Our Mission for 2008

New American Standard Bible (©1995)"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed,

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)"The Spirit of the Lord is with me. He has anointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin and the restoring of sight to the blind, to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,

King James BibleThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

American Standard VersionThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised,

Bible in Basic EnglishThe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because I am marked out by him to give good news to the poor; he has sent me to make well those who are broken-hearted; to say that the prisoners will be let go, and the blind will see, and to make the wounded free from their chains,

Douay-Rheims BibleThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart,

Darby Bible TranslationThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach glad tidings to the poor; he has sent me to preach to captives deliverance, and to the blind sight, to send forth the crushed delivered,

English Revised VersionThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: He hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty them that are bruised,

Tyndale New TestamentThe spirit of the Lord upon me, because he hath anointed me, To preach the gospell to the poor he hath sent me, And to heal which are troubled in their hearts: To preach deliverance to the captive, And sight to the blind, And freely to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Weymouth New Testament"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to proclaim Good News to the poor; He has sent me to announce release to the prisoners of war and recovery of sight to the blind: to send away free those whom tyranny has crushed,

Webster's Bible TranslationThe spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

World English Bible"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,

Young's Literal TranslationThe Spirit of the Lord is upon me, Because He did anoint me; To proclaim good news to the poor, Sent me to heal the broken of heart, To proclaim to captives deliverance, And to blind receiving of sight, To send away the bruised with deliverance,

It is my hope that as a community we will become vessels open to fulfilling this call to minister the grace of God to all this year. By making ourselves available to the movement of the Holy Spirit and to have a servants heart brings great joy to those around us.

Namaste,

+Tanaiste John

Recommended Reading for 2008

As we move into 2008 I would like to recommend "The Mystic Heart" by Wayne Teasdale. You can pick it up from Amazon.com. New $10.17 or used 3.62. Wayne was a Lay monk and close friend of Fr. Bede Griffiths. In 1989 Wayne was made a Christian sanyassa by Fr Bede.

FLASH FROM THE PAST!

Taoiseach Tomas: "As your Taoiseach I would have you both know that it is improper for a priest to wear shorts in public!"

"Night is our diocese,
Silence our ministry,
Poverty our love,
Helplessness our cry"
-John Michael Talbot

Let us meditate on these words from a song by John Michael Talbot as we enter 2008. How do we reach out to a neighbor with authentic compassion? Who is our neighbor? The first step to bearing witness to the reality of creator God is to recoginize the goodness within our own heart. From this we can truly bow to our neighbor and say namaste . Truly acknowledge the spirit within all humanity.

+Tanaiste John

THE ALOHA SPIRIT

by Serge Kahili King

copyright © by Serge King 1990

The Aloha Spirit is a well known reference to the attitude of friendly acceptance for which the Hawaiian Islands are so famous. However, it also refers to a powerful way to resolve any problem, accomplish any goal, and also to achieve any state of mind or body that you desire.

In the Hawaiian language, aloha stands for much more than hello or goodbye or love. Its deeper meaning is the joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (alo).

As you share this energy you become attuned to the Divine Power that the Hawaiians call mana. And the loving use of this incredible Power is the secret for attaining true health, happiness, prosperity and success.

The way to tune into this Power and have it work for you is so simple that you might be tempted to pass it off as being too easy to be true. Please don't let yourself be fooled by appearances.

This is the most powerful technique in the world, and although it is extremely simple it may not prove easy, because you must remember to do it and you have to do it a lot. It is a secret which has been given to humanity over and over again, and here it is once more in another form.

The secret is this:

Bless everyone and everything that represents what you want!
That's all there is to it. Anything that simple, however, does need some explanation.

To bless something means to give recognition or emphasis to a positive quality, characteristic or condition, with the intent that what is recognized or emphasized will increase, endure or come into being.

Blessing is effective in changing your life or getting what you want for three reasons: First of all, the positive focus of your mind stirs up the positive, creative force of the Power of the Universe. Secondly, it moves your own energy outward, allowing more of the Power to come through you. Thirdly, when you bless for the benefit of others instead of directly for yourself, you tend to bypass any subconscious fears about what you want for yourself, and also the very focus on the blessing acts to increase the same good in your life. What is so beautiful about this process is that the blessing you do for others helps them as well as you.

