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We only really master some spiritual truths by doing!

By Anita Mathias


  

My twenties were an amazing decade. Likewise, my forties. (In my thirties, I had babies!)

In my twenties, besides moving to the UK and then the US, getting married, and earning two degrees, I

1   1)   learned to ride a bike, aged 22.
     2)   learned to swim, aged 25.
     3)  learned to drive a car, aged 29.
     4) learned to touch-type–and fast, aged 29.
Yeah, a late developer.
Generally, I do everything by books. Whether it’s hosting a children’s birthday party, gardening, or running a house, I tend to first buy three books on the subject which I quickly skim-read.
But for these achievements of my twenties—cycling, swimming, driving, typing—no amount of book learning would help. I just had to get in the pool, on the bike, behind the wheel, and do it.
·      * * *
The truly life-transformational insights of my forties have been these.

1   1) That God loves me. That I can rest in his love. That I don’t need to do anything.
     
     2) Learning to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.  That when I am running ragged, I just need to stop and rest and wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit.   
     
    3) The Spiritual Passive Voice. Waiting. Trusting. Resting. Abiding. Not striving, but resting on the faithful one.
4)Allow God to worry about my worries.
One can’t really learn these transformative spiritual practices from books. Or lectures from those who have mastered them–though these have helped me.
We can only learn them by “doing,”– resting in God, experiencing him, asking him to fill us with his Spirit.
Just hanging out with God.
They have to be caught, from the Father and the Spirit and Jesus—and then practised. They cannot really be taught. We learn them by doing them.
How about you? What has been spiritually transformational for you in the last decade? How did you learn it?



Read my new memoir: Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India (US) or UK.
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My book of essays: Wandering Between Two Worlds (US) or UK

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Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    August 30, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    Hi Dana, I am a full-time writer too, though the writing isn't supporting the family.

    When we needed additional income, I started a business unrelated to my writing to pay the bills. I read about Dostoevsky who frantically wrote books to pay his bills, and sadly wished I had the guts to do that. But I lacked the faith and energy to even try to write to pay bills, and indeed the stress might have been too much for me.

    Now, aspects of my writing bring in small sums money on a weekly, sometimes daily basis, and it's so exciting!!

    Making a living as a writer is a dream few realize, and I salute you for your courage!!

  2. Dana Rongione says

    August 29, 2012 at 7:31 pm

    After leaving my job as a teacher and embarking on a new career as a full-time writer, I was forced to find out what it truly means to live by faith. I didn't know from where or when my next paycheck would come. I had no idea if I could or would make it as a writer. There have been many mountains and many valleys over the past decade, but through it all I've learned that when Jesus is all that I have, He's all that I need! I haven't arrived yet in my spiritual journey, but I'm finally learning to enjoy the ride.

    A Word Fitly Spoken
    http://danarongione.blogspot.com

  3. Anita Mathias says

    August 29, 2012 at 4:20 pm

    Thanks, Rachel. I too have learned some dark things in the last decade, specifically the stuff in the link I sent you, and on the same lines as you mention.

    But, as you allude to, strength does come out of those places of weakness and suffering:-)

  4. Rachel says

    August 29, 2012 at 3:38 pm

    The last decade? I have learned about friendships. Specifically: loss, betrayal, hypocrisy and gossip. Also abuse, depression, grief and many of my own weaknesses. However, with all of that I have learned what it is like to lurch forward into darkness and feel God catch me. Over and over.

  5. Anita Mathias says

    August 29, 2012 at 6:34 am

    Thanks Penelope. That sounds like a very difficult lesson.

    Your ministry through blogging, social media and leading pilgrimages may well reach even more people than the ordained ministry which has been temporarily laid down. And who knows what God will do in the next decade of your rich and fruitful life!

  6. Penelope Swithinbank says

    August 28, 2012 at 9:54 pm

    This has really made me think … because in the past decade I have been given a new (Ordained, priestly) ministry in which I was privileged to see the Lord powerfully at work in others; and then had it almost, or mostly, removed from me for a while. And in the giving and the taking, the Lord has taught me that it is HIS ministry, not mine. And I have had to learn to say “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away – blessed be the name of the Lord.” It is as though I have had to learn to hold it out on the palm of my hand so that He can pour out blessing or not, as HE chooses; and not to try to grab tight hold of it (for fear of losing it or for wanting to call it mine). It is all from Him and all for Him – and when and where is His choice.
    Thank you for helping me to look back and 'see' the lesson of the past decade, Anita.

