Thursday, January 20, 2011

Spiritual jerks.



Kind of.
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Someplace John of the Cross, speaking of the censure of a nun, says something like, "It wouldn't be so difficult if she wasn't so spiritual."  In other words, the woman must have been a spiritual know-it-all to some degree.  A spiritual jerk.  (I'm playing fast and loose with the John of the Cross quotes here BTW.)
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Thank God Jesus loves us, even when we are spiritual know-it-all jerks.  I was so consoled to read this from Magnificat, the meditation for the day taken from Blessed Columba Marmion:
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Nothing is more fatal in the spiritual life than the thought that we can do anything good without Our Lord, and our self-love is so subtle, that unconsciously we attribute to ourselves the little good that we do, which spoils everything.  (Ed. Note: Sometimes we blow it way out of proportion too.)  Our Lord, out of love, leaves us sometimes to our wicked nature, and then we are frightened in seeing all the evil and the possibilities of evil hidden in us.  It is not that we are worse than before, but Our Lord lets us see the depths of evil grace had covered.  During these moments we should act in union with God's designs, by humbling ourselves profoundly and throwing ourselves into God's arms. - From a Letter by Bl. Marmion

5 comments:

  1. You're talking about half of the contributors at Vox Nova....

    Snap!

    "It wouldn't be so difficult if she wasn't so spiritual."

    You'd be surprised at how many people say that about Sr Patricia.

    There's that old saying: "The trouble with folks who think they know everything, is that they anger those of us who do!"

    Not that I would ever say that about me, of course. No, never. My mom used to tell me that no one in my family had any humility because I had it all. That's like a compliment, right?

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  2. larry, i like you.

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  3. LOL! Whenever I think I'm humble, I just beam with pride.

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  4. Terry - you should make a bumper sticker: "Proud To Be Humble!" LOL

    doughboy - I like me too.

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  5. michael r.5:09 PM

    Hmmm. Thought you were talking about all of us holier-than-the pope types.

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