The Seven Stages of Spiritual Transformation in the Acts of Paul & Thecla
Soul-Voice Meditation
The question for our soul-voice meditation for Stage Three is: if my purpose is to love and be loved, not to please others or to prove that I'm worthy of love, what new desire for my life can I now perceive in my heart? You can meditate on this question in silence or using the guided audio meditation.
IN THIS SERMON
Stage Three is courage.
A now visible door opens, and from somewhere mysterious, from this newfound possibility we didn’t even know existed, courage rises up in us to walk through it. This is the third stage.
“He said, ‘Thecla, my betrothed, why do you sit like this? What is the emotion that binds you in passion? Turn toward your Thamyris and be ashamed’. And her mother also said the same things to her, ‘Child, why do you look down and sit like this, answering nothing but acting like a mad person?’ And they cried desperately – Thamyris for the loss of his wife, Theocleia for the loss of her child... So there was great confusion and mourning in the house. And while these things were happening, Thecla did not turn her back, but was fixed to the word of Paul.” (The Acts of Paul and Thecla – Chapter 10, Verse 2-6)
“And my daughter, like a spider in the window, also is bound to his words, held sway by new desire and fearful emotions. For the maiden is fixated on the things he says and is captivated.” (The Acts of Paul and Thecla – Chapter 9, Verse 2-3)