FILL IN THE BLANKS

Date of Birth __ Date of Death

Life is a hyphen locked between two dates. It is a gap between appointments.

What is important is how we fill the blanks between eternity past and eternity future.

The dates are set by God and we cannot change them.

Life is just a scrapbook of moments that have been collected. It does not matter how many days it took to collect the moments.

All that matters in the end is what happened between eternity past and eternity future.

All that matters is the hyphen between the dates.

We need to know the answer or the blank is left empty and we die with the feeling of incompleteness. We need to know: the answer to fill in the empty space.

We are born and shortly thereafter we die, and all that lies in between is a test that requires that each of us fill in the blank. Some fills it with stellar accomplishments, others with a broadening of the intellect. Some fill it in assisting the downtrodden, and some are determined to help only themselves. But regardless of which choice you make, the results will eventually lead you to the same thing. Sooner or later, the bell rings, the test is over, and the sum total of what we did, and thereby who we are, is somewhere contained within the narrow space between

the entrance date and exit date. It is all in the blank between two points.

We don't have to die to face the consequences of our decisions;

and we live with the results everyday.

Who can say who scores the highest on the test of life?

What's the best way to fill in the blank?

We are not sure.

Those, who cannot fill the blank, have their second chances.

The God of grace knows best.

(Unknown)

THE PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

The pencil maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

There are five things you need to know, he told the pencil, before I send you out into the world. And always remember them and never forget; and you will become the best pencil you can be:

1. You will be able to do many great things but only if you allow yourself to be held by
someone's hand.

2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time but you'll need it to become
a better pencil.

3. You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

4. The most important part of you will always be what's inside.

5 On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark.
No matter what the condition you must continue to write.

The pencil understood and promised to remember and went into the box with purpose in its heart.

The PENCIL is YOU.

Always remember and never forget

You will become the best person you can be:

1. You will be able to make many great things, but only if you allow yourself
to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for
the many gifts you possess.

2. You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time by going through
various problems but you 'll need it to become stronger person.

3. You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

4. The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

5. On every surface you will walk through you must leave your mark.
No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.


This gives us purpose to live.
By understanding and remembering
let us proceed with our lives on this earth
having meaningful purpose in our hearts.

(Unknown)

SOUL

Soul is the appetite, driving us

to eat from the banquet of life.

People filled with the hunger of the soul

take food from every dish before them,

whether it be sweet or bitter.

We are not born with guarantees

that we will have strong souls.

No, we must work on our souls,

enlarging and expanding them.

We do so by experiencing all of life -

the beauty and the joy

as well as the grief and the pain.

Soul work requires paying attention to life,

to the laughter and the sorrow,

the enlightening and the frightening,

the inspiring and the silly.

"There is a time for being born,

a time to grow, a time to laugh,

a time to play, a time to learn,

a time to fall in love, a time to have children,

a time to labor, a time to suffer,

a time to mourn and there is a time

for going home to God." (Reuter)

FAMILY

The mother of the little family is Humility.

I am not in charge.

I must submit myself to the governing principles.

The Father of the family is Courage

because it takes tremendous courage

to overcome the deep psychic scarring

and scripting of your own nature,

to overcome the powerful social forces

that aren't aligned with the governing principles.

The Child of that union is Integrity.

That is the peace where our soul

is rooted around a set of balanced,

timeless, universal principles.

There are two children -

The first is Wisdom, meaning that

you see the larger picture; how things

are related to one another.

The second is Abundance mentality,

which says that you know your security

comes from within, not without -

that life includes ever-increasing

resources.

NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOUL

comes not from the intellect but from the heart.

We must open ourselves to our true nature,

which is happiness.

To nourish the soul means to attend to and

care for the parts of ourselves that make us

happy and that enable us to become kinder,

gentler, more compassionate and loving.

As we get into the habit of nourishing the soul,

we move to an entirely different level of life.

We become the living images of God.

OUR EGO

The Ego isn't real; it doesn't exist. The Ego is not the self. Rather, it is the idea we have about the self as being separate, being special and important, needing to consume, being offended, and so forth. The Ego is just an idea that we carry around with us. In fact, if you think about it, the Ego is insane. After all, Insanity is defined as believing that you are something that you are not. and the Ego has convinced you are something you are not. It has you believing that you are your body, that you are your accomplishments, and that competition or being better than other people is important.

