation. "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11:25-30).

Maria K. M.

 2022/05/09

38. The Formation of the Holy Spirit, part 2

"Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal" (John 6:27). In the scene of Jesus' dialogue with crowds (John 6:28-59), which begins with these his words in the Gospel of John chapter 6, we can find a clue to the formation of the Holy Spirit and the third mystery of the Incarnation. Considering Jesus had previously said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34), we can understand that the food that "the Son of man will give to you" signifies this food of Jesus and that he shares it with people in a particular way. It happens through the formation of the Holy Spirit realised by Jesus returning to heaven on the path he came from heaven. The Apostles Jesus trained for the Holy Spirit are the model for it. Thus, the Father in heaven has set his seal as the "Son of man," like Jesus, on the Apostles, whom Jesus had trained, and the faithful who would later be trained by the Holy Spirit so that they might aim for the third mystery of the Incarnation, in which they would work with the Holy Spirit (cf. this blog #32). So, Jesus taught that "Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me" (John 6:45) because, in time, the faithful will come to the Holy Spirit sent by the Father in Jesus' name. The meaning of hearing and learning from the Father is understandable by the following words: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). The faithful visit the Eucharist to receive the formation of the Holy Spirit. When they come before the Eucharist, the memory of having eaten the Eucharist during the Mass is synchronised with the present, making it easier for them to receive the formation of the Holy Spirit because the following words are fulfilled: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" (John 6:56). So, if you concentrate on the Eucharist, you will be connected with the Eucharist. Indeed, you went "into your room and shut the door." When the faithful receive the Eucharist, they focus their mind on having eaten but feel nothing else. If you have this experience of feeling nothing while concentrating on the Eucharist, that is the evidence of being connected with God present in the Eucharist. At this moment, you are in a state of no information in your realm of consciousness, while you are linked with God present in the Eucharist with the formation of the Holy Spirit beginning. So, never be afraid of remaining in this state of no information. Through this experience, the faithful will see the words of Jesus come true in themselves: "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me" (John 6:57), that is, the "Father who sees in secret" rewards them.

Maria K. M. 

 2022/05/02

37. The Formation of the Holy Spirit

The formation of the Holy Spirit takes place in the space brought about by the Holy Spirit, as described in the Acts of the Apostles when it says: "And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were" (Acts 2:2). The "house in which they were" signifies the house of God where the Mass is celebrated regularly. The Eucharist is always present in its centre, preserving the spacetime of the Mass. When the congregation, who receive the Holy Eucharist during the Mass, enters this spacetime, the memory of having eaten the Holy Eucharist placed in their realm of unconsciousness is synchronised with the present spacetime, resulting in their being enable to receive the formation of the Holy Spirit easier. The faithful themselves will sit eye to eye with the Eucharist, even if they are unaware. Jesus, the only teacher in the world (cf. Matthew 23:8-10), respecting the dignity of people created in the image of God, encourages us by saying, "No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher" (Luke 6:40). Jesus wished Christians to grow to the point of taking on a role worthy of their name. That role Jesus entrusted to Christians to continue his work after he had accomplished all his vindication is to receive the Eucharist. Therefore, the Magisterium must see to it that those who receive the Eucharist during Mass become aware of this role. First, the congregation who receives the Eucharist should be asked in front of the Holy Eucharist to declare who it is and express their willingness to take the Eucharist voluntarily. They state clearly who the Eucharist is, in response to the priest who lifts the Eucharist saying, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb" (cf. this blog № 32), using Peter's confession of faith which Jesus said be "blessed." Then, the congregation must be guided to take the Eucharist firmly, holding out their hands before the priest, and eat it spontaneously with their own hands. Through this process, the receiving congregation will become able to proclaim aloud that the Eucharist is the Christ, the Son of God, and hear the voice, see the Eucharist with their eyes, touch it with their hands, smell it and taste it. They can receive the Eucharist with all of their senses. In this way, they vividly overwrite in their memory that they have fulfilled their experience of union with God. If they concentrate on the Eucharist, they will be able to experience God who is with people and memorise what they experienced, like Joseph, who for the first time picked up God who became a man in the Bethlehem stable, and like the women who held the feet of the risen Jesus, also like Thomas to whom Jesus said, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side" (John 20:27). Those who distribute the Eucharist must trust these statements and preserve the moment the congregation touches and looks closely at the Eucharist and eats it. That is for cherishing the risen Jesus' command, "Touch me and see," in his words: "Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have" (Luke 24:39).

