Only love is
capable of genuine transformation. Willpower is inadequate. Even spiritual
effort is not up to the task. If we are to become great lovers, we must return
again and again to the great love of the Great Lover. Thomas Merton reminds us
that the root of Christian love is not the will to love but the faith to
believe that one is deeply loved by God. Returning to that great love—a
love that was there for us before we experienced any rejection and that will be
there for us after all other rejections take place—is our true spiritual work.
Ignatius of
Loyola suggests that sin is ultimately a refusal to believe that what God wants
is my happiness and fulfillment. When I fail to believe this, I am tempted to
sin—to take my life into my own hands, assuming that I am in the best position
to determine what will lead to my happiness. As I become convinced that God
wants nothing more than my fulfillment, surrender to his will is increasingly
possible.
Properly
understood, these three intended destinations of the journey—becoming a great
lover, becoming whole and holy, and becoming my true self-in-Christ—demonstrate
just how radical Christian spiritual transformation really is.
- David G.
Benner, Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship Direction,
2009.
No comments:
Post a Comment