You are not your Ego. You are a divine and eternal spirit. You are a soulful being who is never born and never dies, having a human experience. And when you know God, when you are a part of the mechanics of creation, you have achieved the highest stage in life.

OUR FEAR TO FACE DEATH

Our fear to face death is natural. The followers of Christ have a supernatural view. Our faith permits us to face death with courage, even with cheer.

1 Cor 15: "For the person of faith, death has lost its sting and its victory."

Our death is "dies natalis," our birthday to eternal life, we are born to die, it is true, but we die to live that eternal life for which this brief earthly existence is but a preparatory trial.

Fitful life is just a walk through the vestibule leading to God's eternal temple. We are to show we are worthy to enter the house of God; the entrance is through the portals of death

TAKE A STAND

and be the One to make a difference.

You were born to win

You were born for greatness

You were created to be a champion of life.

If you believe all things are possible,

make up your mind that you are going

to be the One to set the new standard

Be the One to affect generations to come.

God's favor surrounds us like a shield.

If you persevere, declaring the favor of God

and staying in an attitude of faith

God will open doors for you

and change circumstances on your behalf.

WHY WE MATTER TO THE WORLD

The dying have taught me one great lesson that I would never have learned without their help:

Most people are not afraid of dying; they are afraid of not having lived.

It is not the prospect of death that frightens most people. People can accept the inescapable fact of mortality. What frightens them more is the dread of insignificance, the notion that we will be born and live and one day die and none of it will matter.

People don't really want to live forever. Living forever would be like reading a good book, or watching a good movie that never ended.

People understand that the story of their lives has to have a beginning, a middle and an end.

What they desperate want is to live long enough to get it right, to feel that they have done something worthwhile with their lives, however LONG.

TAM

Tam is a word of Hebrew origin, meaning plain, simple, uncomplicated.

One of the four sons of the Passover Haggadah.

The simple child's question: What is all this?

Tam, related to the important Biblical Hebrew word TAMIM, which means whole, intact, with connotations of integrity.

That integrity is more than any character has.

The word Tam appears nine times in the Hebrew Bible.

in the Psalms

in the Book of Proverbs

Six times in the Book of Job:

Job is described as a good, upright, blameless man.

It is translated as blameless, a description that would

fit the innocence and the integrity of a character.

It occurs more than once in the Torah.

Hebrew Biblical character as TAM

Gen. 25:27 reads "Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field,

while Jacob was a simple man, dwelling in tents."

JACOB is a simple man - plain and uncomplicated, notable for his integrity.

Character describing the young Jacob, his innocence and simplicity.

Jacob, like so many of us, begins as TAM, naive, trusting.

The circumstances of his life will make him in turn deceitful, cynical and manipulative.

But one night, he will meet his angel. He will emerge from the struggle injured and exhausted, limping on the next chapter of his life. And now the Bible will describe him as SHALEM, whole, united within himself, his internal conflicts coded. He has become a person of Integrity.

Integrity means being whole, unbroken, undivided. When you have integrity, all of your aspirations are focused in one direction. For the person of integrity, life may not be easy but it is simple, figure out what is right and do it.

Shalom is peace. It means more than the absence of quarreling. It means wholeness, everything fitting together, nothing missing and nothing broken.

The "Holy Fool", the person of the simple faith whose uncomplicated joy at being at the presence of God is more authentically religious than the prayers and sermons of the learned theologians.

The Fool sees the truth more than anyone else.

(Living a life that matters by Harold S. Kushner)

There is a place in heaven for fools whereas heaven's gate will be closed to the clever, cruel and calculating people who embittered his life.

SPIRITUAL LIFE

Spiritual life is the life of man's real self, the life of that interior self whose flame is so often allowed to be smothered under the ashes of anxiety and futile concern.

The Spiritual life is oriented toward God, rather than toward the immediate satisfaction of the material needs of life. but it is not, for all that, a life of unreality or a life of dreams. On the contrary, without life of the spirit, our whole existence becomes unsubstantial and illusory.

The life of the spirit, by integrating us in the real order established by God, puts us in the fullest possible contact with reality - not as we imagine it, but as it really is. It does so by making us aware of our own real selves, and placing them in the presence of God.

(Fr. M. Louis, OCSO)

GOD IS IN THE SMALL STUFF

God is in the detail of life.

The Almighty Creator of the universe is interested and active in the details of your life.

He cares about what you are doing and thinking.

