The answer to failure was not resignation, settling for second– or third–best. The answer was to recognize that Christ was down there in the dust with you, as he had fallen along the Way of the Cross. So get up, seek forgiveness and reconciliation, and try again; with the help of grace, and answering the call, “Follow me,” strive to be someone of character, compassion, and conviction.
Over the past several years, voices in the Church have sometimes described the Gospel and its demands as an “ideal.” The implication, however unintended, is that the “ideal” is impossible to achieve, so demands should be blunted and the bar lowered. Some might imagine this as a consoling message, given that we all fail.
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