One would not taste the black beans. Dark chocolate is what its fans loved and being not too sweet . My picky taster, my husband Bob loved it and so did members of the International Women’s Club I belong to. Who knew? I haven’t told Bob it has black beans ha, ha, ha
Make sure you’ve rinsed and thoroughly drained your black beans.
Add ingredients beans, oatmeal, dates, vanilla, cocoa and sweetener. into your food processor or blender and puree scraping down sides as needed. You want it pretty smooth.
If the batter appears too thick, add 2 Tbsp water and pulse again. It should be slightly thick like cookie dough. If too thin, add more oatmeal and blend.
To the mixture, add the raisins and rum.
Using a small ice cream scoop, fill it half full or fully, then form into balls and roll into cocoa powder.
My Notes
I microwaved pitless dates in some water in microwave about 1 minute.
I used my blender
I added stevia, about two tbsp
I added 1/4 cup raisins that had been soaked in rum and added whole thing to mixture.
Holy God, I come to you today because I want to know you. My heart is searching for truth, for peace, and for real purpose. Please forgive my mistakes and clear away any doubts in my mind. Open my eyes to see your presence all around me—in my life, in nature, and in the people I meet. Guide my steps and draw my heart close to yours. Reveal yourself to me today. In Jesus’ name, Amen
Father Richard Rohr teaches that an encounter with God happens in the ordinary, concrete present moment rather than in a distant, separate realm. [1, 2]
Key Beliefs on Encountering God
God is Here Now: Rohr states that God is not "out there," but hidden within the physical, material world and everyday human life. [1, 2]
The Ordinary as Revelation: According to the Center for Action and Contemplation, God's revelations are specific and found in daily history, meaning true spirituality is about becoming fully human. [1]
The Universal Christ: Rohr teaches that the divine presence indwells all creation and all people, making the physical world a place to fall in love with God. [1, 2]
The Role of Silence: Deep contemplative silence allows individuals to move past ego and analytical thinking to experience the foundational presence of the divine. [1]
Evidence of the Encounter: Rohr notes on X (formerly Twitter) that the true test of an encounter with God is how compassionately you interact with the world around you. [1]
When I was on retreat at Thomas Merton’s hermitage at Gethsemani Abbey in 1985, I had a chance encounter that has stayed with me all these years. I was walking down a little trail when I recognized a recluse, what you might call a hermit’s hermit, coming toward me. Not wanting to intrude on his deep silence, I bowed my head and moved to the side of the path, intending to walk past him. But as we neared each other, he said, “Richard!” That surprised me. He was supposed to be silent. How did he know who I was? “Richard, you get chances to preach and I don’t. Tell the people one thing.” Pointing to the sky, he said, “God is not ‘out there’!” Then he said, “God bless you,” and abruptly continued down the path.
The belief that God is “out there” is the basic dualism that is tearing us all apart. Our view of God as separate and distant has harmed our relationships with sexuality, food, possessions, money, animals, nature, politics, and our own incarnate selves. This loss explains why we live such distraught and divided lives. Jesus came to put it all together for us and in us. He was saying, in effect, “To be human is good! The material and the physical can be trusted and enjoyed. This physical world is the hiding place of God and the revelation place of God!”
Far too much of religion has been about defining where God is and where God isn’t, picking and choosing who and what has God’s image and who and what doesn’t. In reality, it’s not up to us. We have no choice in the matter. All are beloved. Everyone—Catholic and Protestant, Christian and Muslim, black and white, gay and straight, able-bodied and disabled, male and female, Republican and Democrat—all are children of God. We are all members of the Body of Christ, made in God’s image, indwelled by the Holy Spirit, whether or not we are aware of this gift.
Can you see the image of Christ in the least of your brothers and sisters? This is Jesus’ only description of the final judgment (Matthew 25). But some say, “They smell. They’re a nuisance. They’re on welfare. They are a drain on our tax money.” Can we see Christ in all people, even the so-called “nobodies” who can’t or won’t play our game of success? When we can see the image of God where we don’t want to see the image of God, then we see with eyes not our own.
Jesus says we have to love and recognize the divine image even in our enemies. Either we see the divine image in all created things, or we don’t see it at all. Once we see God’s image in one place, the circle keeps widening. It doesn’t stop with human beings and enemies and the least of our brothers and sisters. It moves to frogs and pansies and weeds. Everything becomes enchanting with true sight. We cannot not live in the presence of God. We are totally surrounded and infused by God. All we can do is allow, trust, and finally rest in it, which is indeed why we are “saved” by faith—faith that this could be true.
Gateway to Presence: If you want to go deeper with today’s meditation, take note of what word or phrase stands out to you. Come back to that word or phrase throughout the day, being present to its impact and invitation.
References: Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Creation as the Body of God,” Spiritual Ecology: The Cry of the Earth, ed. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (The Golden Sufi Center: 2013), 235-241; and Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer(The Crossroad Publishing Company: 2003), 58-59, 117-119.
Walk with me, Creator, in the cool of today. Point out to me those things you’ve made for my pleasure and my nourishment. Show me the people you are inviting me to know, to care for, and to defend. Draw my attention to the subtle hints of your beauty, your glory, and your power. As I wander, fill me with wonder and worship at your presence. Amen.
