Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. We often call the "life" of a person thatupon which he is most intent and in which he finds the greatestdelight. Of one man, we say that his life is art; of another,study; of another, travel, and so on. Now, some men are especiallybent upon the contemplation of truth; others are givenwholeheartedly to external activity. Thus, a person's life maybe described as contemplative or as active.
2. Just as the intellect is speculative orcontemplative in knowing truth about things, and practicalor active in its grasp of what one is to do, so lifeitself is suitably classified as the contemplative life and theactive life.
"If, devout soul, it is your will to please God and live a life of serenity in this world, unite yourself always and in all things to the divine will. Reflect that all the sins of your past wicked life happened because you wandered from the path of God's will. For the future, embrace God's good pleasure and say to him in every happening: "Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight." "
St Alphonsus de Liguori
* * *
"The one thing necessary which Jesus spoke of to Martha and Mary consists in hearing the word of God and living by it."
R. Garrigou-Lagrange, OP
* * *
"The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart. "
St Philip Neri
* * *