Pondering the ultimate realities of death and eternal life may come naturally with the approach of mid-autumn and All Saints Day and All Souls Day. The fragility and imperfections of life on this earth are realities that may impinge upon our consciousness in a particular way at this time. All of us are vulnerable; all of us are broken in body, mind, and soul; all of are moving toward death in a manner that is largely out of…
Among the dangers of the spiritual life are the attitude that we have been perfected beyond improvement and, in contrast, the fear that we are so hopelessly deficient that God cannot help us to progress further. The first condition is one of pride, and so is the second, although it masks itself as humility. Our task as Christians is to trust totally in God’s merciful love despite our abysmal weakness and sinfulness and to hope that, in coöperation with God’s graces, He will lead us to the heights of perfection. And God does want us ultimately to be perfect in the way of Christ. Our Lord calls to “be made perfect as your heavenly Father…
All of us long for freedom. We long to be free from the constraints that keep us from becoming the people we are meant to be. We long for the freedom to lead joyful, fulfilling, purpose-filled lives. However, sometimes we seek an illusory freedom that is more akin to destructive self-indulgence or judgmental self-justification. What, then, is true freedom from…
