Wednesday, April 8, 2009

The Winged Heart


The rebirth of which Christ speaks is not a single event but a continuous dynamic of inner renewal. Certainly, sacramental baptism, the “birth by water,” can be given only once. But birth in the Spirit happens many times in a man’s life, as he passes through successive stages of spiritual development. A false and superficial view of Christianity assumes that it is enough to be baptized with water and to observe certain ethical and ritual prescriptions in order to guarantee for oneself a happy life in the other world. But this is only a naïve view of Christianity. True Christianity is growth in the life of the Spirit, a deepening of the new life, a continuous rebirth, in which the exterior and superficial life of the ego-self is discarded like an old snake skin and the mysterious, invisible self of the Spirit becomes more present and active. The true Christian rebirth is a renewed transformation, a “Passover” in which man is progressively liberated from selfishness and not only grows in love but in some sense “becomes love.” The perfection of the new birth is reached where there is no more selfishness, there is only love. In the language of the mystics there is no more selfishness, there is only love. The perfect illumination is then the illumination of Love shining by itself.
---Choosing to Love the World, Thomas Merton
Shawie

5 Grateful Heart's Words:

Meryl (proud pinay) said...

hi sis. how are you?
have a blessed week. take care and God bless.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

Happy Easter Shawie. God bless you and your family always.

Salute said...

That is a very powerful post. Happy Easter to you and family.

Mel Avila Alarilla said...

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is just once- when we accepted Christ as our Lord and savior and have surrendered our lives to Him. Our dead spirit is brought to life by the Holy Spirit and He indwells in our hearts as His very own temple. The processes after that is the transformation of the self from glory to glory until we reach the whole measure of the fullness of Jesus Christ. This process we quicken by the renewing of our minds to conform to the mind of our Lord by doing His will and living to please God and to glorify His name in everything we do. Thanks for the post. God bless you always.

ally said...

Hi Shawie!!! thanks sa pag vote!!! i really appreciate it po! ingat!!!