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Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India

Wandering Between Two Worlds - Amazon.com
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Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

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The Story of Dirk Willems

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Premier Digital Awards 2015 - Finalist - Blogger of the year
Runner Up Christian Media Awards 2014 - Tweeter of the year

Recent Posts

  • “Rosaries at the Grotto” A Chapter from my newly-published memoir, “Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India.”
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  • Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India. My new memoir
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If you'll forgive me for adding to the noise of th If you'll forgive me for adding to the noise of the world on Black Friday, my memoir ,Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India, is on sale on Kindle all over the world for a few days. 
Carolyn Weber (who has written "Surprised by Oxford," an amazing memoir about coming to faith in Oxford https://amzn.to/3XyIftO )  has written a lovely endorsement of my memoir:
"Joining intelligent winsomeness with an engaging style, Anita Mathias writes with keen observation, lively insight and hard earned wisdom about navigating the life of thoughtful faith in a world of cultural complexities. Her story bears witness to how God wastes nothing and redeems all. Her words sing of a spirit strong in courage, compassion and a pervasive dedication to the adventure of life. As a reader, I have been challenged and changed by her beautifully told and powerful story - so will you."
The memoir is available on sale on Amazon.co.uk at https://amzn.to/3u0Ib8o and on Amazon.com at https://amzn.to/3u0IBvu and is reduced on the other Amazon sites too.
Thank you, and please let me know if you read and enjoy it!! #memoir #indianchildhood #india
Second birthday party. Determinedly escaping! So i Second birthday party. Determinedly escaping!
So it’s a beautiful November here in Oxford, and the trees are blazing. We will soon be celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary…and are hoping for at least 33 more!! 
And here’s a chapter from my memoir of growing up Catholic in India… rosaries at the grotto, potlucks, the Catholic Family Movement, American missionary Jesuits, Mangaloreans, Goans, and food, food food…
https://anitamathias.com/2022/11/07/rosaries-at-the-grotto-a-chapter-from-my-newly-published-memoir-rosaries-reading-steel-a-catholic-childhood-in-india/
Available on Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3Apjt5r and on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3gcVboa and wherever Amazon sells books, as well as at most online retailers.
#birthdayparty #memoir #jamshedpur #India #rosariesreadingsecrets
Friends, it’s been a while since I blogged, but Friends, it’s been a while since I blogged, but it’s time to resume, and so I have. Here’s a blog on an absolutely infallible secret of joy, https://anitamathias.com/2022/10/28/an-infallible-secret-of-joy/
Jenny Lewis, whose Gilgamesh Retold https://amzn.to/3zsYfCX is an amazing new translation of the epic, has kindly endorsed my memoir. She writes, “With Rosaries, Reading and Secrets, Anita Mathias invites us into a totally absorbing world of past and present marvels. She is a natural and gifted storyteller who weaves history and biography together in a magical mix. Erudite and literary, generously laced with poetic and literary references and Dickensian levels of observation and detail, Rosaries is alive with glowing, vivid details, bringing to life an era and culture that is unforgettable. A beautifully written, important and addictive book.”
I would, of course, be delighted if you read it. Amazon.co.uk https://amzn.to/3gThsr4 and Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3WdCBwk #joy #amwriting #amblogging #icecreamjoy
Wandering around Oxford with my camera, photograph Wandering around Oxford with my camera, photographing ancient colleges! Enjoy.
And just a note that Amazon is offering a temporary discount on my memoir, Rosaries, Reading, Steel https://amzn.to/3UQN28z . It’s £7.41.
Here’s an endorsement from my friend, Francesca Kay, author of the beautiful novel, “An Equal Stillness.” This is a beautifully written account of a childhood, so evocative, so vivid. The textures, colours and, above all, the tastes of a particular world are lyrically but also precisely evoked and there was much in it that brought back very clear memories of my own. Northern India in the 60s, as well as Bandra of course – dust and mercurochrome, Marie biscuits, the chatter of adult voices, the prayers, the fruit trees, dogs…. But, although you rightly celebrate the richness of that world, you weave through this magical remembrance of things past a skein of sadness that makes it haunting too. It’s lovely!” #oxford #beauty
