Just a series of remarkable quotes found in Brennan Manning's book "the furious longing of God". I have been slowly steeping in this book for a bit now and love to reflect on the simplicity and profundity of his thoughts and words.
"Oneness with ultimate reality is not an abstract idea; it is a spiritual experience of knowing that the timeless God is at the door inviting you to full union. It is an attentiveness to the present, a readiness, at every moment, to receive reality, to enjoy deeply even the simplest things. In the words of poet Paul Murray: "This moment, the grace of this one raptureless moment..."~Thomas Brodie~
"The entire process (of self-development) can be very exciting and entertaining. But the problem is there's no end to it. The fantasy is that if one heads in the right direction and just works hard enough to learn new things and grows enough and gets actualized, one will be there. None of us is quite certain exactly where there is, but it obviously has something to do with resting." ~Gerald May~ :)
"God loves me as much as He loves Jesus." ~Brennan Manning~ How is that possible? John 17:22,23
"The Gospel can be summed up by saying that it is the tremendous, tender, compassionate, gentle, extraordinary, explosive, revolutionary revelation of Christ's love." ~Catherine de Hueck Doherty~ (in "The Gospel Without Compromise") sourced from Brennan Manning's book "the furious longing of God".
"...the outstretched arms of Jesus exclude no one, neither the drunk in the doorway, the panhandler on the street, gays and lesbians in their isolation, the most selfish and ungrateful in their cocoons, the most unjust of employers and the most overweening of snobs. The Love of Christ embraces all without exception. Again, the Love of God is folly!" ~Brennan Manning~
On the invitation to union with Jesus - "It is not reserved for those who are well-known mystics or for those who do wonderful things for the poor... (It is for) those poor enough to welcome Jesus. It is for people living ordinary lives and who feel lonely. It is for all those who are old, hospitalized or out of work, who open their hearts in trust to Jesus and cry out for his healing love." ~Jean Vanier~
"If you took the love of all the best mothers and fathers who have lived in the course of human history, all their goodness, kindness, patience, fidelity, wisdom, tenderness, strength, and love and united all those qualities in a single person, that person's love would only be a faint shadow of the furious love and mercy in the heart of God the Father addressed to you and me at this moment." ~Brennan Manning~
"Rather than being appalled by the discontinuity between the poetic and interesting and the prosaic and mundane, it serves well to fasten on the utter delight of a loving God who is deeply touched that in the brouhaha of your busy life, you would devote even five minutes to spiritual reading." ~Brennan Manning~
"When one of England's finest writers, G. K. Chesterton, spoke of "the furious love of God," he was referencing the enormous vitality and strength of the God of Jesus seeking union with us." ~ Brennan Manning~ (and not fury as extreme anger, if anyone should confuse this) :)
"The Love of God is never, never, never based on our performance, never conditioned by our moods - of elation or depression. The furious Love of God knows no shadow of alteration or change. It is reliable. And always tender." ~Brennan Manning~
"The furious longing of God, as Dan Berrigan writes, is "not to be reduced to a thing, a grand ideal; it is not to be reduced to a plaything, a caged thing, a songbird, for the amusement of children." It cannot be tamed, boxed, captivated, housebroken, or templebroken. It is simply and startlingly Jesus, the effulgence(a brilliant radiance) of the Father's love." ~Brennan Manning~
"..no need to mince words. I believe that Christianity happens when men and women experience the reckless, raging confidence that comes from knowing the God of Jesus Christ." ~Brennan Manning~
"I am my Beloved's, and His desire is for me" Song of Solomon 7:10
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