Simone Weil

"In what concerns divine things, belief is not appropriate. Only certainty will do. Anything less than certainty is unworthy of God."

I liked the way this statement presented a contrast between the strength of two choices people make. I wanted to learn a bit more and really fine-tune my understanding of the point being made, so I looked the words up in a dictionary. Portions of the definitions are below.

BELIEVE: trust, confidence, conviction of truth

CERTAIN: fixed, settled, dependable, reliable, indisputable, inevitable, destined

Belief is a choice of acceptance and trust of the reality of something. Certainty takes a firmer stand. To rephrase the above quote...to be worthy of God it is not enough to trust there are divine things. Rather, only being settled and destined for divine things in God is worthy of God.

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"God continually showers the fullness of his grace on every being in the universe, but we consent to receive it to a greater or lesser extent. In purely spiritual matters, God grants all desires. Those who have less have asked for less."

I've wondered why "good" things happen and "bad" things happen...sometimes it seems indiscriminantly to people who seem "good" or "bad." I remember a verse in the Bible that says God makes it rain on the just and the unjust alike. This passage says God is pouring a full measure of His grace on every one. How much people receive depends on their alignment with what He is trying to do, and how much they have sought Him for His provision. I find it interesting that this means God wants to bless and wants us to receive what He is giving us. It also means He gives us some responisbility and choice as to how much we will allow Him to give us. Someone with an open hand can receive a lot more than someone clinging to something else and not ready to receive His blessings.

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"Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer."

I don't think I've ever read such a brief yet clear statement about prayer. That makes it seem so simple. If only it were that easy to always keep attention focused and unmixed!