"Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and even achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the rightness, the truth of the work itself," - Thomas Merton, "Letter To A Young Activist"Hmm. Well okay, Big Man. You da boss.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Today's Quote
After writing that post about "Real Christian Thinking" last night, I ran smack into this post on Sullivan's blog; and it seemed, in a strange and indefinable way, to be something intended for my notice:
%20-%20%20Portrait%20de%20Cecil%20Beaton%201937-%20NAtional%20Portrait%20GAllery%20London%20.png)
2 comments:
Mother Theresa was fond of saying that God calls us to be faithful. He doesn't call us to be successful.
One way of reading the Gospels is to see that things started out well for Jesus, and went downhill fast. This is especially true in Mark's Gospel. And if it happened to him.....well, why are we surprised?
Aye, your point is well taken. A story of utter failure.
Up until that certain moment "early on the first day of the week." When all failure was transformed, regenerated into all glory.
Which is one of the themes I've been getting at when I've blogged before about the unspeakably beautiful, deeply moving idea of the Incarnation. The poetry of it, if you will.
The God who already knows how it is, who knows how it feels - because He has already experienced all the failures of humanity, Himself.
Who understands when our little attempts at goodness don't amount to much in the scheme of things. He says, "been there, done that."
Thanks Sebastian - appreciate your understanding, buddy.
Post a Comment