SoulFeast ZA

CAC devotion from Richard Rohr

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:08:00 +0000

Week Thirty-Seven: From Domination to Communion
Wednesday, September 10, 2025

The Empire’s Power

Brian McLaren reflects on the different understandings of power held by the early Jesus movement and the Roman Empire:

The historical reality of Christian empire, like Christian anti-Semitism, is bathed in irony. Jesus was an oppressed brown Palestinian Jew, living in a Middle Eastern nation that was occupied by a European empire centered in Rome. Jesus challenged the empire of Rome by proclaiming an alternative empire, the empire of God. The similarity of the terms highlighted the radical contrasts between the two empires:

Rome’s empire was violent. God’s empire was nonviolent.

Rome’s empire was characterized by domination. God’s empire was characterized by service and liberation.

Rome’s empire was preoccupied with money. God’s empire was preoccupied with generosity and was deeply suspicious of money.

Rome’s empire was fueled by the love of power. God’s empire was fueled by the power of love.

Rome’s empire created a domination pyramid that put a powerful and violent man on the top, with chains of command and submission that put everyone else in their place beneath the supreme leader. God’s empire created a network of solidarity and mutuality that turned conventional pyramids upside down and gave “the last, the least, and the lost” the honored place at the table.

Not surprisingly, the Roman Empire saw Jesus and his nonviolent movement as a threat to their violent regime, so they had him tortured and publicly executed as a matter of standard procedure. By pinning a naked human being to wood … the empire showed its own absolute dominance and its victim’s absolute defeat. The message was clear: Jesus’ message of truth and love meant nothing in the face of the empire’s crushing power and domination….

Echoing its founder’s nonviolence, the Christian faith initially grew as a nonviolent spiritual movement of counter-imperial values. It promoted love, not war. Its primal creed elevated solidarity, not oppression and exclusion: “For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26–28). The early Christians elevated the equality of friendship rather than the supremacy of hierarchy (John 15:15; 3 John 14, 15). Because of their counter-imperial posture, including their refusal to be soldiers in the Roman army or to participate in the imperial cult that proclaimed the divinity of the emperor, they were often mocked, distrusted as unpatriotic, and persecuted.

McLaren confronts what Christianity has lost in its embrace of the power of empire:

Since Constantine, Christianity has repeatedly claimed a legitimate right to do violence to its members [and others] to protect its interests and conserve its supremacy. It has sought far-reaching and sometimes almost limitless control over the behavior and minds of its subjects. At times, it has behaved like a totalitarian power, suppressing dissent and claiming divine and absolute authority, capable of absolute corruption.

Daily Devotions

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 10:14:00 +0000

See link to Daily Devotions from Richard Rohr's Centre for Action and Contemplation in New Mexico:

https://cac.org/daily-meditations/

Really recommend this daily devotional for those seeking something deeper to respond to invitations to the Contemplative life.

Any questions of difficulties with connecting you are welcome to call me on 0725865241

IS THERE AN INVITATION IN THE MIDST OF PANDEMIC?

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 11:18:00 +0000

I have really struggled to respond to the Covid19 Pandemic in a constructive way because it has carried on for so long, and so my old strategies for coping, like waiting till it passes, have not been very successful. Also there has been the "second" and "third" waves that seemed to emerge just as it seemed that some things could get back to "normal"! It feels like one setback after another, and so it became difficult to "hope" that we could indeed live beyond Covid19.

However lately upon reflection I have begun to realize that perhaps the basic premise upon which I have based my hope, i.e. the return to some form of "normal" in any of the spheres of life, is what has kept me from being able to discern the invitation in the Pandemic. (please note that I am not suggesting for a moment that 'God sent the Pandemic to teach us some lessons')

I have read the many clergy coaching sites that have suggested the various changes that the Church is being invited to in the pandemic and though I agree with most of these, and especially the point that we should never again go back to believing that what happens on a Sunday, and in the Church building, is the most important indicator of "Church health" as opposed to what happens during the week in our places of work and play and where we exercise our choices and decisions and our vote, yet still I think that we as the Church are missing the main point of invitation in all of this. And certainly for us as the Church the foundational learning upon which all else is based. And this point is not new, in fact it emerges from the ancient contemplative tradition, and has been beautifully articulated for us, and with such clarity by among others, Henri Nouwen when he suggests that it is an invitation for us to rediscover 'Solitude' as a foundational spiritual discipline that sets us on a path to able to hear the invitation to transformation in a clear new way, this among all the other voices that clamour for our attention in the chaos. So I share this quote again in the hope that it will strike some chords for some of us.

