Friends are a path to God

PAZ with Brother Andre of Marmion Abbey, August 18, 2010

I spent time with friends recently. Visiting with friends is always a treat but it is also reassuring to re-affirm friendship and mutual love as I believe good (true) friends are a path to God. Read the Cistercian fathers on this theme. One such Cistercian Father caught my eye in recent years, Baldwin of Forde (1120-1190), said, "no one should be deluded on the love of God, no one should deceive himself: he who does not love his neighbor does not love God" and "So it is by loving one's neighbor, through a bond of peace and a fetter of love, that the love of God and the unity of the Spirit are maintained in us" (De vita coenobitica, seu communi).