When I took my solemn vows as a Trappist monk I meditated long and hard over my reasons for making such a commitment.
After 10 days of this in our little community hermitage out in the woods, I decided that I was becoming a monk because I loved God and was so caught up in the pursuit of that love that I had no time for other things... even good things...
St. Augustine said, "Do whatever you want, as long as you love." He meant that if you are a loving human being wholly given to the loving search for God, for others, and for yourself, there need be no concern that you will fall into sinful activity.
So let love be your first concern, indeed your only concern, and everything else will fall into place.
This is how you should pray. Simply love God. Be in God's presence in that love.
From The Loving Search for God:
Contemplative Prayer
and the Cloud of Unknowing
- Fr. William Meninger
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To simply love God sounds so easy. I wish it were.
ReplyDeleteThat is very good.
ReplyDeleteExcellent!
ReplyDeleteThat pretty much covers it. Jesus said, "My command is this: love each other as I have loved you."
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anne that it's not at all easy to do. Then again, it's easier than trying to keep up with lots of rules. If you can really love like that, you won't sin.