Spiritual Friendship: Learning to Be Friends with God and One Another

Chapter 7 Accepting and Enjoying Spiritual Friends (Book 3.76–97)

Chapter Summary Can you imagine a world where you had no friends? Could you be happy in this kind of world? Chapter 7 continues Aelred’s third conversation about spiritual friendship and provides his answers to these two questions (3.76−78). He then shows how God created friendship to fill all creation with happiness (3.79−81). Aelred describes his own experience of friendship within a loving community of disciples (3.82−84) and answers some practical questions. Walter is a bit overwhelmed by the high aim of spiritual friendship and wonders about settling for a lower version (3.85). Aelred encourages him that lesser forms of friendship are often used by God to lead believers to higher and holier friendships (3.86−87). After giving some more general advice on friendship (3.88−89), Aelred explains how true friendship makes

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