He wants to uplift your spirit and guide you through life's tough decisions. He wants to weave the everyday "threads" of your life into a divinely designed "tapestry."

Sometimes it is easy to sense God's presence when you observe His handiwork in nature.

God knows you. God loves you. And God cares about the tiniest details of your life.

TEN THINGS TO REMEMBER

1. The Value of Time
2. The Success of Perseverance
3. The Pleasure of Working
4. The Dignity of Simplicity
5. The Worth of Character
6. The Power of Kindness
7. The Obligation of Duty
8. The Influence of Example
9. The Wisdom of Economy
10. The Virtue of Patience

(Bits & Pieces)

TITHING

A blessing is always an invaluable gift. Whatever is blessed increases. Blessing substance increases its flow.

Since Ancient times, it has been proven that those who tithe ten percent of their income to God's work find that their prosperity increases by leaps and bounds.

The act of tithing gives your prosperity a permanent, enduring basis.

If the farmer refused to give back to the soil a certain percentage of the crops which the soil had given to him, he would have no crops.

Since God is the source of your supply, you must do something definite and consistent to keep in touch with that rich source, if you want to be consistently prospered. Those who tithe are always certain they prosper because they have the confidence and faith that go with having God as a Partner.

When your life gets out of harmony, you need to give in order to restore balance and abundance.

Money invested in spiritual things is never loss but gain a hundredfold.

Tithing is the beginning of permanent financial increase.

A universal prosperity law: giving back to God's work one-tenth of your gross income.

If you do not give voluntarily to the constructive experiences of life, you will find yourself giving involuntarily to the destructive experiences of life - but GIVE YOU MUST. It is the law of the universe.

OVERCOMING OBSTACLES

It's no wonder. We all face obstacles - some are tiny hurdles that may trip us up for a time before we land on our feet; others loom like ominous clouds, sending even the bravest souls in search of shelter. How we handle these situations determine the course of our life; whether we will live with fear and anger or acceptance and joy.

Ecclectic wisdom proves that many times obstacles are our best teachers: they shine a light on our strength; reminds us of the areas we need to improve; to show us to have faith in ourselves; and force us to accept things that are beyond our control.

"Ship in port is safe, but this is not what ships are built for." (Grace Hopper)

"Our strength grows out of our weakness" (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

NECESSARY LOSSES

When we think of loss, we think of the loss through death of people we love. But loss is a far more encompassing theme in life. For we loss not only through death, but also by leaving and being left, by changing and letting go, and moving on. And our losses include not only our separations and departures from those we love, but our conscious and unconscious losses of romantic dreams, impossible expectations, illusions of freedom and power, illusions of safety - and the loss of our younger self, the self that thought it always be unwrinkled and invulnerable and immortal.

Losses we confront by inescapable fact...

*that our mother is going to leave us and we will leave her.

*our mother's love can never be ours alone.

*what hurts us cannot always be kissed and made better.

*we are essentially out here on our own.

*we will always have to accept - in other people and ourselves - the mingling of love with hate, of the good with the bad.

Throughout our life we grew by giving up. We give up some of our deepest attachments to others. We give up certain cherished parts of ourselves.

(Judith Viorst)

OUT LOOK

To be poor is not shameful; it is to be poor and to have no high aspirations that is shameful.

To hold a lowly position is not dreadful; it is to hold a lowly position and not improve your ability that is dreadful.

Getting old is not lamentable; it is getting old and having wasted your life that is lamentable.

To die is not a sad thing; it is to die without anyone knowing you that is really sad.

(Chinese Proverb)

I thought you knew

God wants to restore good things in you in abundance.

Don't let rejection pester inside you,

poisoning your future. Let it go.

God has something new in store for you.

When God allows one door to close.

He will open another door for you,

revealing something bigger and better.

God will take the evil that the enemy

brings into our lives, and if we'll keep

the right attitude, He will turn it around

and use it for our own good.

God wants to take your scars

and turn them into stars.

He wants to take those disappointments

and turn them into reappointments.

You can't put a question mark

where God has put a period.

(Unknown)

DREAMS OF DESTINY

We all have dreams. We all want to believe deep down in our souls that we have a special gift, that we can make a difference, that we can touch others in a special way, and that we can make the world a better place.

Far too many, the dream has dissipated - and with it, so has the will to shape our destinies. Many have lost that sense of certainty that created the winner's edge.

HOW TO CREATE LASTING CHANGE

Raise your standards: changing what I demanded of myself - changing a world begins with a simple step of changing oneself.

