We must be pruned to grow,
and cutting hurts the natural man.
But if this corruption is to put on incorruption,
if one is to put on Christ, the new man,
pain of one kind or another is inevitable.
And how joyful a thought that in spite
of one’s dullness and lethargy
one is indeed growing in the spiritual life.
--Dorothy Day
John of the Cross, the great Spanish mystic, says we imitate Jesus when we try to imitate his motivation, when we try to do things for the same reason he did. For John, that is how one “puts on Christ.”
John of the Cross then offers some advice regarding how this can be done. We should begin, he says, by reading the scriptures and meditating the life on Jesus. Then we should pray to Christ and ask him to instill in us his desire, longing, and motivation. In essence, we should pray to Jesus and ask him to make us feel the way he felt while he was on earth.
--Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI
Image source: https://www.dougresler.com/main-blog/2022/12/12/1cvhd0vta961s9ye4n28iiasvvmbz1
Quotation source 1
Quotation source 2
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