Daily Thought For August 11, 2017
The Struggle In Every Moment
and communion allows everyone to move forward in harmony. Communion is not a happiness passively enjoyed,
but it struggles to maintain a fraternal spirit and to open the doors of this fraternity
to all people.
By nature, love propagates itself;
it is contagious, communicates to others, and draws everyone toward communion.
I must engrave this maxim within myself:
"Communion is the struggle of every moment." A moment's neglect can destroy it;
a mere trifle suffices,
a single thought without charity,
an obstinately maintained prejudice, a harmful attachment,
an erroneous direction,
a personal ambition or interest,
an action done for myself and not for the Lord, returning to a bad habit already abandoned, the desire for personal satisfaction
that overrides what is pleasing to the Lord.
Help me, Lord, to examine myself in this way:
Who is the center of my life: you or me? If you are the center, then everyone will be gathered into unity.
But if, instead, I see that people around me lose interest and disperse,
that will be a sign that I have put myself at the center.
from Prayers of Hope — Words of Courage by Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan pp.34-35