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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251024
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DTSTAMP:20260511T231846
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UID:14155-1761264000-1761350399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE TRUE NATURE \nOF THE CHURCH \nFrom “Life and Holiness” by Thomas Merton \n◊◊◊ \nWe must not regard the Church purely as an institution or an \norganization. She is certainly visible and clearly recognizable in her teachings\, \nher government\, and her worship. These are the external lineaments through \nwhich we may see the interior radiance of her soul. This soul is not merely \nhuman\, it is divine. It is the Holy Spirit itself. The Church\, like Christ\, lives and \nacts in a manner at once human and divine. Certainly there is imperfection in \nthe human members of Christ\, but their imperfection is inseparably united to \nhis perfection\, sustained by his power\, and purified by his holiness\, as long as \nthey remain in living union with him by faith and love. \nThrough these members of his the Almighty Redeemer infallibly \nsanctifies\, guides\, and instructs us\, and he uses us also to express his love for \nthem. Hence the true nature of the Church is that of a body in which all the \nmembers “bear one another’s burdens” and act as instruments of divine \nprovidence in regard to one another. Those are most sanctified who enter most \nfully into the life-giving Communion of Saints who dwell in Christ. Their joy is to \ntaste the pure streams of that river of life whose waters gladden the whole City of \nGod. \nOur perfection is therefore not just an individual affair\, it is also a \nquestion of growth in Christ\, deepening of our contact with him in and through \nthe Church… This means\, of course\, a closer union with our brethren in Christ\, a \ncloser and more fruitful integration with them in the living\, growing spiritual \norganism of the Mystical Body. \nThis does not mean that spiritual perfection is a matter of social \nconformism. The mere fact of becoming a well working cog in an efficient \nreligious machine will never make anyone into a saint if he does not seek God \ninteriorly in the sanctuary of his own soul. \nFor example\, the common life of religious\, regulated by traditional \nobservances and blessed by the authority of the Church\, is obviously a most \nprecious means of sanctification. It is\, for the religious\, one of the essentials of \nhis state. But it is still only a framework. As such\, it has its purpose. It must be \nused. But the scaffolding must not be mistaken for the actual building. The real \nbuilding of the Church is a union of hearts in love\, sacrifice\, and self- \ntranscendence. The strength of this building depends on the extent to which the \nHoly Spirit gains possession of each person’s heart\, not on the extent to which \nour exterior conduct is organized and disciplined by an expedient system. \nHuman social life inevitably requires a certain order\, and those who love \ntheir brother and sister in Christ will generously sacrifice themselves to \npreserve this order. But…the most important\, the most real\, and lasting work of \nthe Christian is accomplished in the depths of his own soul. It cannot be seen by \nanyone\, even by himself. It is…the interior\, anguished\, almost desperately \nsolitary act by which we affirm our total subjection to God…
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-363/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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