Change your limiting beliefs: changing our belief systems is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives. We must develop a sense of certainty that we can and will meet the new standards before we actually do. Empowering beliefs -this sense of certainty-is the force behind any great success throughout history.

Change your strategy: find a role model, someone who is already getting the results. Tap into their knowledge. Learn what they're doing, what their core beliefs are, and how they think. You can fine-tune it, reshape it and perhaps even make it better.

(Unknown)

A PROMISE

God will not promise you

endless blue skies

but He did promise

to help bear your burden.

God didn't promise that

all of your dreams will come true

but He did promise that

it's possible to reach them.

God didn't promise that

everything in your life

will turn out as you planned

but He did promise that

your prayer will be answered.

God didn't promise that

you'll become wealthy

but He did promise to give you

everything you need.

God didn't promise that

you'll never feel lonely

but He did promise that

He would always be there for you.

(Unknown)

LIFE

Life is a door, open it.

Life is a bridge, cross it.

Life is a duty, do it.

Life is great, experience it.

Life is sweet, ahh, savor it.

Thank God for a beautiful morning.

Ask not for an easy day but for his

guidance, strength and courage

to face the challenges of Life.

(Unknown)

PRECIOUS MOMENTS

Morning brings hope.

Afternoon brings faith.

Evening brings love and

Night brings rest.

Wish you find them all today.

(Unknown)

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR LIFE

Learn to make the most of your life

Lose no happy day.

Time can never bring you back

Chances swept away.

Leave no tender word unsaid,

Love while life shall last.

The mill will never turn again

with water that has passed.

(Unknown)

COSTLY GRACE

Costly Grace is the hidden treasure in the field: for its sake, the man gladly goes and sells all he has; it is the pearl of great value. For it, the merchant sells all his goods, it is the Kingdom of Christ. Therefore, the man plucks out his eye, which is an occasion of sin; it is the call of Jesus Christ. Hearing it, the disciple leaves his nets and follows.

Costly grace is the gospel that must ever be sought; it is the gift for which one must ask, it is the door at which one must knock.

It is costly because it calls for obedience; it is grace because it calls for obedience to Jesus Christ; it is costly because it may cost a man his life; it is grace because only thus is man brought to new life; it is costly because it condemns sins; it is grace because it justifies the sinner. It is costly grace most of all because it has cost God dearly, because it has cost God the life of HIs Son - "you have been brought at a great price" - because what has been costly for God cannot be cheap for us. It is grace most of all because God did not regard His Son as too precious for our life, but gave Him for us.

Costly Grace is the Incarnation of God.

GIVERS

Someone once said that there are three kinds of givers:

GRUDGE GIVERS

DUTY GIVERS and

THANKS GIVERS

Grudge givers say: "I hate to give."

Duty givers say: "I ought to give."

Thanks givers say: "I want to give."

In other words,

Grudge givers give reluctantly

and with a certain feeling of resentment.

Duty givers give reluctantly, too.

but with a certain feeling of obligation.

Thanks givers, on the other hand,

give from the heart, without any feeling

of resentment or obligation.

Thanks givers give under no pressure.

under no obligation.

from the heart.

(Reflection on Mk 12:41-44)

SUPREME BEING

Without Supreme Being in our lives, there is no inspiring goal for us other than self-interest. There is no room for tenderness, generosity, helpfulness. Marriage becomes a matter of biology, not fidelity. Society offers us few successful role models to pattern a life destined for a future world but rather furnishes us with many diversions to distract us from the effort.

The harmony in the universe, the mystery of creation, the incredible designs of our bodies, absolutely demand a planning intelligence, and speak of a Creator telling us we are here for a purpose, that we have a job to do, a destiny to fulfill.

THE CLOSING OF A CASKET

The closing of a casket does not terminate our life anymore than an airplane departure terminal ends our journey. The casket merely closes the door to a world that has limitations and opens up to another that has no boundaries - just as the airplane lifts one from the restrictions of the earth to unfathomable space.

CATERPILLAR

Most caterpillars think that they have died. They think that life has ended when that thing starts wrapping around them. Pretty soon, the caterpillar gets wrapped in its cocoon, buried by all this stuff. If you were to open up that cocoon, the caterpillar is no longer there. There's just all this mush and goo and stuff. And, most people, including the caterpillar think it is dying. But really, it is beginning to transform. It is going from one thing to something else. And pretty soon, it becomes a butterfly.

