Why "St. Cuthbert's Island"?

Saint Cuthbert was a Celtic monk who lived in the 7th century.
He received visitors at his monastery in Northumbria and was even appointed a bishop, but he yearned for the life of an ascetic. While living at the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, he sought to spend time with the Lord whenever possible. Early on, he practiced solitude on a small island that was linked to Lindisfarne by a land bridge when the tide was low. This tiny island, known as Saint Cuthbert’s Island, was a training ground of sorts—a place to grow in faith and in love for God.

I chose to name my blog after this island for two reasons:
1) I hope that it will be a place where I can spend time alone with God, growing in my love for Him.
2) Perhaps, when the tide is low, others may find their way to this tiny island
and, by God’s grace, be blessed by what they find there.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

All Saints' (13) Jean-Pierre de Caussade

"All we need to know is how to recognize his will in the present moment. Grace is the will of God and his order acting in the center of our hearts when we read or are occupied in other ways; theories and studies, without regard for the refreshing virtue of God's order, are merely dead letters, emptying the heart by filling the mind. This divine will flowing through the soul of a simple uneducated girl, through her suffering or some exceptionally noble act in adversity, carries out in her heart God's mysterious purpose without thought entering her head. Whereas the sophisticated man, who studies spiritual books out of mere curiosity, whose reading is not inspired by God, takes into his mind only dead letters and grows even more arid and obtuse."

--from The Sacrament of the Present Moment
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