"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain the victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus himself entered into this furnace. There He was tempted with the three compulsions of the world: to be relevant ("turn stones into loaves"), to be spectacular ("throw yourself down"), and and to be powerful ("I will give you all these Kingdoms"). There He affirmed God as the only source of His identity. ("You must worship the Lord your God and serve Him alone.") Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter - the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the living God who offers Himself as the substance of the new self ....... Solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and woman occurs."

Perhaps, this Pandemic contains the invitation to the Church to return to this basic discipline, to Solitude and Silence and Prayer, so that we can find our voice, our heart, in the midst of all the chaos, and to begin to live from that place again. And as this is the very purpose of this site's existence, and we have been strangely silent during this time of Pandemic, I would offer you the details for contact if you would like to do something about responding.

We are beginning to plan for certain activities again, but probably in a new format, together with some retreats and quiet periods for those who can't get away for extended period of retreat.

If you would like to know more, or would like to share what works for you, then please get in touch.

David Newton - newtond@telkomsa.net or revdavenewton@gmail.com

0725855241 (c)

PROGRAMME OF 3 DAY INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED RETREATS FOR THE YEAR - 2020

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 10:31:00 +0000

The programme of 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreats for the years is as follows:

3-5 March 2020
9-11 June 2020
15-17 September 2020
10-12 November 2020

These are individually guided silent retreats in which the focus is on spending time alone with God and yourself, using the ancient listening exercises that are taught, with the purpose of renewing call and re-discovering vocation - for the sake of effective ministry to our world.

If you would like more information or to receive registration forms then please either call or message Dave Newton at 0725865241 (c) 021 9198322 (L) or email me at: newtond@telkomsa.net.

WHY SILENT RETREAT?

"Here then is another reason why the Apostles withdraw to make a retreat: they need to be charged with The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to those who watch and pray and wait patiently, those who have the courage to get away from everything and get to grips with themselves and with God in solitude and silence. No wonder every one of the great prophets, and indeed Jesus Himself, retired to the desert for prolonged periods of silence, prayer, fasting and wrestling with the forces of evil. The desert is the furnace where the apostle and the prophet are forged. The desert and not the marketplace. The marketplace is where they function. The desert is where they are formed and seasoned and receive their commission and their message for the world, "their" Gospel."

From Contact with God by Anthony De Mello

3 DAY INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED SILENT RETREAT AT VOLMOED 11-14 NOVEMBER 2019

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Sun, 29 Sep 2019 16:41:00 +0000

There is one space that has opened up on the abovementioned retreat, which is the last one for the year.

If you are interested and would like to know more then either mail me on newtond@telkomsa.net or call on 0725865241 and I will let you have all the details.

Cost is R1800

3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreat 11-14 November 2019

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Thu, 30 May 2019 13:28:00 +0000

There are 2 places left on the final 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreat for this year at Volmoed in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus in the Western Cape from 11 to 14 November 2019.

The cost is R1800 pp.

If you would like more information or to receive a form, please contact Dave Newton either by email -address newtond@telkomsa.net - or call me on 0725865241.

Please feel free to share this with your Church/Group.

Information Recovery

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 21 May 2019 18:30:00 +0000

Hi Everyone. This is just to let you all know that my computer crashed near the beginning of the year, and it has taken this long for me to get it back in working order with the programs and apps that I can work with. Unfortunately the one permanent casualty of the whole episode is my email address book, which it seems the fundis working to recover the system could not recover. So I am asking by way of this post, that if you would like to be on the mailing list for upcoming retreats etc., that you send me your email address for inclusion in the new list/group that I am setting up. Much love to you all and thanks for your interest in the activities of the group. David Newton - newtond@telkomsa.net

FIRST 3 DAY INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED SILENT RETREAT

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 08:19:00 +0000

The first 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreat for 2019 will be held at Volmoed in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus in the Western Cape from 4-7th March 2019

The cost is R1700.

If you would like more information or to receive a form, please either mail me at newtond@telkomsa.net or call me on 0725865241.

Please feel free to advertise this among those in your circles/Churches/Groups.

QUIET MORNINGS AT DURBANVILLE METHODIST CHURCH FOR THE YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Sat, 26 Jan 2019 12:54:00 +0000

The quiet mornings at Durbanville Methodist Church, Bowlers Ave., Durbanville will continue this year on the following days:

2 March 2019
1 June 2019
7 September 2019 and
7 December 2019

All are welcome. We begin at 09 00 and finish at 12 00 - 12 30.

