“It is inevitable that you should feel the rub of other people's characters against your own. After all, you are not a gold coin that everyone likes.Besides, without that friction produced by contact with others, how would you ever lose those corners, those edges and projections — the imperfections and defects — of your character, and acquire the smooth and regular finish, the firm flexibility of charity, of perfection?If your character and the characters of those who live with you were soft and sweet like sponge-cake you would never become a saint.” (St. Josemaria Escriva, THE WAY, number 20).
So there it is. St. Josemaria points out something I forget more often than I remember: It’s easy to complain about others but so difficult to complain about ourselves. The saint reminds us that 1) we should realize that we are, by all accounts, imperfect 2) we should try to get rid of our own imperfections not those of others 3) and that the imperfections of others give us opportunities to get rid of our own. These insights shed light on how evil can lead to good, how an insult can lead to forgiveness, and how the crucifixion can lead to the resurrection.
For more on St. Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei check out:
http://www.opusdei.org.uk/
http://www.escrivaworks.org/
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