Bridge to Gratitude for Grace
On this blog I have discussed the importance of Magnanimity at length. It is the first of the structural virtues and it truly cannot be overestimated as all other virtues depend completely upon it. “Magna” means great and “anima” means spirit, together it produces grace and forgiveness, the greatest GRACE coming from the GREATEST Spirit, of course. It is in the cause of greater spirit that we see our own flaws, and hard-won progress, when confronted by the flaws of others. This is an action of awareness most profound when directed towards honesty, and it is a sacred duty as essential to abundance in faith. We find stability in life’s rules through this, the grace of our Lord makes error a stepping stone rather than stumbling block, giving us the opportunity to reflect this.
Let us consider the first step in honesty, the initiating cornerstone in reasonable virtues, to be fitted ultimately to perseverance and analysis. To be honest in this opportunity in failure with oneself is admission of fallibility in ourselves, but more importantly its necessity in others. This honesty in opportunity thus extended to others serves as a most beauteous bridge between souls, in common recognition of our position as children of God, so we honour truth best when we realise how profound it is that all souls are fallible and in need of grace, yet still not all are fully aware of this and its ramifications.
Seeing our errors for what they are grants this awareness in honesty required before venturing into that next moment of morality, the second pillar of magnanimity which blossoms forth as honour. Awareness is so much more than an intellectual exercise, it is awakening itself, as deep as you are willing in or capable of pushing forward with it. It is the ability to see beyond the surface material aspects, to the elements of the human beyond the initiating grasps of sense, and that the path to virtues is part of our process of progress, the only worthy improvement that improves all other things, but impossible if we are not devoted above all other things.
Cultivating awareness finds us standing at greater thresholds with patience and prudence, the sixth and eighth virtues but atop the other cornerstone-aspects in reason of perseverance and analysis instead. This development is far from arbitrary, and represents scaffolding for greater achievements. The other moments across these cornerstones of morality, propriety, and spirit must be nurtured with care. Morality demands that we act with integrity, even when it is inconvenient. Propriety provides for orderly responses to the world, in tempering our impulses. Spirit, the final moments of all three cornerstones, is divine love which calls us to act courageously in putting God’s will above our own. This is about building a life that reflects the divine order, in making our will identical to His.
However, again, it all starts with Magnanimity and follows through the entire course of honesty in the virtues Honour, Temperance, and Loyalty. Meaning here is developed in our position in relation to God, so that we restrain things which limit virtuous behaviours in the face of temptation in our greater commitment to improvement for the sake of those who walk beside us on this amazing journey.
I wish you a most pleasant evening and wonderful tomorrow. Remember always that you are beloved of God.