A Spiritual Friendship Pact
St. Teresa looked upon human friendship as a joint journey, a spiritual pilgrimage to the fatherland. To four trusted friends she extended this invitation:
“I should like the five of us who at present love each other in Christ to make a kind of pact that since others in these times gather together in secret against His Majesty to prepare wicked deeds and heresies, we might seek to gather together some time to free each other from illusions and to speak about how we might mend our ways and please God more since no one knows himself as well as others who observe him if they do so with love and concern for his progress. I saw we should gather in secret because this kind of talk is no longer in fashion.”
Not Only in Her Day
It was not only in her day that gathering for spiritual friendship was no longer in fashion. How seldom we gather for such purposes in our day.
What does it take? According to Teresa:
1. A Pact: A communicated commitment.
2. A Plan: A gathering together. Connecting.
3. A Purpose: To free each other from sin’s deceitfulness, to mend our ways, and to please God.
4. A Passion: To know each other deeply enough and with enough care and concern to be able to provide loving feedback leading to self-awareness.
5. A Person: Jesus Christ. Human spiritual friendships always point to the ultimate Spiritual Friend–God.
