Plunge into the din of battle and keep your heart at peace at the lotus feet of the Lord. But there’s a fear, see. The people who trained us, the people who programmed us, feared that if we didn’t upset ourselves, we wouldn’t do anything. It never occurred to them that when you upset yourself, you have less energy to do something and you have less

The biggest enemy of love is attachments. Desire, in the sense of attachment. You know why? Because if I desire you, I want to possess you. I can’t leave you free. I’ve got to get you. I’ve got to manipulate you so that I can get you, if I desire you in this way. I’m going to manipulate myself, so that I can hoodwink you into allowing me to get you

“For peace of heart, resign as general manager of the universe.” I’m not the general manager; I do what I can. I plunge in, and the result is left to God, to life, to destiny.

The formula’s here; you’ve got it right here. It can be found in Philippians: “For whatever the situation I find myself in, I have learned to be self-sufficient. I am experienced in being brought low, and I have known what it meant to have abundance. I have learned how to cope with every circumstance: how to eat well or to go hungry; to be well pro

Nothing in this entire world has the power to upset you. Nothing. As a matter of fact, nothing has ever upset you. Nobody has ever hurt you. You stupidly hurt yourself.

That could be a parable. It’s tragic, it’s painful. I think back on my own life and I think, Why did I waste it? I wasted it. And all kinds of wonderful things, believe me—pastoral ministries, theological enterprises, liturgical services, etc., etc., etc. The more occupied we are in the things of God, the more likely we priests are to forget what G

So, no one joins in the human enterprise of human dreams and visions and goals so marvelously and so creatively as the person who is unattached. Unfortunately, we’ve come to associate nonattachment with not caring, with not enjoying, with asceticism. No, I’m not talking about that at all. You’ll see this as we go on.

Love means, “I’m perfectly happy without you, darling, it’s all right.” It means, “And I wish you good, and I leave you free. And when I get you, I’m delighted; and when I don’t, I’m not miserable.”

So, second major step: Recognize that you don’t want to get out of it. You want comfort. You want your little possessions. You want the little things that society has falsely taught you are essential for happiness. You want that. You don’t want to get out of the mess. Those are the things that are creating the mess.