Lent with the Early Church Fathers Day 27

Day 27

Lent with the Early Church Fathers

A daily post from Tom Bandy 

Based on A Year with the Church Fathers (Ed. Mike Aquilina, St. Benedict Press, 2010) 

Praise according to your ability 

St. Cyril of Jerusalem 

But someone might say, “If what God is can never be fully comprehended, why do you even talk about these things?” 

So, then, because I cannot drink up the whole river, am I not even allowed to take in moderation what’s good for me? Because with eyes made like mine, I cannot look directly at the sun, and may not even be allowed to look at as much of the sunlight as I want? Or if I go into a big garden and cannot eat all the fruits, would you have me go away completely hungry? 

I praise and glorify him who made us, for it is a divine command that says, “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” Right now, I am trying to glorify the Lord, but not to describe him. Although I know I won’t be able to glorify him as he deserves, yet I still think it’s a work of piety even to try at all. 

TGB: In strategic planning, we must define outcomes rather than processes. But in spiritual life, we must define processes and allow the outcomes to be ambiguous. The former is a result of our imagination combined with a realistic assessment of our capabilities. The latter is a result of our imagination cobined with a faithful assessment of God’s potentialities.