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Journey of an Unknown Soul
Lindsey Larson
LIVES OF THE SAINTS
5.30.06
Holy Friendship
"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God..." 1 John 4:7
When describing friendship, I believe that we implicitly describe the love of God. What is friendship? The lover, the beloved and the love between them...laughter, love, gift of self, shared time, communion, care, shared sorrow, shared grief, shared pain, good will and shared life. God is the Father infinitely loving the Son and the very love between them, which is the Holy Spirit. St. Aelred of Riveaulx said that, "Friendship is God." Friendship so beautifully displays the very essence of God, which is love - as seen in the Angels and in the Saints.
Saints throughout the times have been blessed with Holy Friendships. These "true" friendships guide us to know ourselves, know God and love one another. One example of an incredible friendship was that of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne de Chantal. St. Francis de Sales's eulogy of her characterizes her life at Bourbilly and everywhere else: "In Madame de Chantal I have found the perfect woman, whom Solomon had difficulty in finding in Jerusalem". Far beyond this simple quotation, St. Francis and St. Jeanne founded a religious order together, called their community onto holiness and carried one another to the Cross of Christ in a profound and simple love of friendship.
St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare owned a deep love for one another. Both living austere and impoverished religious lives, they exercised prudence, gentleness, care and trust in divine providence. St. Francis protected St. Clare from her own family and St. Clare and her sisters imitated the Franciscan Brothers in their pursuit for holiness! St. Vincent de Paul and Venerable Louise de Marillac were guided by the Spirit in an awe aspiring friendship. Together they also founded the Sisters of Charity, along with many different ministries to the poor and the sick and dieing. St. Claude and St. Margaret Mary are noted as having an incredible friendship, in their pursuit and consecration to the Sacred heart. As St. Margaret Mary received the revelations of the Sacred Heart, she was persecuted by her and sisters and an emotional wreck at the arrival of St. Claude. As he began to spiritually direct her and listen to the revelations of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary, he found her to be truthful and encouraged her during time of much persecution. As their friendship grew and their understanding of the Sacred heart, together they consecrated themselves to the Sacred heart as a role model for all friendships in the Church. Often St. Claude and St. Margaret Mary are referred to as the "Three Hearts," because their friendship was bound to the heart of Christ Jesus.
In entering deeper into holy friendships we find ourselves in the midst of God's love. My experience working with the homeless is a dear example of this. Many of the homeless I have the opportunity to serve have no family. Each week they receive me, and as incredibly charged as I feel when they remember me or look forward to seeing me - I can only imagine how much greater it is for some of them who have no one else to love them. Many of them have no family left, no home, no support and no love. Yet through the friendships of Steubenville students, they receive love, Christ and a home. If they might share in the love that God is, then my hope is complete! This is what friendship is...to taste and see the love of God in our neighbor.
Simon Weil described friendship as "one of the implicit forms of the love of God." Through holy friendship we find ourselves, our souls. Through friendship we find our neighbor. And in friendship God reveals His love to us.
"Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might have life through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us." 1 John 4:7-13
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