Friday, August 17, 2007

Gazing Upon the Face


tip to the Magnificat and The Doctors of the Catholic Church

The following is the Medittaion of the Day out of the Magnificat and I found it working very well into the mimetic theory of Rene Girard.

The Spouse as Friend

Above all, hope is manifested in a faith-filled gaze upon our neighbors. The Church places the experience of being a pilgrim in this pedagogical framework and teaches us to see all of life as walking “step by step” behind the One who leads us.

The path is grueling, but the goal draws us in and the companionship of other people simplifies what would be much more tiresome were we to go it alone. This is the fundamental step along the road that every day, every hour, and every moment mobilizes all people and all things: recognizing the grace of God in the people he places closest to us. Gazing upon the face of the friend who is further along the journey persuades us that the journey is possible, even for us, and this makes us hasten all the more.

Our vision becomes purer and our capacity to see further down the road increases. It is only then that we are able to see more clearly and our desire grows in such a way that what at first seem quite exhausting is transformed into a joyful and agile pursuit nourished by the foretaste of what we experienced when we first set out at the beginning of the journey.

Monsignor Massimo Camisasca is an Italian priest who is a consultor to the Vatican Congregation for Clergy.

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