Friends

“‘I say to you, my friend, arise and walk’ (Mark 2:9), leave that narrow life which is no life at all.” (Saint Josemaria, “Christ is passing by”, at 93).

The True Friend (Icon)

I have a few close friends who I have known for some thirty or forty years.  While I tend to be an easy sort of socialiser, my close friends are usually people who I have developed a close bond with over a long period of time.  These are the sort of people who I have had a varied relationship with.  At times they have lived within walking distance from my home.  And at other times, they have lived in other countries or across the other side of this country.  Sometimes, they have been very close to me and we have spoken daily.  At other times, we speak a few times a year.  But regardless of our personal circumstances, these friends are people for whom I continue to think about and like and pray for.

And yet there is so much change and changeability in friendships.  People offend each other, or get busy or reprioritise their free time and that means things change and sometimes, even the closest friends can let each other down…

And I have been thinking about this because we all have a GREAT Friend who never lets us down.  And this is God Himself…

If I were able to give God, my life then I would remain at His service and devoted to Him.  And this would be fitting, and I would never be let down because God would always prioritise me.  And because God is infinite He does not run out of time or get distracted or busy or ignore me.  He prioritises me completely.

And what is true friendship other than the joy of knowing each other?  Learning about each of our friends and then making that knowledge a priority in my life.  In fact, the longer I know someone the better I like them because I get to understand how they think and what they focus on.  And this increased knowledge is something beautiful.  And I have been thinking about this today.  Because this is the reason why Christ is the perfect friend…

“He is our friend, the Friend: ... He calls us his friends; and he is the one who took the first step, because he loved us first. Still, he does not impose his love — he offers it. He shows it with the clearest possible sign: ‘Greater love than this no one has, that one lay down his life for his friends’ (John 15:13). He was Lazarus’ friend. He wept for him when he saw him dead, and he raised him from the dead. If he sees us cold, unwilling, rigid perhaps with the stiffness of a dying interior life, his tears will be our life - ‘I say to you, my friend, arise and walk’ (Mark 2:9), leave that narrow life which is no life at all.” (Saint Josemaria, “Christ is passing by”, at 93).

And I have been thinking about that type of friendship with my God.  For it seems that He is calling me to leave this narrow life which is no life at all.

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.