Phyllis McGinley
The saints differ from us in their exuberance, the excess of our human talents. Moderation is not their secret. It is in the wildness of their dreams, the desperate vitality of their ambitions that they stand apart from ordinary people of good will.On the Contrary
[When I wish to become a saint and yet see my mediocrity, I wish this quote were not true, but in knowing Bernadette Roberts and a few others as well, I know it is true, like it or not.]
Patricia! I can think of a lot of words to describe you but mediocre isn't one of them. Peter
ReplyDeleteHmm. Maybe you haven't met any real saints? Anyway, it is a relative statement.
ReplyDeleteAre you saying I only know sinners, deplorables and mediocrats?
DeleteNo, you said that. But people do tend to think that being a good person, or even a spiritual person, is the same thing as being a 'saint'or, if you like, a sage or a Bodhisattva, I don't mean anything to do with what the Catholic Church calls saints. Even in other things,like, say, being astronaut - the ones who become great have some kind of intensity that is not usual. This matter is too complex for this small box.
DeleteI get that point completely, that extraordinary people have a special intensity. All I was trying to say jokingly was that not having that intensity is not the same thing as mediocrity, at least in my mind.
DeleteIf this is what makes a saint, then many of us should be able to see our haloes. Me, I just try to seek an ordinary, holy life.
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