All religions have their saints, people whose wisdom and life reflects enlightened wisdom, an inspiration to people across the centuries.
Robert Llewelyn said in his book, "Joy of the Saints", "To the saints belongs the awareness that the depths of God's compassion and mercy is beyond our human capacity to understand." He goes on to say, "The primary concern of the saints is with fruit", and as St Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." These are qualities we can aspire to and can be helpful in assessing the nature of those with spiritual authority.
Perhaps the greatest of all fruit is Love which binds everything together in perfect harmony and is the source of transformation.
Robert Llewelyn said in his book, "Joy of the Saints", "To the saints belongs the awareness that the depths of God's compassion and mercy is beyond our human capacity to understand." He goes on to say, "The primary concern of the saints is with fruit", and as St Paul says in his Letter to the Galatians, "The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." These are qualities we can aspire to and can be helpful in assessing the nature of those with spiritual authority.
Perhaps the greatest of all fruit is Love which binds everything together in perfect harmony and is the source of transformation.
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Reverend Robert Llewellyn“Robert Llewelyn is one of the outstanding spiritual teachers of our age,” said George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, when he awarded the Cross of St Augustine to Robert Llewelyn at Lambeth Palace in October 1998.
"The man who made Julian so famous" was the headline in a Norwich newspaper in February 2008 when the Reverend Robert Llewelyn died. Read more ... |
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Lady Julian of NorwichJulian of Norwich was once described by Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, as perhaps the greatest woman England has produced. Yet a TV survey in the streets of Norwich revealed that nine out of 10 had never heard of her, and the tenth knew only her name. Julian's name is already widely - if thinly - spread throughout the world, as the author of the first book written in English by a woman.
Read more .... |
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Paramansa Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda tells of his early life in India in his book, "Autobiography of a Yogi". His aim was to attain union with the divine and to teach others how to realise the divine within. He travelled to America and started The Self Realisation Fellowship in 1920. The Fellowship has centres all over the world and their site at www.yogananda-srf.org is a source of inspiration and help on how to follow a spiritual path in daily life. As Paramahansa Yogananda said: "To commune daily with God in deep meditation, and to carry His love and guidance with you into all your dutiful activities, is the way that leads to permanent peace and happiness." |
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His Holiness the Dalai LamaHis Holiness is the spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. The three major commitments which guide his life are the promotion of fundamental human values towards the goal of human happiness, encouraging inter-religious harmony and the preservation of Tibetan Buddhist culture, which is a culture of peace and non-violence.
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St Francis of AssisiSaint Francis was born in 1181, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant and lived as a rich young man until, in 1204 while on his way to war, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi where he left his worldly life; he went on a pilgrimage to Rome and started to live in poverty. He used to preach on the streets of Assisi and people started to follow him.
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Padre PioPadre Pio was born in the farming village of Pietrelcina in Southern Italy on 25th May 1887; he died in 1968. He entered the order of Capuchin Friars at the age of fifteen and despite feeble health, completed his studies, and was ordained priest in 1910. In June 2002 he was canonised by the Pope.
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