Chuck: Chapter 6
I am just catching up, so here are my thoughts on chapter 6. Matthew's comments about a call to holiness are what we have been hearing in homilies week after week. Do people actually realize what that means? It is a huge change from where our society is headed today. Individualism and hedonism are so strongly ingrained in our lives that it takes a tremendously focussed effort to begin to change. Personally I have a hard time saying that I place a higher priority on my spiritual life than I place on taking care of my physical needs and obligations - balancing the budget, mowing the lawn, fixing things that don't work, etc. I think the single most effective means to becoming more holy is taking the time to read, reflect and pray. This is something that each person must do - nobody else can do it for them. Then we might reach the state that Matthew describes where we understand that we are not working for $8/hour but that all our activities are opportunities to grow in virtue. To reach the state of holiness that Ghandi was looking for in a Christian seems almost impossible. Given our weaknesses as humans it is probably most important that we are on a path that leads us to holiness. Matthew talks about needing clearly defined goals to achieve results. If we have goals that allow us to progress on this path we should find happiness in making progress toward the ultimate goal of actually becoming holy. To do this and still live in the present physical world is a real challenge. Chuck
- posted by JoAnn @ 7:46 PM