If you want to know more please contact David Newton on 0725855241 or email me at newtond@telkomsa.net

3 DAY INDIVIDUALLY GUIDED SILENT RETREATS FOR THE YEAR - 2019

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 07:37:00 +0000

The programme of 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreats being offered for the year is as follows:

5-7 March 2019; 4-6 June 2019; 3-5 September 2019; 5-7 November 2019.

These are individually guided silent retreats in which the focus is spending time with God and yourself, using the listening exercises that are taught, with the purpose of renewing call, and rediscovering vocation - for the sake of the world!

If you would like further information or to receive registration forms for any of these retreats then please either call or message Dave Newton on 0725865241 (c) 0219198322 (h), or email me at newtond@telkomsa.net.

"Solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain the victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self. Jesus Himself entered into this furnace. There He was tempted with the three compulsions of the world; to be relevant ("turn stones into loaves"), to be spectacular ("thrown yourself down"), and to be powerful ("I will give you the Kingdoms of this world"). There he affirmed God as the only source of His identity. ("You must worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.") Solitude is the place of the great struggle and the great encounter - the struggle against the compulsions of the false self, and the encounter with the living God who offers Himself as the substance of the new self ....... solitude is not a private therapeutic place. Rather it is the place of conversion, the place where the old self dies and the new elf is born, the place where the emergence of the new man and the new woman occurs."

Henri Nouwen: The way of the Heart.

FINAL RETREAT FOR THE YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Fri, 28 Sep 2018 15:54:00 +0000

The final 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreat for this year will be at Volmoed from the 13-15 November 2018. Space is limited and places are allocated on a first come first served basis. If you would like to be a part of this retreat then please contact David Newton on 0725865241 or newtond@telkomsa.net as soon as possible and I will let you have forms.

Spirituality;Vocation and Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Wed, 30 May 2018 06:42:00 +0000

One of the most inspiring writers in this field that I enjoy reading is Richard Rohr. I was so deeply struck by his thoughts in the meditation from CAC today. I share this meditation in its entirety with references. Certainly worth a read.

Vocation

Swallowed by a Whale
Wednesday, May 30, 2018

The gift you carry for others is not an attempt to save the world but to fully belong to it. It’s not possible to save the world by trying to save it. You need to find what is genuinely yours to offer the world before you can make it a better place. Discovering your unique gift to bring to your community is your greatest opportunity and challenge. The offering of that gift—your true self—is the most you can do to love and serve the world. And it is all the world needs. —Bill Plotkin [1]

Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. . . . That insight is hidden in the word vocation itself, which is rooted in the Latin for “voice.” Vocation does not mean a goal I pursue. It means a calling that I hear. . . . I must listen for the truths and values at the heart of my own identity. —Parker Palmer [2]

I believe that the Book of Jonah can best be read as God moving someone from a mere sense of duty or career to a sense of personal call, vocation, or destiny. Notice that this vocation is almost thrust upon Jonah. It sometimes takes being “swallowed by a whale” and taken into a dark place of listening and discernment to let go of our small, separate self and its private agenda. Jonah had to be shoved out of the boat, or he would never reach Nineveh, the place to which God had called him. Eventually, we must allow ourselves to be drawn by our soul’s desire rather than driven by ego needs.

The motivating energies of ego and soul are very different. The soul’s impulse comes quietly and generously from within; we do not look for payment, reward, or advancement because we have found our soul gift, our inherent gladness. To be an oblate—someone who is offered—is quite different from seeking security, status, or title.

Listen, wait, and pray for your unique gift, your True Self. Meditation should lead to a clarity about what you are and, maybe even more importantly, what you are not. I have found it difficult over the years to tell people when something is not their gift; it is usually very humiliating for the person to face their own illusions and sense of entitlement. One sign that something is your vocation is that you would do it for free, even if there is no reward or social payoff. This clarifies a vocation quite quickly.

Parker Palmer writes:

How much dissolving and shaking of ego we must endure before we discover our deep identity—the true self within every human being that is the seed of authentic vocation. . . .

Today I understand vocation . . . not as a goal to be achieved but as a gift to be received. Discovering vocation does not mean scrambling toward some prize just beyond my reach but accepting the treasure of true self I already possess. Vocation does not come from a voice “out there” calling me to become something I am not. It comes from a voice “in here” calling me to be the person I was born to be, to fulfill the original selfhood given me at birth by God. [3]

Gateway to Presence:
If you want to go deeper with today’s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.

