..."God Rides a Yamaha" is excellent so far. She writes, "I am...increasingly convinced that living well requires fewer 'deep thoughts' and more simple acts." She also quotes Thomas Merton and although I'm not fit to carry his (what's the spiritual equivalent of jock strap?), I just never quite trust him after reading his last journals and seeing how his spiritual journey progressed, given the promise and beauty and hope as portrayed in "The Seven Storey Mountain". The tendency is to think his theology must've been askew.
Still the truth of his words ring out:
The mind finds itself entering uneasily into the shadows of a strange and silent night...It tries to force acts of thought and will. Sometimes it makes a mad effort to squeeze some feeling of fervor out of itself which is, incidentally, the worst thing it could possibly do.Yet I wonder about this cavalier attitude towards feelings. Crisis has a nice piece by Alice von Hildebrand, who argues that despite what some may say feelings play an important part in the life of a Christian. Even though feelings arise outside the will, the will is involved in disregarding inappropriate ones such as envious thoughts, and fully receiving healthy ones, like contrition and joy. She sees the will and feelings as a "marriage". There is much more in the article, very interesting and nuanced, but unfortunately it isn't online. It's one of those articles I wish wiser people than me would blog about.
If he is completely inexperienced he will get the idea that he is very holy because of all the holy feelings that are teeming in his heart. All these things mean very little or nothing at all...and there is only an accidental difference between them and the tears children sometimes shed when they go to the movies.
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