Blessing may be done with imagery or touch but the most usual and easy way to do it is with words. The main kinds of verbal blessing are:

Admiration - This is the giving of compliments or praise to something good that you notice. E.g., What a nice sunset; I like that dress; you're so much fun.

Affirmation - This is a specific statement of blessing for increase or endurance. E.g., I bless the beauty of this tree; blessed be the health of your body.

Appreciation - This is an expression of gratitude that something good exists or has happened. E.g., Thank you, God, for helping me; I give thanks to the rain for nourishing the land.

Anticipation - This is blessing for the future. E.g., We're going to have a great picnic; I bless your increased income; Thank you for my perfect mate; I wish you a happy journey; May the wind be always at your back.
In order to gain the most benefit from blessing, you will have to give up on the one thing that negates it: cursing. This doesn't mean swearing or saying bad words. It refers to the opposite of blessing, namely criticizing instead of admiring; doubting instead of affirming; blaming instead of appreciating; and worrying instead of anticipating with trust. Whenever any of these are done they tend to cancel out some of the effects of blessing. So the more you curse the harder it will be and the longer it will take to get the good from a blessing. On the other hand, the more you bless the less harm any cursing will do.

Here, then, are some ideas for blessing various needs and desires:

Health - Bless healthy people, animals, and even plants; everything which is well made or well constructed; and everything that expresses abundant energy.

Happiness - Bless all that is good, or the good that is in all people and all things; all the signs of happiness that you see, hear or feel in people or animals; and all potentials for happiness that you notice around you.

Prosperity - Bless all the signs of prosperity in your environment, including everything that money helped to make or do; all the money that you have in any form; and all the money that circulates in the world.

Success - Bless all signs of achievement and completion (such as buildings, bridges, and sports events); all arrivals at destinations (of ships, planes, trains, cars and people); all signs of forward movement or persistence; and all signs of enjoyment or fun.

Confidence - Bless all signs of confidence in people and animals; all signs of strength in people, animals and objects (including steel and concrete); all signs of stability (like mountains and tall trees); and all signs of purposeful power (including big machines, power lines).

Love and Friendship - Bless all signs of caring and nurturing, compassion and support; all harmonious relationships in nature and architecture; everything that is connected to or gently touching something else; all signs of cooperation, as in games or work; and all signs of laughter and fun.

Inner Peace - Bless all signs of quietness, calmness, tranquility, and serenity (such as quiet water or still air); all distant views (horizons, stars, the moon); all signs of beauty of sight, sound or touch; clear colors and shapes; the details of natural or made objects.

Spiritual Growth - Bless all signs of growth, development and change in Nature; the transitions of dawn and twilight; the movement of sun,moon, planets and stars; the flight of birds in the sky; and the movement of wind and sea.
The previous ideas are for guidance if you are not used to blessing, but don't be limited by them. Remember that any quality, characteristic or condition can be blessed (e.g., you can bless slender poles and slim animals to encourage weight loss), whether it has existed, presently exists, or exists so far in your imagine alone.
Personally I have used the power of blessing to heal my body, increase my income, develop many skills, create a deeply loving relationship with my wife and children, and to establish a worldwide network of peacemakers working with the aloha spirit. It's because it has worked so well for me that I want to share it with you.

How to Enhance Your Power to Bless
There is a technique practiced by Hawaiian shamans which enhances your power to bless by increasing your personal energy. It is a simple way of breathing that is also used for grounding, centering, meditation and healing. It requires no special place or posture, and may be done while moving or still, busy or resting, with eyes open or closed. In Hawaiian the technique is called pikopiko because piko means both the crown of the head and the navel.

The Technique

1. Become aware of your natural breathing (it might change on its own just because of your awareness, but that's okay).
2. Locate the crown of your head and your navel by awareness and/or touch.
3. Now, as you inhale put your attention on the crown of your head; and as you exhale put your attention on your navel. Keep breathing this way for as long as you like.
4. When you feel relaxed, centered, and/or energized, begin imagining that you are surrounded with an invisible cloud of light or an electro-magnetic field, and that your breathing increases the energy of this cloud or field.
5. As you bless, imagine that the object of your blessing is surrounded with some of the same energy that surrounds you.

Variations

a. Instead of crown and navel, shift attention from shoulder to shoulder or sky to earth.
b. To help focus the energy field, imagine it in color, as a tone or chord, or as a tingle.

For a free copy of this text in booklet form send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address below. Donations are appreciated and tax-deductible. Aloha International, P.O. Box 665, Kilauea, HI 96754 tel-fax 808-828-0302

(Feel free to distribute this page in any manner,under the condition that it is not to be sold.)

THE ALOHA SPIRIT LAW

As we approach this new year It is my hope that you will find and dwell within the silence of your heart. If we are to carry the message of peace into the new year it must find its root within this silence. It starts with the simplicity of breathing in and breathing out.

Happy New year!

Tanaiste John

MERRY

CHRISTMAS!

RCC COMMONLY HELD PRINCIPLES

There is that of God in every person. All human beings, regardless of religious beliefs, have the ability of unmediated spiritual communion and relationship with the transcendent Divine that is immanent within.

The central theme of RCC universalism is that spiritual awareness may be achieved by everyone everywhere. It may be experienced through the teachings of all the great religious systems or in the personal and private experiences of an individual seeker who may have no religion at all.

Spiritual awareness is accessible to everyone of any religion or none . . . no faith can claim to have a final revelation or monopoly of truth. We acknowledge that such awareness may be expressed in many different ways. We delight in this diversity.

While being convinced of the validity of our own religious path, we not only accept but also rejoice that others find validity in their own spiritual tradition, whatever it may be. Each of us must find our own path, and each of us can benefit from the search of others.

There are many paths toward a truth that lies beyond the confines of any single religious doctrine. No one faith has a monopoly of the way to truth. Seekers must find their own paths, assisted by the search of others.

Underlying the infinite diversity of life is the unity of one all-pervasive Spirit. We seek unity with all creation, joining with the increased awareness that a peace testimony includes reverence toward all life.

We nurture a spiritual path open to all, providing a spiritual community in which all sincere seekers of Truth can join, whatever their religious beliefs or doubts. Through the sharing of different religious insights and experiences, anamchara (soul friends) can give support to each other's spiritual search. that can be both refreshing and unifying.

The attribute of holding a position confronted by an opposite position which must be respected has great importance in the formation of spiritual character.

While affirming God's witness in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, we also acknowledge that the Light, the Principle, the Spirit of Love has been made manifest in the teachings of other religions and that there is still much more Light and Love to be revealed in the world.

The Light, the Life, the Truth, the Love of God is revealed directly to every human being, of every race and religion, without the requirement of any intermediary such as church, priest, or sacred book. Each of us has the choice of relying on ourselves or discerning and following the Divine Light within.

THE INTERSPIRITUAL AGE

"We are at the dawn of a new consciousness, a radically fresh approach to our life as the human family in a fragile world. This birth into a new awareness, into a new set of historical circumstances, appears in a number of shift in our understanding.

1. The emergence of ecological awareness and sensitivity to the natural organic world, with an acknowledgement of the basic fragility of the earth.

2. A growing sense of the rights of other species.
3. A recognition of the interdependence of all domains of life and reality.
4. The ideal of abandoning a militant nationalism as a result of this tangible sense of our essential interdependence.
5. A deep, evolving experience of community between and among the religions through their individual members.
6. The growing receptivity to the inner treasures of the world's religions.
7. An openness to the cosmos, with the realization that the relationship between humans and the earth is part of the larger community of the universe"

The Mystic Heart, Wayne Teasdale

CURRACH CELTIC COMMUNITY SEEKS TO...

Currach Celtic Community seeks to embrace the richness of the Church through integrating the various spiritualities of Franciscan and Benedictine, the solitude of the desert hermits or eremites and koinonia fellowship of the cenobites. Worship embraces the structured and spontaneous, liturgical and charismatic spiritualities, the sacramental and non-sacramental. We also embrace the richness found within non-christian traditions. All with that lightness of touch which is Celtic Spirituality.
Tanaiste John Chiaromonte