[1] Bill Plotkin, Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche (New World Library: 2003), 13.

[2] Parker J. Palmer, Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (Jossey-Bass: 2000), 4.

[3] Ibid., 9-10.

Adapted from Richard Rohr, Dancing Standing Still: Healing the World from a Place of Prayer (Paulist Press: 2014), 82-83.

Image credit: Automat (detail), 1927, Edward Hopper, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa.

VOLMOED RETREAT MARCH 2018

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Fri, 09 Mar 2018 14:44:00 +0000

Special time with some very special people!! Thanks for your openness!

TRUE TRANSFORMATION - TRANSFORMATION INTO THE IMAGE OF CHRIST......

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:35:00 +0000

The Lost Tradition of Contemplation
Tuesday, January 9, 2018

The awesome and even presumptuous message of divinization is found in the Judeo-Christian story of Creation: we are “created in the image and likeness of God” (Genesis 1:27 and 5:2). Many tomes of theology have been written to clarify this claim, and this is theologians’ primary consensus: “Image” is our objective DNA that marks us as creatures of God from the very beginning. “Likeness” is our personal appropriation and gradual realization of this utterly free gift of the image of God. It’s all too easy to recognize our daily unlikeness to God in ourselves and others, so we have a hard time believing this could be true in ourselves or others. But some form of contemplative practice will allow us to rest in and trust this deeper and truest self.

Actually, who you are in God and who God is in you is the only self that has ever existed. It’s the only self that exists right now. The trouble is, most people don’t know it. It’s not their fault; we just have not given them the tools they need to connect with who they really are. The dualistic and argumentative mind will never get you there. Thus we have an identity crisis on a massive scale!

The contemplative mind has not been systematically taught in the West for the last five hundred years. The Spanish Carmelites Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582) and John of the Cross (1542-1591) were the last well-known teachers of contemplative awareness in European thought. With the so-called “Enlightenment” and the argumentative Reformation, Western Christianity almost abandoned contemplation in favor of dualistic thinking and its own strange form of “rational” thought, which actually produced fundamentalism in both its Catholic and Protestant forms. Thomas Merton (1915-1968) felt that even the monasteries no longer taught the contemplative mind in any systematic way, as monks just “said prayers” with their old dualistic minds. Without contemplation, there is not much depth or interiority to Christianity. It is just beliefs and belonging systems. That is probably why the Reformation was so necessary. Unfortunately, reacting to unjust or unhealthy systems with only dualistic thinking will produce more of the same.

You cannot know God the way you know anything else; you only know God or the soul of anything subject to subject, center to center, by a process of “mirroring” where like knows like and love knows love—“deep calling unto deep” (Psalm 42:7). The Divine Spirit planted deep inside each of us yearns for and responds to God—and vice versa (see James 4:5). The contemplative is deeply attuned and surrendered to this process.

We are not so much human beings trying to become spiritual. We’re already inherently spiritual beings and our job is learning how to be good humans! I believe that’s why Jesus came as a human being: not to teach us how to go to heaven, but to teach us how to be a fully alive human being here on this earth.

DAILY DEVOTION FOR TODAY ON THE "CENTRE FOR ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION" site by Richard Rohr.

Note: It would be helpful if you also read the previous two devotions this week i.e. Sunday and Monday, as in these he clarifies terms like "Divinization', and "Image" and "Likeness" revealing that his thinking is in line with mainline Christian thinking.

FROMin

Prayer and Transformation

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 13:13:00 +0000

Contemplative spirituality would agree with the devotional school of spirituality in saying that constant change or conversion, the biblical reality of Metanoia, is a necessary imperative in the spiritual life. But whereas devotional spirituality would want to think of such change as primarily in terms of behaviour, contemplative spirituality, without being unmindful of this kind of change, would tend to stress the need for change in consciousness. It is not enough that we behave better; we must come to see reality differently. We must learn to see the depths of things, not just reality at a superficial level.This especially means we need to see the non-separateness of the world from God and the oneness of all reality in God: the Hidden Ground of Love in all that is. Prayer is a kind of corrective lens that does away with the distorted view of reality that, for some mysterious reason, seems to be my normal vision, and enables me to see what is as it really is.

-From Silence on fire by William H. Shannon

A CHALLENGE FOR CHRISTIANS TODAY

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Mon, 17 Jul 2017 08:19:00 +0000

What the world longs for from the Christian religion is the witness of men and women daring enough to be different, humble enough to make mistakes, wild enough to be burned in the fire of love, real enough to make others see how unreal they are. Jesus, Son of the Living God, anoint us with fire this day. Let your word not just shine in our hearts, but let it burn. Let there be no division, compromise, or holding back. Separate the mystics from the romantics, and goad us to that daredevil leap into the abyss of your love.

From Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning

A TIMELY REMINDER FROM ANTHONY DE MELLO

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 30 May 2017 07:18:00 +0000

Here then is another reason why apostles withdraw to make a retreat; they need to be charged with the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit is given to those who watch and pray and wait patiently, those who have the courage to get away from everything and get to grips with themselves and with God in solitude and silence. No wonder every one of the great prophets, and indeed Jesus himself, retired to the desert for long periods of silence, prayer, fasting, wrestling with the forces of evil. The desert is the furnace where the apostle and the prophet are forged. The desert and not the marketplace. The marketplace is where apostles function. The desert is where they are formed and seasoned and receive their commission and their message for their world, "their" gospel. (Emphasis mine)

-From Contact with God by Anthony De Mello

Hearts on Fire Course in Northen Suburbs - Durbanville - from 25th July to 29th August 2017,

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Mon, 08 May 2017 07:06:00 +0000

Hearts on Fire Course in Northern Suburbs - Durbanville - from 25th July to 29th August. Lovely introduction to the rhythm of Ignatian Spirituality. If you are interested in joining us or would like to know more please contact David Newton on 0725865241

3 day Silent Retreat March 2017

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Mon, 20 Mar 2017 18:50:00 +0000

Very special retreat with some amazing people. Thanks you guys for coming!!

TWO SPACES AVAILABLE ON MARCH RETREAT

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 09:51:00 +0000

Two spaces have just become available on the Silent Retreat at Volmoed from 13-16 March 2017. If anyone is interested in coming please contact David Newton at newtond@telkomsa.net or on 0725865241 as soon as possible and I will send you a form. Cost is R1199.

URGENT AND IMPORTANT!!! CHANGE OF DATE FOR FIRST RETREAT OF THE YEAR

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 14:11:00 +0000

The date advertised for the first retreat of the year needs to change to a week later i.e. 13 to 16th March.

If you are interested in coming please let me know and I will send you a form and let you know about costs etc.

David Newton
Phones: 021 9198322 (h) and 0725865241 (c)
Email: newtond@telkomsa.net

SILENT RETREATS FOR 2017

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 10:12:00 +0000

The following are the dates for Three-day Ignatian Individually Guided Silent Retreats for 2017. As always these retreats are a time for the participants to spend time with God, and themselves, renewing their sense of call and vocation. The focus in these retreats is on the individual and their journey, and the different forms of listening prayer are taught and experienced. There are daily meetings with the Spiritual Director, and we share daily in the Sacrament of Holy Communion.

6-9 March 2017
12-15 June2017
11-14 September 2017
6-9 November 2017

If you would like to book a place on any one of these, or receive notice of them as upcoming events a few months before, please let me know and I will send you forms or place your name on the circulation list for notification.

Contact details:

David Newton
Tel: 021-9198322
Cell: 0725865241
Email: newtond@telkomsa.net
Skype: newtey

PLACES AVAILABLE ON NOVEMBER RETREAT 7-10 NOVEMBER AT VOLMOED

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 06:59:00 +0000

2 Places have become available on the November retreat due to folk not being available. If you are interested and would like to come please give me call or drop me an email asap and I will send you a form.

Contact details: 021-9198322 (h)
0725865241 (c)
newtond@telkomsa.net

Next Silent Retreat Nov 2016

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Wed, 03 Aug 2016 13:26:00 +0000

The next 3 day Individually Guided Silent Retreat will be on 5-8th November 2016 at Volmoed in the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley near Hermanus in the Western Cape. Unfortunately this retreat has already been fully booked but Please would you contact Rev. Dave Newton at newtond@telkomsa.net or on 0725865241 if you would like to be put on a waiting list. Please call and do this even though it is already fully subscribed because if there are enough on the waiting list then we could consider another retreat before year end.

A Definition of Prayer from Richard Rohr

noreply@blogger.com (David Newton) — Tue, 02 Aug 2016 07:33:00 +0000

"Prayer is not primarily saying words or thinking thoughts. It is, rather, a stance. It is a way if living in the Presence. It is, further a way if living in awareness of the Presence, even enjoying the Presence. The full contemplative is not just aware of the presence, but trusts,allows and delights in it."

From Everything Belongs by Richard Rohr