Thursday, September 17, 2009

Daily - 9/16/09

This is from St. Francis de Sales. I read this the other night in adoration and was struck by the truth it contains. I've had a few things go on recently that have shown how fulfilling a spiritual friendship can be, and how fruitful it is to invest in someone else's spiritual development.

Anyhow, I thought this was worth sharing as we approach the CRHP weekends. The kind of friendship described here is what is built in CRHP, and ultimately is what is renewing our parish.

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If your intercourse (ie, friendship) is based on science it is praiseworthy, still more if it arises from a participation in goodness, prudence, justice and the like; but if the bond of your mutual liking be charity, devotion and Christian perfection, God knows how very precious a friendship it is! Precious because it comes from God, because it tends to God, because God is the link that binds you, because it will last for ever in Him. Truly it is a blessed thing to love on earth as we hope to love in Heaven, and to begin that friendship here which is to endure for ever there.

I am not now speaking of simple charity, a love due to all mankind, but of that spiritual friendship which binds souls together, leading them to share devotions and spiritual interests, so as to have but one mind between them. Such as these may well cry out, “Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, brethren, to dwell together in unity!” Even so, for the “precious ointment” of devotion trickles continually from one heart to the other, so that truly we may say that to such friendship the Lord promises His Blessing and life for evermore. To my mind all other friendship is but as a shadow with respect to this, its links mere fragile glass compared to the golden bond of true devotion.

Introduction to the Devout Live
Part III, Chapter 19 - "Of Real Friendship"