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December 23, 2002
Something a Bit Challenging Here's
Something a Bit Challenging
Here's something that struck me as I resumed perusal of a book I had dropped some time back:
The Contemporary Challenge of St. John of the Cross Leonard Doohan.Some writers suggest, for example, that those well-intentioned Christians who constantly desire to adapt liturgical and ecclesiastical externals to their own temperaments are like John's "spiritual beginners." They seem unable to deny themselves anything for the sake of love alone; they lack an ability to really choose; they show inconstancy in their own duties; and their attitude toward the externals of faith is often childish. Some of these signs are negative, but the increased attention to religious matters is a step forward. It shows that the individual is thinking in a new way, but also needs guidance to enter the night ahead.
I know it challenged me to think about the ways in which I demand things conform to my vision of the world. Hardly, I expect, what Jesus anticipated when He instructed us to "follow Him." Often it seems we are trying to head Him off at the pass or cut Him off in traffic. We are not willing to follow because we are the essence of self-will. St. John of the Cross has a great deal to teach us about abandoning self-will and assuming God's higher will as our own path in life. More of that later.
Posted by Steven Riddle at December 23, 2002 8:00 AM