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The Heart of Holiness: Friendship with God and Others
Reflecting on Scripture, writings of the saints, and his own experience, Redemptorist Father Gary Lauenstein demonstrates that the heart of holiness is friendship with God, who is love. As a result, our everyday experiences of our friendships with others are our stepping stones to holiness. With simplicity and grace, this book helps the reader to meditate on his understanding of himself, others, and God, and to look at his relationships in the light of their purpose--to give and to receive the love of God. The author, who is an experienced and certified spiritual director, examines the importance, in any relationship, of attentiveness, communication, disinterestedness, and joy. He shows how our path to God passes through and encompasses our friendships with one another.
- GenresReligion
168 pages, Paperback
Published September 6, 2016
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 3, 2021
Not quite finished...
This book helped me to understand how Christ thinks. A lot of us have mental garbage: thoughts and perspectives that don't align with God's. This book helped me to reflect on my natural inclination towards thinking, and how to reframe it to truth.
Some highlights that stood out to me...
Compassion is a shift from self-preoccupation to fellowship with others. In being able to have compassion for both the victim and victimizer, while not condoning the victimizer - still willing his good (love). Christians should go beyond having empathy for outcasts, but identifying as one due to being fallen, and slowly being redeemed.
'The highest form of sanctity - to live in hell, but not lose hope.'
We need to sense our own goodness, sacredness, where our value lies. Our gifts and abilities. To not grow attached to weaknesses, difficulties, burdens.
'We discover our true selves in loving' - Thomas Merton.
We have a 'duty to delight' in the good - Dorothy Day.
'We are called to be thankful.'
Loving as God loves is hard... requires sacrifice, having obligations, but gratitude makes burden lighter.
Sharing your life with the poor, is not necessarily about changing their lot perhaps. But a duty to help when able.
Jesus didn't like the purity code of his day - now he'd be against the success code of today.
This book helped me to understand how Christ thinks. A lot of us have mental garbage: thoughts and perspectives that don't align with God's. This book helped me to reflect on my natural inclination towards thinking, and how to reframe it to truth.
Some highlights that stood out to me...
Compassion is a shift from self-preoccupation to fellowship with others. In being able to have compassion for both the victim and victimizer, while not condoning the victimizer - still willing his good (love). Christians should go beyond having empathy for outcasts, but identifying as one due to being fallen, and slowly being redeemed.
'The highest form of sanctity - to live in hell, but not lose hope.'
We need to sense our own goodness, sacredness, where our value lies. Our gifts and abilities. To not grow attached to weaknesses, difficulties, burdens.
'We discover our true selves in loving' - Thomas Merton.
We have a 'duty to delight' in the good - Dorothy Day.
'We are called to be thankful.'
Loving as God loves is hard... requires sacrifice, having obligations, but gratitude makes burden lighter.
Sharing your life with the poor, is not necessarily about changing their lot perhaps. But a duty to help when able.
Jesus didn't like the purity code of his day - now he'd be against the success code of today.
Displaying 1 of 1 review