Comments on: We Are What We Eat: The Word of God vs The Word of the World https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2019/11/we-are-what-we-eat-the-word-of-god-vs-the-word-of-the-world Mon, 11 Nov 2019 14:35:39 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.2 By: Fr. John Koen https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2019/11/we-are-what-we-eat-the-word-of-god-vs-the-word-of-the-world#comment-805 Mon, 11 Nov 2019 14:35:39 +0000 https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/?p=26727#comment-805 Thank you, Father, for your keen insights. The subject of things to do with the “Dark Side” is actually complex and nuanced. But just about everything to do with God, Life, people, etc. is complex and nuanced. Whatever I may, by the Grace of God, have learned through training, study & experience, I am very much aware (sometimes painfully so) of how much I do not know or understand. There are no pat answers. Fundamentalism I find to be less than useful. There are so many different kinds of people, with huge variances in education, training, temperament, life experience, expectations, ideals, etc. Thst’s why, as pastors, we are called to be (or try to be)
” all things to all men (& women!)”.
My time as a plumber (along with being a priest) forced me to grow, & learn how to deal with more kinds of people than I had had any idea of). God indeed works in mysterious ways!

Although I recently wrote regarding the “Dark Side” from a particular viewpoint, that by no means fully reflects my views & understanding. My spiritual father always said: “Words often conceal more than they convey.”
Word, as young folks hete in the USA say. In the past 50 years, I ‘ve only actually seen 1 or 2 instances of actual demon possession. And maybe a handful of folks who were “seriously under the influence.” I’ve only actually encountered maybe 2 or 3 folks who were seriously involved in the dark arts (& seriously, consciously, trying to cause harm). Yeah, there’s stuff out there to be aware of, & sometimes wary of, but, honestly, discernment & common sense ate needed regarding this. But we need those, generally, in life. My dad, years ago, used to say:
“Common horsesense is not common.”

The vast majority of mental, emotional & personality disorders & challenges have nothing to do with the “Dark Side,” per se. Earth, though a beautiful place in many way, is a very hard & difficult (even brutal) place for most people. We’re all broken or fractured in some way, some more so than others. My better half works with & ministers to lots of folks, from young to old, through swimming & art, & tries to help them overcome fear, trsuma, brokenness & limitations they’ve accepted. I get lots & lots of unsolicited information from people (always have), because people need to share & unbidden themselves. My better half says everyone is on the Spectrum (of autism, some with Asperger’s), some more so than others. I had to find out, do I got tested, & found out I’m low on the Spectrum. But then, she finally persuaded me to accept that I have OCD.
And that that also is very common. Mine comes from PTSD from intense traumas in my childhood & teen years.
Only in Christ can we be healed, made whole, uplifted, transformed.

A couple of my favorite sayings are:
1) ” Be kind to everyone whom you meet, for everyone is involved in a great struggle.” (Philo)
2) ” Blessed are the cracked, for they shall let in the Light.” (Unknown).
I tell my folks to try hard to show love & kindness to others, as that’s generally the best thing we can do for others, in Christ’s Name.
“Beauty will save the world.” (Dostoevsky). So will love & kindness (maybe along with cups of tea & coffee)!
All in & through Christ. All the best to everyone! Amen!

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