"To believe we are forgiven is probably one of the most challenging spiritual battles we have to face. Somehow we cannot let go of our self-rejection, somehow we cling to our guilt, somehow we seem to find a strange kind of security in low self-esteem, as if accepting forgiveness fully would call us to a new and ominous task we are afraid to accept. Resistance is an essential element of peacemaking, and the no of the resisters must go all the way to the inner reaches of their own hearts to confront the deadly powers of self-hate. I often think that I am such a hesitant peacemaker because I still have not accepted myself as a forgiven person, a person who has nothing to fear and is truly free to speak the truth and proclaim the kingdom of peace. It sometimes seems to me that the demonic forces of evil and death want to seduce me into believing that I do not deserve the peace I am working for."
—
Henri Nouwen, “Saying No to Death.” In Peace is the Way: Writings on Nonviolence from the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
(via locusimperium)
(via sacredsecularity)
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