Rev. Tony Ponticello

Rev. Tony Ponticello

Rev. Tony Ponticello is CMC Minister #20. He was ordained on Oct. 17, 1997. He is Executive Minister of Community Miracles Center and serves on the CMC Board as President. He is the Master of Ceremonies for the CMC Sunday Gathering and teaches 2 other CMC classes.

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

There is no doubt that forgiveness is a major foundational tenet of ACIM. Forgiveness and healing itself are equated. "That forgiveness is healing needs to be understood if the teacher of God is to make progress." (OrEd.Mn.22.3) Assuming we all want to be healed (we all do, don’t we?) then we should all me more than willing to forgive absolutely. However my observation is that most are not. Most only give lip serve to forgiveness, or they forgive the easy stuff holding what ACIM calls many "scraps of meanness” unforgiven. "You retain thousands of little scraps of meanness which prevent the Holy One from entering." (OrEd.Tx.4.52) Sickness will then have a “nutritious” fuel source to again manifest and grow from. When do we do this? Why do we do this? This is what Rev. Tony will explore. 26 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Tuesday, 12 July 2022 04:06

Thank God!

Dear Miracle Worker,

We always have Holy Spirit’s help. “Thank God!” Not a euphemism. Literally. I have to laugh at my life often, as I go from one challenge to the next. Sometimes the best thought I can have is, “How is Holy Spirit going to handle this one?” Answer: “Miraculously!”

One of the CMC Ministers is approaching the end of her body’s life. I am her power of attorney. Right now we are working on multiple issues: getting her from hospital to home on hospice, getting round the clock home care, making sure all legal things are handled, etc. It would be overwhelming if Holy Spirit were not in charge. “Thank God!”

My tub and shower started leaking a couple of week’s ago. There was the quick fix with duct tape. You can use that stuff to fix almost anything! (For many years I thought it was “duck tape” and always wondered how it got that name. Why would we ever have to tape a duck?!?! Lol) Of course eventually the leak started coming through the duct tape – plumber time! Arranging for a plumber. Being here at home to meet the plumber, … Hey, doesn’t the universe know I’m already really busy?!?! Holy Spirit is in charge. “Thank God!”

In December my office assistant quit unexpectedly. A tremendous amount of work fell back to me – again. The financial situation warranted a wait and see perspective. How will all the work get done? Holy Spirit is in charge. “Thank God!”

"He is in charge by my request. And He will hear and answer me because He speaks for God, my Father, and His holy Son." (OrEd.WkBk.361.1)

I do my best to follow guidance given, and I watch the miracles unfold. The beauty of it all is staggering sometimes. We are all blessed. “Thank God!”

(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #345, July 12 2022)

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

Between 1948 and 1975 American newspaper readers were treated daily to a comic strip named Pogo, written and drawn by Walt Kelly. In our digital age we’ve forgotten how important newspapers were, and how when we had them in our hands we inevitably turned to the back to open “the funnies,” or the comic pages. Many comics frequently found ways to make political, and satirical comments in the midst of their cartoons. This was especially true of Pogo who was an opossum who lived with his animal friends in the Okefenokee Swamp (a huge swamp spanning the Georgia / Florida border). Arguably Pogo’s most famous meme was, “We have met the enemy and he is us” which was Pogo’s way of saying in 1970 and 1971 that we had only ourselves to blame for environmental pollution. This meme kept going through my mind recently as I watched the world switch from one external enemy threat to the next: Covid19, Russian Ukraine war, record high gasoline prices, current and coming food shortages, record high inflation, etc. As different people and groups scramble to point the finger of blame at different people and groups, this teaching from ACIM kept cycling through my mind, "The secret of salvation is but this: that you are doing this unto yourself. No matter what the form of the attack, this still is true." (OrEd.Tx.27.86) In other words, the same thing Pogo made famous over 50 years ago is echoed in ACIM, and can be applied to all the current problems of the world. 26 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Sunday, 19 June 2022 03:42

06.19.22 "Mass Formation"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

The idea that a powerful psychosis can capture the minds of a mass of society is called “mass formation,” or sometimes (inaccurately) “mass formation psychosis.” When allowed to proceed, mass formation causes people to do crazy, destructive, and violent things that are obviously not in their own interests. This has gone on repeatedly in our world with Nazi Germany always being a prime example of the dire consequences that can happen if mass formation is not effectively stopped. While learning about this I (Rev. Tony) obviously saw that this is the condition that almost all are under in regards to the physical world and it being inhabited by seemingly separate people. It is a mass formation of a colossal scale. "This is an insane world, and do not underestimate the actual extent of its insanity. There is no area of your perception that it has not touched." (OrEd.Tx.13.50) It causes us to do crazy things, destructive things, and violent things which are not in our best interests – like sickness, death, and war for example. Let’s explore mass formation and how we can apply this theory – and more importantly – it’s solution to the world illusion. 32 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

The summer travel and vacation season is upon us and people are out and about. After our usual travel cycle being derailed in 2021, and outright taken away in 2020, by the Covid pandemic people seem to have gotten the message that they have permission to move about country (and even the world) again. "Your brothers are everywhere. You do not have to seek far for salvation." (OrEd.Tx.9.38) ACIM has been described as salvation through relationship and I think this is an accurate description of our spiritual practice. And nothing says relationship like mingling with diverse groups of people. Let’s not let this milestone slip by without some acknowledgement. As we finally emerge totally from “shelter-in-place” mitigation strategies let’s embrace the reclaimed ability to encounter our many sisters, brothers, and others in all their diversity with its increased ability to heal us. 29 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

In a couple of days I will glide through my birthday. As many know, I do not focus or broadcast “my years” anymore. However, I still love to celebrate my birthday. I feel I have tremendous amount to celebrate this year. "Why are you not rejoicing? You are free of pain and sickness, misery and loss, and all effects of hatred and attack." (OrEd.Tx.29.2) I went through a severe case of Covid in January. I was told I was not expected to live, yet I rejected the doctor’s prognosis and his proposed best chance treatment and went home refusing to allow myself to be checked into the hospital. I managed my own health treatment through alternative means and was getting better in a matter of just a few days. Also, I am currently celebrating a greater and greater return to the normalcy of our society. Record numbers of people are getting out, going to the movies, traveling, going to big rock concerts … WooHoo!! Plus, I am also using this as a “special day” for re-examining my life, my goals, and what shall be the focus of my upcoming energy and work. Join me as I reveal upcoming miraculous plans and projects for myself and for the CMC. 31 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Tuesday, 31 May 2022 00:46

Happy Eternal Birthday to Me!

Dear Miracle Worker,

Next Tuesday, June 7, I will have a birthday! WooHoo!! I will be … an eternal, infinite Holy Child of God! I will be manifesting the greatest body symbol of my timeless self that I can!

I stopped counting my years sometime ago. It just seemed counterproductive. I try not to even think about them. If I find my mind focusing on them I note it and gently move on to other thoughts. I get a little annoyed each time I have to fill out a form that asks for my birth year. I wish they wouldn’t do that. I had to do another one this morning. I don’t raise objections, and since I can’t proceed without doing it, I look at this as an “outrageous" request and simply put the year down. "Recognize what does not matter, and if your brothers ask you for something ‘outrageous,' do it because it does not matter." (OrEd.Tx.11.27) Okay. It doesn’t matter so I just enter the year and click “continue.”

I like to think that I am not aging but “youthing!”

ACIM teaches us that we don’t leave this world by dying. This is a prominent world belief and even ACIM students participate in the recitation of it. We leave this world by embracing the truth. "The world is not left by death but by truth" (OrEd.Tx.3.80) The truth is I am an infinite, eternal God being. I will leave the illusion manifestation by an embracing of that true idea, not by going through an aging and “death” experience. I assume that one goes through a dying experience to emerge into a very similar reality where not much is different. Perhaps the form is different but the content remains the same. Why bother? I can’t think of a good reason.

