February 13, 2007
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It must a yearly thing
I picked up Thomas Merton again. I skipped a couple of chapters, and went to ascetism. It seemed appropiate at the time.
“Nothing that we consider evil can be offered to God in sacrifice. Therefore, to renounce life in disgust is no sacrifice. We give Him the best we have, in order to declare that He is infinitely better. We give Him all that we prize, in order to assure Him that He is more to us than our “all.” One of the chief tasks of Christian asceticism is to make our life and our body valuable enough to be offered to God in sacrifice.
Our asceticism is not supposed to make us weary of a life that is vile. It is not supposed to make our bodies, which are good, appear to us to be evil. It is not supposed to make us odious to ourselves. An asceticism that makes all pleasure seem gross and disgusting and all the activities of the flesh abominable is a perversion of the nature which God made good and which even sin has not succeeded in rendering totally vile.
The real purpose of asceticism is to disclose the difference between the evil use of created things, which is sin, and their good use, which is virtue. It is true that our self-denial teaches us to realize that sin, which appears to be good from a certain point of view, is really evil. But self-denial should not make us forget the essential distinction between sin, which is a negation, and pleasure, which is a positive good. In fact, it should make that distinction clearly known. True asceticism shows us that there is no necessary connection between sin and pleasure: that there can be sins that seek no pleasure, and other sins that find none.
Pleasure, which is good, has more to do with virtue than it has with sin. The virtue that is sufficiently resolute to pay the price of self-denial will eventually taste greater pleasure in the things it has renounced than could ever be enjoyed by the sinner who clings to those same things as desperately as if they were his god.
We must, therefore, gain possession of ourselves, by asceticism, in order that we may be able to give ourselves to God. No inspiration of the Spirit of God will ever move us to cast off the body as if it were evil, or to destroy its faculties as if they were implacable enemies of God and could never be educated to obey His grace. He Who made our flesh and gave it to our spirit as its servant and companion, will not be pleased by a sacrifice i n which the flesh is murdered by the spirit and returned to Him in ruin.
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For no man can become a saint merely by hating himself. Sanctity is the exact opposite of suicide.”
Regarding my last entry, that meeting did not happen. He has been unavailable ever since. I will continue to keep an eye out for him. However, I was able to meet with someone else that night. It was a good talk, and I had thought that we made good progress – he agreed with me to come to men’s group – but on the night I was supposed to pick him up to attend, he emailed me and told me he had decided to play soccer instead. I was pretty heartbroken, knowing that this brother needed to go to men’s group, and that the spiritual opposition to his growth was so strong. But I know that my God is greater than he who opposes us, and therefore, I am pacified and committed to simply pray more.
Comments (13)
Meeting of the Board
There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service,” announced the pastor.
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting.
But there was a stranger in their midst — a visitor who had never attended their church before.
“My friend,” said the pastor, “Didn’t you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?”
“Yes,” said the visitor, “and after today’s sermon, I suppose I’m just about as bored as anyone else who
came to this meeting.”
Author is Unknown
Quotivation
“Most people fail, not through lack of education, but from lack of
dogged determination and dauntless will.”
– Charles Swindoll
Scriptouragement
“And let us not get tired of doing what is right,
for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing
if we don’t get discouraged
and give up.”
– [Galatians 6:9]
Final Thought
DISCOURAGEMENT is faith in the devil.
don’t give up! that’s great, God still
….found other ways to use you
Thanks for sharing that quote. It had me thinking about some stuff.
In His time. In His time. (With regards to the evangelistic opportunities.) But hey, you seized the opportunities given to you, and that’s what really matters.
I really want to dabble in some Merton.
Which of his writings would you recommend?
“For no man can become a saint merely by hating himself. Sanctity is the exact opposite of suicide.” What a great line… Merton is marvelous!
I had words with “prayer crafter” too… xanga is an interesting community…
God bless you!
Hi, Alban
Just want to come to your site for a visit. I am having a break from my Primary Care Medicine book wasn’t so fun!
Good to know everything is still great with you. Take Care!
Random Xanga reply here –
Just wanted to say that your reply to TheTheologiansCafe’s post regarding sexuality and the perpetuation of cheap values was dead on. I can’t even begin to count the number of girls I know who have had their life drastically altered, if not ruined, by inadequate or downright horrid parenting. It’s depressing watching them go downhill, too, expecially if you’ve tried to impress them with the knowledge that they’re worth waiting for.
Basically, I was glad to see someone else saw this issue the way I do, and I wanted to give you the Xanga equivalent of a high-five
Bokgwai, please come back to my site. it’s lost so much credibility and class since you’ve been gone…..
Your Highness, preparations for your visit are complete. Please tell me if they are to your liking.
Now, now, credit where credit is due. Your molecules, for instance, are quite random, though admittedly unlikely to spontaneously reach equilibrium as a glass of lemonade…call me if they do. That would be something.
Yes, thank you for your tireless research. I listened to the clip on Amazon, and it was indeed the same song. The lead singer of that group has such an amazing voice! Unfortunately, funds are reticent for the foreseeable future, so I do not have the song in my permanent collection.
P.S.–I am aware that some of these words are misinterpreted. Blame Jalixx3.
thank you for that quote – will watch out for Thomas Merton next time