—Should we endure financial and family problems, or should we fight for a better life?
—It’s not for nothing that they say a place does not save a man, but a man is saved in that place where the Lord put him. If you have the strength and opportunity, why not fight, move, change jobs? We are strangers on this earth.
It’s another matter when you can’t change anything and you have to accept circumstances as a given. You mustn’t lose courage, but turn to God, live the spiritual life, and enjoy those blessings that you have at the moment.
Christ teaches us to love God and neighbor, to fulfill the commandments—no one has or will abolish this until the end of his earthly life. Everything else is temporary, but we must do what depends on us.
—What should a parish community look like?
—The most ideal community is a monastery: people united by the same aspiration, living by the same spirit. Monasteries have always been models for the laity too. You won’t find any new templates.
Will Christians fight or will they resign themselves to the revolution being an accomplished fact?
As for living the same spirit, even monasteries are dependent upon that unity of purpose to provide limits for behavior of its members. However, the unity of spirit for parishes requires unanimity regarding their place in the political sphere.
Which brings me to the following... Three Years Of ‘The Benedict Option’ by Rod Dreher - three years since its initial publication and Dreher hasn't learned much about what is required for community.
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