Vulnerability: The Weakness Needed to Stay in Communion by Deacon James Keating

Vulnerability: 

• to be vulnerable is to be open and this scares us because it leaves us open to being hurt.
• vulnerability is necessary for a real relationship with God or else you become self-enclosed & crash on the rocks of perfectionism and begin to seek more and more artificial consolation.
• Vulnerability is to allow the beauty of God to affect me so deeply that I want to be with God even though I have no idea how that works – like stalking a girl we were in love with in 4th grade.
• we need to be able to name the brokenness. sit with your whole weight of brokenness before the Lord. the fear in this is that he will “find out” who we are and reject us.
• You need to reach the point of vulnerability where you realize that only God satisfies – you develop a holy indifference to where you are – that we actually like the goal of vulnerability = to be alone with God – rather than being in 1 more city I haven’t explored (that is rejecting the struggle that you are in *talking before July 4th weekend*).
• Priests need to be the most vulnerable towards God because there is the greatest temptation of idols for priests. As the spiritual leader, its selfish not to become vulnerable and selfish NOT to suffer this first. You only have something to offer first when you suffer a conversion & suffer the pain of self examination in Christ – or else you wont be a father to others.

Prayer = the safest emotional place on earth. 

• relate everything to God – this is the root of emotional and psychological health.
• God knows you and cherishes you.
• Prayer is the only true place where we are really known and being known by God is enough for the saints. The only thing that there is in Omaha is God – and that scares the hell out of us!!

Receiving Eucharist = safest emotional time on earth

• pour out your heart to God.

Questions to ask yourself & bring to spiritual direction:

• Do I any consciousness about fear of openness with God?
  • satan loves to attach us to silly things that we dismiss. bring up the smallest things.
• Will you let beauty affect you so deeply that you let yourself be transformed by it your whole life?
• Talk to spiritual director about vulnerability & poverty & distractions from going deeper with God – name your idols.
• Where are you dumping everything heavy in you if you are not going with them to God?

Tips: 

• If you ever lose your way, find your way back through the crucifix.
• Stay longer after communion.