The Cloud of Unknowing * tells us that meekness and charity are the two virtues that stand for all the other virtues: For whoever can have these two, he would clearly need no others; he would have them all. He also tell us that we can never be perfect…but we know this.
Of the two, charity is my stronger virtue. I like to visit people who can’t get out and about; I like to take them a meal. Last night I helped at Rosie’s Place (a woman’s shelter in Boston), where as usual, I received more than I gave. But here’s the rub. In telling you about this, I am aware that meekness, the very virtue that I lack, diminishes even more. And yet, sharing ways that we experience God’s kingdom on earth, expands that very kingdom. As the Cloud of Unknowing tells us, we can’t be perfect.
“The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century.” (Wikipedia)
Of the two, charity is my stronger virtue. I like to visit people who can’t get out and about; I like to take them a meal. Last night I helped at Rosie’s Place (a woman’s shelter in Boston), where as usual, I received more than I gave. But here’s the rub. In telling you about this, I am aware that meekness, the very virtue that I lack, diminishes even more. And yet, sharing ways that we experience God’s kingdom on earth, expands that very kingdom. As the Cloud of Unknowing tells us, we can’t be perfect.
“The Cloud of Unknowing is an anonymous work of Christian mysticism written in Middle English in the latter half of the 14th century.” (Wikipedia)
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