Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
Do Not Be Discouraged
“Why do you grow weary of doing good to others? Am I not in them?
Would you ever grow weary of helping Me if I were near you? You would help Me joyously, lovingly. You would say, ‘Is there anything else you would like, dear Master? Does that please you?’
Bossis, Gabrielle. He and I (p. 233).
Pauline Books and Media. Kindle Edition.
When reading the Sermon on the Mount one can be easily discouraged. Love of enemies, pray for those who hate us and do good to them, and not repay evil with evil, but with good. To give when someone asks, without the expectation of return. Yes, it is difficult and impossible if we do it on our own. Willpower only takes us so far. For me, that is not far at all.
My inner chaos, and yes conflicts make that impossible if I look to myself for the strength to love in that manner. As a Christian, I have learned that when I keep looking at myself, that trouble begins. Conflict is a form of suffering, and the greater the suffering the more easily it is to become overly focused on oneself; others fade into the background. Pain can lead me to forget ‘who’ all those others are. Christ is God with us, and it is in others that we can see the face of God. I forget that often.
As I age, my prayer life is developing in a way that I can’t explain. I suppose that those over 70 may understand what I am talking about. I do know that if I am living, or trying to live a deep prayer life, it is then that I find myself seeing Christ in others without trying; it is a grace. This makes me understand that without grace, without prayer, I will be part of the inner whirling vortex that can be my interior life. The chaos and conflict of the present world are a mirror of my inner situation. We make the world into our image and likeness. How could it be otherwise?-Br.MD