Can the other caterpillar on the ground see that this caterpillar became a butterfly? No. And when a caterpillar breaks out of a cocoon, what does he do? He flies. He's even more beautiful than when he was a caterpillar. Is he more free or less free? Yes. He's got less legs to get tired. He doesn't need legs anymore; he's got wings.

It is not for us to decide when somebody becomes a butterfly. We think it is wrong, but I think God has a better idea when the right time comes.

MISUNDERSTANDING

paralyzing sting in humanity

When you are misunderstood, you have no defense. No matter how hard you try to correct misunderstanding, it usually gets worse. The harder you work, the worse it gets and deeper it hurts. Its sting can be paralyzing.

SENSE OF VULNERABILITY: You feel defenseless and unprotected. Vulnerability is the first expression of this misery. Being misunderstood invariably catches you off guard, you stumble into it inadvertently.

EXAGGERATION: When you are the object of misunderstanding, you can see how the person who starts with just a slight misunderstanding gradually builds it up to the place where he or she begins to believe (out and out) lies about you.

People not only entertain misunderstanding in their hearts, but they share it and speak it out.

"Tongue is an organ that can control us. Poison of viper is under their lips" (David)

The only muscle you need to break down another person's dignity is the muscle hidden inside your mouth. You can destroy a life with your tongue.

The person who coexists with misunderstanding and bitterness is miserable. These enemies will hound you, nipping at your heels. But when you give the situation over to God and say - "Lord, I am defenseless. I am misunderstood. I am right but they never believe it! You take over." God will perform the most unbelievable feats as He glorifies His name in your life. That His Specialty!

We grow through misunderstanding. Through it, we come to see the Lord as our defense. You can lie down at night knowing that although the tongue of your accuser might be wagging, God is taking care of that situation.

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." (C.S Lewis)

PRAYER

God looks not at the oratory of your prayers, how elegant they may be; nor at the Geometry of your prayers, how long they may be; nor at the arithmetic of your prayers, how many they may be; nor at the logic of your prayers, how mathematical they may be, but the Sincerity of them.

The real power of your prayer lies in the One who hears our prayers, not in the form of the prayer.

The fewer words the better prayer.

Although we can't hurt God's feelings, we are missing out on an ultimate relationship with him when we always come with an empty hand, instead of a heart full of praise and thanksgiving.

Prayer crowns God with the honor and glory due to His name, and God crowns prayers with assurance and comfort.

Those who pray can always be assured that God is at work in their particular circumstances - for their eternal benefit.

True prayer is voiced first in the heart.

God knows the seasons of our hearts.

Our role is to persist in prayer -

Planting seeds and watering them

Until we reap the harvest.

ime spent in prayer is never wasted.

Daily prayer clears away the brambles in our hearts.

Don't give up. God is working something good in you...

prayer by prayer.

Our business in prayer is not to prescribe

but to subscribe to the wisdom and will of God;

to refer our case to Him, and then leave it with Him.

Prayer is is the chief agency and activity

whereby men align themselves with God's purpose.

Prayer is not only the "practice of the presence of God,"

it is also the "realization of His presence."

When we pray, we open our hearts to a clearer and deeper understanding of God's word
As we read His word, we open our minds to a greater understanding of how and

for what to pray.

True prayer is a way of life

not just in case of emergency.

Luggage may often be misdirected, but not our prayers.

God knows your need and He knows where you are.

Prayer is a direct link to peace of mind and perspective.

It reminds us of who we are.

Prayer is profitable wherever it is invested.

All prayers and all answers to prayer build our relationship with God and a deep personal relationship - marked by ongoing, free-flowing communication - is what God desires to have with each one of us.

God isn't looking for your perfection and your strength today. He is looking for you to trust in His perfection and and His strength.

Our prayer must something to us

if we are to mean anything to God.

Beware of placing the emphasis on what prayer costs us,

it costs God everything to make it possible for us to pray.

Prayer requires that we stand in God's presence...

proclaiming to ourselves and to others that without God

we can do nothing.

SHAME

Our modern man has three forces or fears: fear of death, fear of meaninglessness of life, and the fear of being found out.

As soon as wrong enters the heart of man, he begins to make fig leaves to cover his shame. Our secret dread is that we may be found naked - that is, in our true miserable condition.

We try to replace nature by art, saying: "I am not fit for God or man to look upon." Thus, the emotion with condemnation becomes mixed up with dishonor and blot.

