Daily Meditation: Saturday, July 10, 2004

Spiritual life - its difficulties must stimulate us

07/10/2004

Of course, it is difficult to live the spiritual life. Given the nature of the goal to be attained, it is impossible to reach it without effort, and all the more so because the routes leading to it are not well travelled. These paths are unused and steep, bordering precipices, and only a few initiates have walked them before. But the more difficult the task, the more glorious the success. Nature gives nothing without effort. You need only look at sports competitions: is jumping over obstacles, skiing, or motor racing easy? No, they are even dangerous. But why do we accept difficulties in the realm of sports and not where it concerns the spiritual life? In this we want everything to be easy. No, nature has provided obstacles in order to determine which of her children are able to throw themselves into this great enterprise and to triumph. It is nature which has marked out the difficult path. And with the splendour of victory ahead of you, these difficulties, instead of discouraging you, must stimulate you.