“I am beginning to realize the
extent to which we are under an obligation to live now, in the present moment.
In the life of every man two spheres exist: that of the dream and that of
reality. These are very often so combined that we cannot clearly distinguish
between them! The dream is that which we imagine: false ideas about ourselves,
delusions, the refusal to accept others as they really are, evil desires
sustained by imaginary satisfactions, the urge to believe that we are other than
we are. All these imaginative ruminations, these fantasies, embed us in
ourselves. It is impossible to live alone with oneself without dreaming, at
least unless one is with God.
As for reality, we find it hard to accept its truth, since it compels us to accept the cross and to open ourselves to others. The others our brethren form that part of reality which penetrates our inmost being. When we open ourselves to others, and genuinely enter into communication with them, we escape from dreaming and begin to ring true. Dreaming of love is not real love. ‘It is not those who say: “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do…’
… Why should resist the necessity of honestly accepting this world as it is, and especially other men, our brothers, as they are, in flesh and blood, and not as they ought to be, or as we imagine they ought to be, but with both their defects and their qualities and be ready to love them as such? Jesus knew the whole truth about every man; he had no need to be told about it; he had no illusions – and yet he loved them…”
As for reality, we find it hard to accept its truth, since it compels us to accept the cross and to open ourselves to others. The others our brethren form that part of reality which penetrates our inmost being. When we open ourselves to others, and genuinely enter into communication with them, we escape from dreaming and begin to ring true. Dreaming of love is not real love. ‘It is not those who say: “Lord, Lord,” who will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do…’
… Why should resist the necessity of honestly accepting this world as it is, and especially other men, our brothers, as they are, in flesh and blood, and not as they ought to be, or as we imagine they ought to be, but with both their defects and their qualities and be ready to love them as such? Jesus knew the whole truth about every man; he had no need to be told about it; he had no illusions – and yet he loved them…”
(Rene Voillaume, Brothers of Men)
Fr
Voillaume and brothers at the tomb of Charles de Foucauld, Algeria
Thanks again to Fr Lenny for this post...
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