Monday, December 9, 2013

God is part of the definition of what it is to be human

“Man [sic] is nothing without God. Sometimes we are tempted to declare that man is nothing at all. But this is because comparatively few people have the good fortune to meet a real man. After all no one is above the law of transgression -- without thy grace. We have all taken the wrong road and our empirical experience of man has demonstrated little but weakness, incapacity and extreme helplessness. Man’s [sic] yearning to excel, his desire to achieve and accomplish things indicates that his shortcomings are not fundamental but are a superficial effect. his dissatisfaction with the conditions of his earthly existence is deep seated and constantly impels him to venture to try to improve his way of life.
“Man [sic] has it in hims to conceive high ideals and work for their realisation but if he is honest he will recognise the fact that he can do nothing on his own. Left to himself he is incomplete, not quite a man. God is part of the definition of a man [sic]; inner unity with God is the primary condition for a fulfilled and successful life. The decision to recognise this is the greatest that man can make and the only one that will rescue him from the chaos in which he is involved. About turn -- back to the beginning -- that is the only solution and the way to achieve life’s fulfillment.” (pp. 156-157)
- Fr. Alfred Delp SJ, “The Prison Meditations of Father Alfred Delp”, 1963 Herder and Herder New York
See also: The Prison Meditations of Father Delp

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