The fig leaves we sew to cover up our shame are multiple:

*one of the latest fashions is to make it appear that society itself is wicked, and therefore it should not make one ashamed. If moves of our time could be proven to be abnormal, then one need not be ashamed of his abnormality.

*Another kind of fig leaf by which modern man covers up his shame is to attack religion. He thinks that by calling in doubt all moral standards such as guilt, conscience, sin, judgment, he minimizes his conscience from reproach. Many of the slings and arrows against the Church come from the slingshots of an uneasy conscience and the bow of repressed guilt.

It may be true in some instances that the Churches are irrelevant to the modern world and give no resounding message to modern man. But a deeper analysis might reveal that they are entirely too relevant; that is why many do not want to hear their message. Throwing stones at the Churches is a cheap way of escaping from one's own guilt.

What makes the sense of shame more galling is our denial of it, our covering it up with fig leaves which wither. The trueway out is to face up to shame and realize that we can be accepted by God because we are unfit, and that we can be pardoned because we are guilty. It is the excuses which spoil us.

We have the courage to be ourselves. We are worthless. We do not have an inferiority complex; we are inferior. We are not just dumb bells; we are guilty. We have not just made a mess of things; we are sinners take off the masks!

We are blind to our own faults. That is why, we say we need courage to sit down and to ask ourselves whether what we are doing is right or wrong, whether or not, we are actually fostering passion, listening to our own wishes, seeking out others who will excuse our sins; whether we are not allowing self-love to blind us to our baseness.

God can save this world, but he can save it only one man at a time.

There must be individual access to Him for the reception of forgiveness, as if He and I were the only two beings in the world.

It is the cowards who are running off to pillboxes, and to a thousand and one other escapes, who have not the courage to face that which has within themselves the possibility of great dignity.

Liberation comes when the message of forgiveness is accepted, bravely and without excuse. Peter was a despairing man. When he said to our Lord, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord. Our Lord"s answer briefly was, "I know it. That is why I want you!"

UMBILICAL CORD

Designer Frank Danton designed an umbilical cord to supply oxygen to the astronauts who passed from one module to another.

His reasoning: Just as J3:16 and J3:17 supply the astronauts with what they need to survive in their journey from one module to another, so John 3:16 and John 3:17 supply us with what we need to survive in our journey from earth to heaven

MOTHERHOOD

Human Motherhood is twofold in essence: *the physical act of giving birth, which women share with all nature, and *the soul of the child does not emanate from mother's body or soul, but freshly created by God Himself, who infuses it into the body of the unborn child.

Physiological motherhood is glorified by this cooperation with God Himself, who fathered the baby's soul and then permitted a woman to clothe it in her flesh.

Every child born of a woman has, then, two fathers: his earthly father, without whom he could not have life, and his heavenly father, without whom he could not possess a personality, a soul, an "irreplaceable" I.

The mother is the essential partner through whom both fathers work. Her relationship to the child has two resulting aspects: Mother-baby aspect, the child is physically and absolutely dependent on the mother; a Mother-person relationship, the child's right to eventually lead his own life and depart from his parents to live a life on his own.

Every birth requires a submission and disciplining.

Submission: it is sacrificial, consciously creative, and for this selflessness, a woman whole nature has been formed. Women have surer understanding of the doctrine of redemption: they have associated the risk of death with life in childbirth, and to understand the sacrifice of self to another through the many months preceding it.

In a mother, two of the great spiritual laws are united into one: Love of neighbor and cooperation with God's grace. Both are applied in a unique way.

Love of neighbor, to a mother, is love of a non-self; a mother's neighbor during pregnancy is one with herself, yet to be loved differently from the self. The sacrifice sometimes involved in the neighborly love takes place within her flesh; the agent and the object of her sacrifice are both contained within her.

The cooperation with grace in a mother makes her a partner of divinity: every human mother is overshadowed by the Holy Spirit - she brings God to man by accepting her mother's role, and thus permitting God to infuse a new soul into her body for it to bear. She brings man to God at childbirth itself, when she allows herself to be used as an instrument by which another child of God is born into the world.

The real significance of Motherhood: the spiritual element that goes to make a child -- the human mother cooperating with her husband, the father of the human body, and with God, the father of the soul that is eternal, indestructible, and unlike any other everformed throughout the history of the world.

Every human motherhood involves a partnership with the divine.