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December 14, 2004
Supernatural and Natural
Commenting on St. Thérèse, von Balthasar says, "Everything Thérèse achieves at the supernatural level is rooted in something she has experienced at the natural level."
This is akin to the idea that we cannot love what we do not know. And it has enormous implication for good or ill for each of us. What I read here is that God has set the blueprint for our supernatural lives within our natural lives. What we are and what we experience each day is the grounding for what we will become if we follow God in the way He means to be followed.
We are each a member, a part of the body of Christ. Our place in the body is defined by who God made us to be. Who we are is defined by all that makes us up and all that has come to us from the hand of God. Where we most clearly fail is when we reject what has come to us be it good or bad. Every moment is a moment of grace to be embraced, it becomes part of the fabric of who we are now and who we are in the kingdom. Our sorrowful moments, our pains, our crushed dreams are all stepping stones on the path of Joy. When we reject sorrow or hardship, we are rejecting the fittings that will make us more useful for God's purposes.
St. Thérèse reminds us that there is pain and sorrow enough in a day, we needn't go looking for more. But we also need to learn how to embrace what does come to us and allow it to transform us into true worshippers and followers of the Most High. We are servants in the court of the beneficent King. When he bestows riches of any sort, we should be prepared to use them for the good of all those around us.
(Good God, you know I write this way because I need convincing. I know that what you give me is a good gift. Even as I am looking for the exchange counter, teach me how to use what you have given me, teach me to accept and love it as you love and accept me. Show me how to make your will my own in the little things of every day. Because these are the only stepping stones I have to your throneroom. Let me one day be a faithful attendant there. Amen)
Posted by Steven Riddle at December 14, 2004 8:33 AM
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