Thursday, September 27, 2007

Communion

Another from The Monks of New Skete

We storm the walls of our own imprisonment when we struggle to overcome self-centeredness, when we stretch to build avenues of communion with reality beyond our own self, whatever it happens to be. One moment it might be helping a friend, the next it might be attending to our job, running an errand, overcoming a persistent manifestation of selfishness, expressing gratitude by writing a thank-you note, breaking out of our own little world enough to notice a beautiful sunset....anything. With each step of life comes the background question "What is reality asking of us now?" challenging us to respond wholeheartedly, willingly. We escape and leave behind the self that is holed up with its own concerns, and breathe the fresh air of otherness.

We must die to ourselves if we are to ever really live. I am not professing give up all your joys such as golf, playing the guitar or water skiing. What I am talking about is a death of self and birth to communion. It is easy to give into selfish nature i.e. always looking out for number one. But the wise man will take the hard path, the path in which the self must die constantly, be born into communion with all, and learn from this constant death and birth. You may get hit a time or two with a thorny branch but remember you took this path to learn and be in communion with others not to avoid pain.

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