Spiritual Friendship

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Ema1980

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Has anyone read St Aelred of Rievaulx’s book called Spiritual Friendship?
Most of all, does anyone here has a spiritual friend like he describes in the book?
I have a few friends but this is another level of friendship. I do pray that the Lord will grant me such beautiful holy relationship built upon virtue.
 
The book is a real treatise on friendship. St Aelred puts spiritual friendship on another level of friendship. Is a friendship that starts in Jesus, tends to Him and is perfected in Him. This kind of friendship is not possible among those who live without Christ. It is a friendship that does not seek earthly pleasures or worldly gain, but seeks its own perfection (i.e., seeks holiness). In short, it’s a kind of friendship where the most important thing that the friend seeks is for his friend to grow in holiness and virtue.
 
That’s what the family of God should strive for. Unfortunately, outside a monastery or a convent, it’s hard to find such intensity. It will be like that in heaven though, so don’t be discouraged. You will have literally billions of friends in heaven. Here below, we can only get glimpses of it and try to strive for it in ourselves.
 
Thankfully I have been meeting many holy people who just happen to be living consecrated lives outside of the walls of a convent or monastery. A common trait is their intense love of Christ and His church. Some are widows, some never married, they are young (25-35) but mostly old sages.
 
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