(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #339, May 31 2022)

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

Another school shooting – 19 elementary school children and 2 teachers bodies were killed. Plus the shooter's body was killed as well. The mind reels at the sadness and the horror of it all. The ACIM Practitioner struggles with the right Holy Spirit guided perception to claim. This is not a time for spiritual platitudes and correct “Course speak.” If God can weep then so can we. "God weeps at the 'sacrifice' of His Children, who believe they are lost to Him." (OrEd.Tx.5.93) What we can do is not descend into helplessness and disempowerment. We can help, and we can heal. We can be empowered because as ACIM teaches us, "There is nothing my holiness cannot do because the power of God lies in it." (OrEd.WkBk.37.7) 27 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

Most of us are probably comfortable with the religious terms that are contained in ACIM. Terms like: God the Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus, atonement, salvation are used ubiquitously all throughout ACIM. However there are many who do not resonate with these terms, and in fact are turned off by them. How do we reach them with ACIM’s healing message? Rev. Tony was recently charged with the task of writing a short inspirational treatise on “miracles” that would communicate to the non-religious, the secular. "They come from all over the world. They come from all religions and from no religion." (OrEd.Mn.1.2) How do we introduce our important healing technology to the non-religious? 22 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

Probably everyone in the USA is now aware that the federal right for women to have an abortion seems to be in serious jeopardy. As one would expect, this has triggered many passionate discussions on both sides of the issue. I choose to see this as a miracle in the making. Can we Miracle Healers offer the world a different perception? Can we show that it is possible to have a discussion without demonizing those with a different point of view? "Whenever anyone can listen fairly to both sides of any issue, he will make the right decision. ... Conflict can seem to be interpersonal, but it must be intrapersonal first." (OrEd.Tx.7.12) When we can heal the conflict within ourselves (intrapersonal) then we become the force for healing it in the world. Can we listen fairly to the other side of the discussion? 26 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Tuesday, 10 May 2022 00:30

Roe v. Wade: Separation at Its Best

Dear Miracle Worker,

Sometimes it’s just fun to watch the world go from one crisis to the next. Where should we invest our fear today? Not too long ago it was the Covid19 pandemic. Then we had the Ukraine Russia war. Then we had the censorship, free speech debate with the Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter. Now we have leaked documents from the U.S. Supreme Court indicating it is very possible the landmark ruling, Roe v. Wade, that legalized abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 may be overturned.

I have always been neutral about abortion. I recognized it as a complex issue with strong sentiments on both sides, which can both easily be backed up by strong arguments founded in philosophical and religious thought. I saw early on that there was no winning this argument by anyone. "Ideational preoccupations with problems set up to be incapable of solution are also favorite ego devices for impeding the strong-willed from making real learning progress." (OrEdTx.4.77) In other words, there was no cheese down the abortion argument tunnel for me. Plus being a man, abortion was not truly my issue. Many woman have said that men should not be making decisions about the bodies of women. (Unlike our newest Supreme Court Justice I can define both “men” and “women,” but then I DO have a degree in biology from Cornell University! LOL)

In short – how much separation do we want to see in the world? How much separation do we want there to be in the world? The answer to those questions are the same. While our society argues and battles this question, do we find ourselves making one opinion not just wrong but “bad”? If so, then we are playing the separation game to its best. Let’s be a voice for oneness instead.

(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #336, May 10 2022)

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Tuesday, 03 May 2022 00:11

That’s Not Scary to You – Is It?

Dear Miracle Worker,

Feeling a connection to Absolute Divine Power today. Was it the sunny warm day, the deep blue sky and the perfect temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit? Probably not really – but those wonderful conditions did give me a little push in that direction. That’s because I know those worldly conditions came from me, from us, our holy minds connected to each other and connected to the one Divine Mind of the Universe.

What will this power do to transform the world? To truly know I need you to join with me. I can only do so much by myself alone. Wait – I’m not myself alone ever. Still I know it will all be so much more powerful and transformative if you connect with me. "The world would be completely changed should any two agree these words [I want the peace of God] express the only thing they want." (OrEd.WkBk.185.2) Surely there are those among you who will join with me on this.

I have felt less fear in the world these past few weeks. I gave a talk recently named, “And Then the Fear Lessened.” You could watch the video by clicking on the the linked title. I would be so honored.

Anytime the fear lessens the healing and peace increases. That’s because the peace and healing are always there but the fear obscures them. Remove the obscuring interference and what the interference was blocking is automatically revealed.

So why wouldn’t you want to join me with that? I’m not that scary – am I? I guess I am to some people. I continually call people to embrace their power and to turn aways from the sickness, war, and death that appear to be in the world. To many that’s a scary thing, but not to you – right?!?!

