16 February 2009

And still we call them "Saint"

Spiritual rebirth does not necessarily include peace of mind - [peace in the faculties] - it does not necessarily include inner calm, emotional harmony, easy relationships with others and a well-balanced personality. All of these human possibilities may very well characterize a person reborn from above, but none of them makes a truly spiritual person.

There are many holy people who are restless, anxious, hard to get along with, and quite unpredictable in their behavior. Often their personalities seem to be at odds with their spiritual call, and often they suffer immensely because they are unable to let their call to live in the Spirit make them psychologically attractive people.

Sometimes they seem distant or aloof, uninterested in what we consider real spiritual issues, impatient with our questions and quite asocial. We can see this in the apostles, as well as in many of the men and women whom the church calls saints.

-Henri Nouwen

No comments: