Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Breaking down my notions.


Last week, just about everything in our house that involves water and waste broke. Plus one of the cars. Strangely enough, finding today those ten minutes of blogging time, I have no inspired words (or any words at all, for that matter).

I am, however, nearly finished with Caryll Houselander's The Little Way of the Infant Jesus. The book deserves its own post, and I can't wait to share it with y'all. For now, here is an excerpt from one of her letters. Shamelessly cribbed from the inimitable Magnificat; emphases mine:

"...[B]y accepting the fact that you are infinitely loved by Infinite Love, and ... ceas[ing] to build up notions of the perfection you demand of yourself, and lay[ing] your soul open to that love, you will cease to fear, and you will cease to be exhausted as soon as you stop fighting one part of yourself with another.... You should realize that in you is the power, strength, and love of Christ, that you can carry all that darkness and not go under, if you realize that it isn't you but he who will carry it."


4 comments:

Maica Kozak said...

love you lots. are most things working now?

i love how the y'all in your post. it makes me feel like you are close by!


lots and lots of love your way.

Erika Ahern said...

Thanks for the love, Maica! yes, almost everything is working now (we have at least one working toilet at all times today), although the Subaru keeps getting cranky on Todd. You've got to read the Houselander: she's so you!

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur said...

I love the painting. That has always been one of my favorites!

Anne said...

I loved that Caryll Houselander passage as well! But I cribbed a different section towards the end:

"Try to believe that life is in you like a seed, pushing, striving, struggling up to light. Instead of fighting yourself, let this seed of supernatural life fight it's way out through darkness, just as an ordinary seed fights up through the darkness and heaviness of the hard, frozen earth. First it has to sharpen its own green blade in the night and cut through the ground, or pierce the wood if it is a leaf on the tree, but suddenly it breaks into flower or leaf; and when it does that, it does not see its own beauty-the world outside it sees that; what it sees is the glorious sun that drew it up out of the darkness. Light. So too will it be with you; your soul, your mind will break into flower and you will find it is flowering in the midst of light, the light of Truth and Beauty and Life."

aahhhh.