(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #335, May 3 2022)

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

Why do we practice A Course in Miracles? I am not referring to just why do we read the Text and try to understand it? That would be the question why do we study it? Nor am I speaking about why do we do the Workbook lessons. I want to engage us in a discussion of why do we actually practice living as it asks us to live. Why are we miracle practitioners? The dictionary defines "practitioner" as: "a person actively engaged in an art, discipline, or profession, especially medicine." Why do we devote ourselves to healing, both ourselves and others? Why do we choose to forgive? Why do we choose to live as eternal, infinite beings in a world that seems temporary and finite? "I am a Son of God. And can I be another thing as well? Did God create the mortal and corruptible? What use has God's beloved Son for what must die?" (OrEd.WkBk.294.1) Leave behind the false temporal identity and embrace the Divine Self we all are. 21 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Dear Miracle Workers,

Robert Rosenthal, MD, affectionately called “Dr. Bob” by many in the A Course in Miracles community, made his transition from bodily life on March 20, 2022. He was a long time Board of Directors member for the Foundation for Inner Peace (FIP), the first publishers of A Course in Miracles (ACIM). He had served as Co-President of the FIP along with Tamara Morgan since 2016 when Judy Skutch-Whitson stepped down from that position.

He was the author of three A Course in Miracles based books: Never Mind to Ever Mind (2019), Loving One to One Love (2020), and the recently published From Fear to Eternity (2022). Probably his most popular book was the earlier, From Plagues to Miracles (2012) which, while not directly about ACIM, works with many ACIM principles.

Dr. Bob was born on September 1, 1955 in Boston MA. I am told that at the age of 5 years old he already knew that he wanted to be a doctor. While attending Yale University as an undergraduate majoring in English literature, his roommate was Jon Cohen, Judy Skutch-Whitson’s son and Tamara Morgan’s (formerly Cohen’s) brother. Robert quickly became good friends of Judy’s family and spent a considerable amount of time at Judy’s apartment talking about metaphysical materials, especially the Seth material. This was in Judy’s pre-Course days when she and husband Bob were running the Foundation for Parasensory Investigation, which would later become the FIP.

Robert was close to the Skutch family when they first got involved with A Course in Miracles and he considered Dr. William Thetford (one of the two *Course* “scribes”) a friend and a mentor. Dr. Bob once told me that he learned ACIM first and foremost from William Thetford. Dr. Bob had been a student of ACIM since before the books were first published in 1976. After graduating Yale in 1977, Robert went on to Hahnemann Medical College (now named Drexel University College of Medicine) to continue to pursue his goal of becoming a medical doctor. Dr. Thetford was a consistent guiding force for young Robert and encouraged Dr. Bob to continue in medical school at a time when Robert was having some doubts. Was being a medical doctor truly consistent with the ACIM teaching? Dr. Bob did continue on and eventually received his MD degree from Hahnemann.

In 1991, during a stint of time while living in California, Dr. Bob met his second wife Emmanuelle and they married in 1993. They eventually moved back to the East Coast where Dr. Bob set up his psychiatry practice. While being a full medical doctor, Dr. Bob was not content just being a prescriber and monitor of psychiatric medications (the way many modern psychiatrists are) and he always was involved with psychological counseling with his patients as well. With wife Emmanuelle, Dr. Bob has two young adult children, daughter Sophia now 27 and son Avery now 24.

Many in the A Course in Miracles community felt an energetic shift in the FIP when Dr. Bob and Tamara became Co-Presidents. A previous FIP energy that had sometimes felt “above the fray” by many members of the ACIM community shifted. Both Dr. Bob and Tamara reached out to the greater community in ways that had not happened before – or perhaps had not happened in decades. Dr. Bob and Tamara were a co-presenter team at the Community Miracles Center’s (CMC’s) 2018 San Francisco ACIM Conference “Love Makes No Exceptions.” Dr. Bob was a presenter for the CMC’s 2019 Boston ACIM Conference “The Power to Heal.” He again was a presenter for the CMC’s 2021 virtual ACIM Conference “Unblock Unlock and Rock!”

In 2017 when Robert Perry and the Circle of Atonement published a new version of A Course in Miracles named The Complete and Annotated Edition, Dr. Bob thoroughly reviewed it on Amazon and noted many good points about the book. This review was later fully published by the CMC in its publication Miracles Monthly, May 2017 issue (Vol.31,No.3) and is currently on the CMC web site. (Click here to read the review: Amazing Scholarship - For Experienced, Committed Students.) The fact that a prominent FIP person would acknowledge and say good things about another ACIM edition might have seemed “impossible” just a few years before.

I was also honored that Dr. Bob chose to comment on my presentation at the 2016 Las Vegas, Conference “Change Your Mind, Change the World” at which I did an unexpected strip to my “skivvies.” He had watched the YouTube video. While some had chosen to attack me for that presentation (we lost Supporting Members and Board Members) Dr. Bob’s feedback was gratefully very positive. From his article which appeared in Miracles Monthly Aug. 2017 (Vol.31, No.6) “A Psychiatrist’s Thoughts on the 2016 Finale” he shared this, “As for what you shared, there is such stigma about mental illness and the meds used to treat it that I am always delighted when someone steps bravely forward and ‘outs’ his or her bouts with it. So on that count, I applaud you.” Thank you Dr. Bob. (Click here to read the full article: A Psychiatrist's Thoughts on the 2016 Finale)

After Dr. Bob assumed the FIP Co-Presidency he did a continuing series of discussions and on-line webinar events under the banner of “Let’s Discuss A Course in Miracles” that were available through the FIP. Prior to these, the FIP had not engaged in such ACIM community outreach, teaching, and sharing. These are currently available through the FIP web site and serve as a lasting testament to Dr. Bob’s important contribution to the ACIM community discussion.

I only had one extended alone time with Dr. Bob, and that was in July 2017, when I met with him for a drink and discussion at a San Francisco airport hotel that he was checked into before a morning flight. He was on his way to Utah to participate in an event organized by ACIM teacher David Hoffmeister. I was bringing him flyers and other publicity to share with attendees in order to promote the upcoming San Francisco Conference. He was: friendly, open, familiar, loving, warm – and an all round “good guy.” I am grateful for this time. We shared drinks and laughs. It was lovely.

So … the best to Dr. Bob on this new leg of his soul journey. While here on earth he brought much to and participated fully in the ACIM community. He helped bring the Foundation for Inner Peace into the new millennia. He was a loving husband for wife Emmanuelle (pictured with him above), a caring father for children Sophia and Avery, and an inspiring business partner for FIP Co-President Tamara Morgan. Dr. Bob – “Good job. Well done!”

(originally appeared in Miracles Weekly #334, Apr. 26 2022)

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

(Click on "Read more..." for larger player)

I felt the fear level in the USA lessen this week. There was a new feeling of freedom and release all throughout the land. I certainly felt it as I walked in the streets of San Francisco. I believe this was primed to happen and then when all the major airlines lifted their mask mandates on Monday and Tuesday. The fresh waters of peace and freedom began to flow from that primed pump. The airlines did this quickly after federal circuit judge Kathryn Mizelle declared the CDC’s recently renewed mask mandates unlawful. "The only thing that is required for a healing is a lack of fear. The fearful are not healed and cannot heal." (OrEd.Tx.27.45) Multiple media outlets showed amateur video of passengers and flight attendants in planes in the air when flight attendants announced that the mandates were over and everyone could take their masks off (if they wanted to). Most were jubilant – especially the airline crews. I saw one video of a singing, mask-less flight attendant walking the aisle with a trash bag collecting used and now useless masks. WooHoo!! 33 min. SUBSCRIBE & SHARE

Send CMC a tax-deductible donation via PayPal or your Credit Card to support this work. "Thank you!"

Page 1 of 7

Select CMC Minister

  • Rev. Tony Ponticello is CMC Minister #20. He was ordained on Oct. 17, 1997. He is Executive Minister of Community…
  • Rev. Peter Graham is CMC Minister #40. He was ordained on Feb. 23, 2002. He serves on the CMC Board…
  • Deb Canja is a spiritual teacher dedicated to removing the obstacles that prevent us from experiencing self-love and inner peace.…
  • Rev. Joanie Schaeffer-Goss is CMC Minister #71. She was ordained on Feb. 16, 2014. She co-facilitates the "Southern Spirit Sisters"…
  • Rev. Paula Carpe is CMC minister #125. She was ordained Feb. 14, 2021. She teaches CMC's Wed. morning 9:00 a.m.…
  • Rev. Kim Wilson is CMC minister #85. She was ordained Mar. 15, 2015. She teaches CMC's Tue. evening A Course…
Subscribe