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

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Spiritual Friendship

Adam and Eve are equal before God (1.57−60). Finally, Aelred points to the way wisdom and friendship are both important aspects of Christian love and thus are very closely related to one another (1.61−71). The conversation ends with Ivo being called away for a meal. Sadly, Ivo’s death will prevent him from speaking in the remaining two conversations. Text The Difference between Love and Friendship (1.31−32) 31. IVO: Should we therefore believe that there is no difference between friendship and Christian love? 32. AELRED: Indeed, there is a great difference between them. For we have it on divine authority that more people ought to be received with Christian love than by the embrace of friendship. For the law of grace compels us to receive not only friends, but also enemies, with Christian love ( Matt 5:44; Luke 6:27–35 ). However, we say that only they are friends to whom we are not afraid to entrust our hearts and everything that is in them—to those, in turn, who are bound to us by the same law of faith and security. Spiritual Friendship Is Different fromOther Kinds of Friendship (1.33−34) 33. IVO: But how many of those who live according to the world, and are unanimous in pursuing whatever vices are pleasing to themselves, are joined in a bond similar to that which binds Christians, and derive from that friendship a pleasure that surpasses the pleasure of the delights of this temporal world!