So, I am not going to become a book-bore, I promis So, I am not going to become a book-bore, I promise, but just to let you know that my memoir "Rosaries, Reading, Secrets: A Catholic Childhood in India," is now available in India in paperback. https://www.amazon.in/s?k=rosaries+reading+secrets&crid=3TLDQASCY0WTH&sprefix=rosaries+r%2Caps%2C72&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_10My endorsements say it is evocative, well-written, magical, haunting, and funny, so I'd be thrilled if you bought a copy on any of the Amazon sites. 
Endorsements 
A beautifully written account. Woven through this magical remembrance of things past is a skein of sadness that makes it haunting. Francesca Kay, An Equal Stillness. 
A dazzling vibrant tale of childhood in post-colonial India. Mathias conjures 1960s India and her family in uproarious and heart-breaking detail. Erin Hart, Haunted Ground 
Mathias invites us into a wonderfully absorbing and thrilling world of past and present marvels… generously laced with poetic and literary references and Dickensian levels of observation and detail. A beautifully written, important, and addictive book. Jenny Lewis, Gilgamesh Retold 
Tormented, passionate and often sad, Mathias’s beautiful childhood memoir is immensely readable. Trevor Mostyn, Coming of Age in The Middle East.
A beautifully told and powerful story. Joining intelligent winsomeness with an engaging style, Mathias writes with keen observation, lively insight and hard-earned wisdom. Carolyn Weber, Surprised by Oxford 
A remarkable account. A treasure chest…full of food (always food), books (always books), a family with all its alliances and divisions. A feat of memory and remembrance. Philip Gooden, The Story of English
Anita’s pluck and charm shine through every page of this beautifully crafted, comprehensive and erudite memoir. 
Ray Foulk, Picasso’s Revenge
Mathias’s prose is lively and evocative. An enjoyable and accessible book. Sylvia Vetta, Sculpting the Elephant
Anita Mathias is an is an accomplished writer. Merryn Williams, Six Women Novelists
Writing a memoir awakens fierce memories of the pa Writing a memoir awakens fierce memories of the past. For the past is not dead; it’s not even past, as William Faulkner observed. So what does one do with this undead past? Forgive. Forgive, huh? Forgive. Let it go. Again and again.
Some thoughts on writing a memoir, and the prologue to my memoir
https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/08/thoughts-on-writing-a-memoir-the-prologue-to-rosaries-reading-secrets/ 
#memoir #amwriting #forgiveness https://amzn.to/3B82CDo
Six months ago, Roy and I decided that finishing t Six months ago, Roy and I decided that finishing the memoir was to be like “the treasure in the field,” that Jesus talks about in the Gospels, which you sacrifice everything to buy. (Though of course, he talks about an intimate relationship with God, not finishing a book!!) Anyway, I’ve stayed off social media for months… but I’ve always greatly enjoyed social media (in great moderation) and it’s lovely to be back with the book now done  https://amzn.to/3eoRMRN  So, our family news: Our daughter Zoe is training for ministry as a priest in the Church of England, at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. She is “an ordinand.” In her second year. However, she has recently been one of the 30 ordinands accepted to work on an M.Phil programme (fully funded by the Church of England.) She will be comparing churches which are involved in community organizing with churches which are not, and will trace the impact of community organizing on the faith of congregants.  She’ll be ordained in ’24, God willing.
Irene is in her final year of Medicine at Oxford University; she will be going to Toronto for her elective clinical work experience, and will graduate as a doctor in June ‘23, God willing.
And we had a wonderful family holiday in Ireland in July, though that already feels like a long time ago!
https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/01/rosaries-readi https://anitamathias.com/2022/09/01/rosaries-reading-secrets-a-catholic-childhood-in-india-my-new-memoir/
Friends, some stellar reviews from distinguished writers, and a detailed description here!!
https://amzn.to/3wMiSJ3 Friends, I’ve written a https://amzn.to/3wMiSJ3  Friends, I’ve written a memoir of my turbulent Catholic childhood in India. I would be grateful for your support!
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