"Grace," for William Lynch, "should be understood as the act by which an absolutely outside and free reality communicates an absolutely interior and free existence." When we speak of grace - God's, the beloved's, a friend's - we mean an act, a relationship, that makes us more of who we are. Grace doesn't interfere or take away from who one is; indeed, grace carves out the space for us to grow into the people we are capable of becoming.
Healthy relationships never dominate or demand; they free us to take risks, to be bold, because we are animated and excited by love. "Real love communicates a self-identity and autonomy that is no longer in basic conflict with real mutuality. It takes two real self-identities to make a relationship, and it takes such a relationship to make two real persons." Grace makes us free.
As we trek through Lent, it may be a good time to re-assess some of the relationships in our lives. Am I being an agent of grace, of love and freedom, or do I act to manipulate others to achieve my own selfish goals? Do I make others free or do I constrict them? Am I free? Is this friendship, this relationship, a graced relationship whereby I grow and flourish?
Healthy relationships never dominate or demand; they free us to take risks, to be bold, because we are animated and excited by love. "Real love communicates a self-identity and autonomy that is no longer in basic conflict with real mutuality. It takes two real self-identities to make a relationship, and it takes such a relationship to make two real persons." Grace makes us free.
As we trek through Lent, it may be a good time to re-assess some of the relationships in our lives. Am I being an agent of grace, of love and freedom, or do I act to manipulate others to achieve my own selfish goals? Do I make others free or do I constrict them? Am I free? Is this friendship, this relationship, a graced relationship whereby I grow and flourish?
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