Maria K. M.

 2022/04/25

36. The Formation of the Holy Spirit and the Revelation to John

"Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them" (Acts 2:3). This description of Pentecost shows how the Holy Spirit connected with the conscious realm of the individual disciple's brain to take what was Jesus' and declare it to them for their formation. Their remarkable actions after the event show that at this time, the worldview of Jesus Christ, which they had in their unconscious realm, was pulled out into their conscious realm by the Holy Spirit. John, who was present there, advises people in his letter: "As for you, the anointing that you received from him [the Son] remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false; just as it taught you, remain in him" (1John 2:27). "The anointing that you received from him" here refers to the worldview of Jesus Christ placed in the unconscious realm of the disciples who had stayed close to Jesus. If so, the passage, "just as it taught you, remain in him," is telling them to remain in the formation of the Holy Spirit, which pulls the worldview of Jesus Christ out of their unconscious realm into their conscious realm, as John experienced at Pentecost. However, when John wrote this letter, he was not aware that his next generation would not be able to share his experience. The Holy Spirit leads each person directly, not through prophets or teachers, nor by a charism or spirituality that works through a particular person. Surprisingly, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus' disciples already had the experience that contemporary people, who live in the age of personalised Internet connection, take for granted. These people maintain the worldview of the information-oriented society in their unconscious realm, and it is constantly being pulled out into their conscious realm. So, in order for the disciples "who have not seen and have believed" Jesus to remain in the Son, the worldview of Jesus Christ must be infused into their unconscious realm. John must have gradually become aware of this necessity. One of Paul's letters tells us that some witnesses to Jesus' resurrection had already died (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:6). God made John write a training book that would fill one's unconscious realm with the worldview of Jesus Christ in preparation for the time when these witnesses would eventually die out. And in the book, he stated, "Blessed is the one who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near" (Revelation 1:3). The daily practice of reading aloud this prophetic message and hearing its voice helps us keep "what is written in it" in our unconscious realm. Those who do so will have the blessedness of remaining in the Son.

Maria K. M.

 2022/04/18

35. The Beloved Disciple and the One Who Receives the Name of Jesus

God made humanity male and female from the beginning so that they, as father and mother, would share the relationship between God and humanity.¹ The relationship between God and man has been parent and child from the beginning, and the relationship between God and Jesus' "my church" is also parent and child.² Jesus told his disciples there were "eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" because people had already filled the earth at that time as God had commanded in Genesis. John the Apostle, a childless young man from the beginning, just like Jesus, was particularly called Jesus' beloved disciple. John and James asked Jesus to make them sit at his right and left in his kingdom immediately after Jesus had foretold his Passion for the third time.³ The other disciples became angry with them, but Jesus treated their wishes seriously. Jesus focused on the young men because he saw in them spontaneity towards him. One's will is truly free only when it turns towards God spontaneously. When the Holy Spirit descended, John realised he had received the name of the mother of Jesus. He, a male, could never receive the name of Jesus to become like Jesus.⁴ When John heard Mary Magdalene, who had been called to by the cross of Jesus with him, had encountered the risen Jesus, John paid attention to her. He did so because, from his own experience, he noticed her spontaneity towards Jesus. He understood Jesus had given her the name of Jesus and wrote down this scene in the Gospel. Risen Jesus said to Mary Magdalene in front of the tomb, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" (John 20:15). She thought it was the gardener and said, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus, seeing her spontaneity in saying, "I will take him," called out, "Mary!" and told her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father" (John 20:17). John interpreted these words to mean that once he ascended to the Father, she would be allowed to touch his name. Mary Magdalene must have been a single woman like Jesus, as her name came with a place name, Magdala. As one of a group of women who served the party of Jesus, sharing their possessions,⁵ she was always watching him from close by and making his teachings her own. Mary Magdalene opened the way to receiving the name of Jesus for new women who would spontaneously live the following words of Jesus. "And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29).

Reference: 1. Genesis 2:24, 2. this blog #31, 3. Matthew 20:20-23, 4. this blog #34, 5. Luke 8:3

Maria K. M.