Loving Lord Jesus, thank You that You are a God Who hears and answers all our prayers, even those prayers where an answer seems to be a long time in coming. Thank You, that You hear and respond to all Your children who come to you in humility of heart, not relying on our own abilities or our own worth, but only on the merit and righteousness of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Teach me Lord, to be patient in my prayers and to learn to wait quietly and trustingly for Your perfect timing, knowing that in all things You are teaching and training me to be more Christ-like in all my works and ways, including my praying.
Lord, teach me to pray according to Your perfect will, and I pray that however long I need to wait, I ask that You would teach me to be patient in my waiting and to trust Your Word for all that You have promised.
Thank You, Lord, that I am Your child and that You are my Father. Thank You that through Jesus, I can cry out, "Abba, Father," knowing that I have full access to Your throne of grace, when I come to You in weakness and humility of heart. Thank You in Jesus' name,
21 Jesus
left that place and withdrew to the region of Tyre and
Sidon.
22 And
suddenly out came a Canaanite woman from
that district and started shouting, 'Lord, Son of David, take pity on me. My
daughter is tormented by a devil.'
23 But
he said not a word in answer to her. And his disciples went and pleaded with
him, saying, 'Give her what she wants, because she keeps shouting after us.'
24 He
said in reply, 'I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.'
25 But
the woman had
come up and was bowing low before him. 'Lord,' she said, 'help me.'
26 He
replied, 'It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to little
dogs.'
27 She
retorted, 'Ah yes, Lord; but even little dogs eat the scraps that fall from
their masters' table.'
28 Then Jesus answered her,
'Woman, you have great faith. Let your desire be granted.' And from that moment
her daughter was well again.
Fr.
Michael Roche’s sermon
I don't think most of us would have
made it as far as this woman. Think about what happens. She comes to Jesus. She's
a mother desperate for her child. She cries out to Jesus. Have pity on me, Lord
son of David.
And Jesus says nothing. I already think that many of us would be
struggling. We pray, we ask. Silence. It
doesn't take very long before you start wondering. Is there something wrong?
But this woman keeps on going.
Disciples wanted to get rid of her, And she keeps going. She
comes closer. Falls at his feet, And her prayer gets very simple.
Lord help me.
And then comes the line which we probably wish Jesus hadn't
said. “Even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters”. At this point most of us are definitely done,
but she isn't. She says something astonishing.
Yes, Lord.
Not “ that's unfair,”
Not “ let me explain
why I deserve better”.
Yes, Lord.
And then she takes Jesus word “Even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters”.
In other words, "fine Lord, I don't need the best seat. I
don't even need a seat. Put me under the table because if I am anywhere near
you. That will be enough".
She isn't placing her confidence in her own worthiness.
She's placing her confidence entirely in who Jesus is. And maybe that is what
Jesus has been drawing out of her all along.
Look what happens. She begins shouting from a distance. Then
she becomes closer. Then she falls at his feet. Her prayer gets shorter. Her
fate gets deeper.
There's something here for us, because sometimes our prayer
goes through the same kind of purification. We pray for someone we love. We
pray for marriage. We pray for healing. We pray for a child who is struggling.
We pray for someone to return to the faith. We pray for freedom from a sin we
have confessed more times than we could care to admit.
And sometimes God seems silent. We begin wondering whether
anything is happening.
But we should never confuse the silence of God with the
absence of God.
Faith can be like gold being purified in a furnace. The fire
isn't there to destroy the gold. It burns
away what doesn't belong that what is precious can become more beautiful.
Sometimes our prayer is purified that way too.
We may begin with: “God, here is what I need. Here is what needs to happen, Here is how you
should do it. And, if possible, here is
the timetable”.
And eventually:
“Lord help me,”
I don't
understand, I don't know what you're doing. But I know who you are. And I am not going anywhere.
And that brings us to perhaps the most beautiful part of this
Gospel.
The whole time it looks as though this woman is pursuing
Jesus.
But think about it. Who
came into her territory in the first place?
Jesus did.
She thinks she's chasing after him. But Jesus came looking
for her first.
His mercy isn’t something she finally manages to drag out of him His
grace has been at work from the beginning even when she couldn’t see it.
And finally Jesus says. “O woman , great is your faith”!
In what began with
silence ends with Jesus marveling at her.
She came asking Jesus
to heal her daughter and he does. But something else has happened too. She has come closer to Jesus. And maybe that
is true for us too.
So when God seems silent, don't leave.
Keep praying. Keep coming closer.
And if you run out of words, borrow hers.
“Lord, help me”.
Because even in the silence, Jesus might be much closer
than you think.
5. MEDITATION
https://youtu.be/OszElEtjrL0?si=s08KWfh90xmSIrsj
6. SHARING
7. PRAYER AND INTENTIONS
Dear Heavenly Father, I feel so weak and foolish when I come to You in prayer as I often do not know what I pray, or how to form the thoughts of my hearts into words that make sense.
But Lord, it is a comfort to read in the scripture that the Holy Spirit is there for me in all my weaknesses, including those times when I find it hard to pray. Thank You, Lord, that even when I don't know what to pray for or what God wants me to pray for, the Holy Spirit will somehow pray for me in an inexpressible way. Thank You for this great comfort to my soul.
Help me to pray in a way that is pleasing to You Lord, even when the words will not come. Help me to hate what is evil and cling to what is good. Help me be kind to others in love, and honour other people above myself. Please Lord, help me to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer, even when I don’t know what to pray.
