A new theme today, “In friendship with Christ.” It’s another Jesuit theme, and one attached to this rendition of the Spiritual Exercises.
150. No matter how much you live the experience of these years of your youth, you will never know their deepest and fullest meaning unless you encounter each day your best friend, the friend who is Jesus.
Modern culture perhaps undervalues friendship, the permanent and loyal version that rises above petty differences between people. This is the friendship suggested by a relationship with Jesus. Again, the book of Sirach from Wisdom Literature gives a hint:
151. Friendship is one of life’s gifts and a grace from God. Through our friends, the Lord refines us and leads us to maturity. Faithful friends, who stand at our side in times of difficulty, are also a reflection of the Lord’s love, his gentle and consoling presence in our lives. The experience of friendship teaches us to be open, understanding and caring towards others, to come out of our own comfortable isolation and to share our lives with others. For this reason, “there is nothing so precious as a faithful friend” (Sir 6:15).
Remember the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation is on this link at the Vatican site.
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