This is the last of the meditations in the series Learning Jesus. We hope you have enjoyed the series. Fr Philip Carter is taking a break from writing so we will not be publishing further meditations for the time being. Previous posts on this blog will remain as a resource for all who would like […]

It is the only law: the law of love and mercy. Just as he is gentle and humble, so we can come with teachable hearts. Taking on his “easy yoke” and “light burden” suggests that God is not at our disposal. When we stop trying to be in control, notice our condition and have the […]

To hear Jesus speak was to feel clean. Just as Jesus in his inner experience, in his vulnerability and poverty, lived selflessly for others, and indeed for the Other, so our starting point for our search to become more fully human, will be in learning and  growing into those things that “take us outside ourselves”, […]

It is about shifting my centre of gravity from self to God Jesus comes to us from the inside. He reaches us from within our experience, whatever it is. And the dispositions which open us to him belong to the poor, the immature, and the burdened. For they make no claims and have few defences. […]

Love is who God is, and what God does. Approaching Jesus, I then can begin to appreciate his truth, and I find courage then, as I learn more and more of Jesus, to appropriate not just what he stands for but who he is. In this way I begin to put into practice his way […]

I am resting while feeling restless Henri Nouwen In this process, as I approach Jesus I begin to appreciate his truth, his way – not as immutable propositions to believe – but as a way of being in the world that leads to life, peace, joy, freedom, compassion and hope. The stories Jesus offers us […]

Forgiveness is for giving. How I approach Jesus is crucial to my learning or experiencing him. I need to be open, trusting and receptive. I need to be patient, to take time for silent reflection, and to be prepared to suffer as I open myself to the challenges and changes that new truths bring. I […]

What Jesus offers is a way of being in the world that is real and authentic When Christians are described as followers of Jesus, it is important to be clear that we follow, not the Jesus of history, not just a set of teachings, but someone who is our contemporary, and who, because of the […]

Learning Jesus is discovering that he is an alive and contemporary Jesus. This is how God is; the one who shares our tiredness and burdens. And everything he said came out of his own lived experience of life and of God. Learning Jesus is awakening to the realisation that his inner experience is ours, if […]

…what we’re seeking is an experience of being fully alive. Joseph Campbell Can I notice any difference between living out of the deep purposive movement of my soul and living out of my shallower, surface desires? The saint is the person who has discovered his/her deepest desire. They then “do their own thing” which is […]