Friday, December 31, 2010

Perfection in the New Year

I must admit I cringe every time I change my sidebar virtue each January.

Perfection, Lord?  Really?!  I'm supposed to be perfect?!?!  I can't imagine...which, of course, is the point.  Spiritual perfection, I learned from a Carmelite article (also linked via the image of God the Father on the sidebar) is nothing more than love (also called charity).

Love, unprejudiced by selfishness, is the message of Christ.  Agape love, is love as Jesus loves--total self-giving.  This "giving till it hurts" is difficult, but it is what we are all called to.  Crying out to God for help and strength is the only way to accomplish this.

Quite a resolution for the New Year!

6 comments:

Michele said...

Hsppy new year my friend!

Staying in Balance said...

And to you, Michele!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this reflection, as well as the link to the article. Spiritual perfection is simple in some ways, yet hard in others. I'm still very much learning to grow in love and focus less on myself and more on others.

Evan

Staying in Balance said...

That is an apt summary, Evan.

TACParent said...

I believe we are to strive toward "perfection," loving unconditionally. It's hard to do, being human, but with practice and persistence we can grow in this area.

Staying in Balance said...

Yes, exactly.

Dymphna's favorite quotes


"Slavery ended in medieval Europe only because the church extended its sacraments to all slaves and then managed to impose a ban on the enslavement of Christians (and of Jews). Within the context of medieval Europe, that prohibition was effectively a rule of universal abolition. "— Rodney Stark

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