How
I savor it when I see the Lord of all majesty showing himself as far
as bodily exertion and human emotion are concerned not like the
strong but the weak. What a comfort it is to me in my weakness! Truly
this weakness of my Lord without doubt brings me strength and
stability in my weakness. I am entrusted with the care of my
brother's body and soul (for I do not love the whole man if I neglect
anything belonging to either -- for it is very difficult for the mind
not to be tempted when the flesh has too much to suffer). If I see
him in distress, whether it be on account of the austerity of the
food or because of work or the vigils -- if, I say, I see that he is
tormented in body and tempted in spirit, if I see him in such
affliction and...do not on occasion accommodate myself to the
infirmities of the weak I am not running in the fragrance of Christ's
ointments but with the harshness of the pharisees.
--
Saint Aelred of Rievaulx
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