Love and Friendships

Introduction to the Devout Life, Part III, chapters 1-15

English-speaking group

John Christy, Arokiadoss Lourdusamy and Mackley Gomes

21 November 2011

1. Honey becomes poisonous or good depending on the type of Flowers the bees collect the nectar from.

2. Love and Friendship become harmful or Growth promoting depending on the Quality of the Communication the goes on between the Persons involved in the Relationships or friendships.

3. Love, Friendships and Relationships can be very enriching and can give a foretaste of Loving Heavenly Union with God, if we practice temperance and modesty as prescribed  by the exercises suggested.

4. Faithfulness to daily duties is to be preferred to acts of penance and fasting in order to achieve a balanced personality to be able to grow in Healthy Friendly Relationships.

5. Further St. Francis de sales gives A basis for the Salesian Preventive system that aims to educate the Heart with loving kindness and build convictions rather that Lay down external norms of Bhaviour or rules for the sake of rules. “I cannot approve the methods of those who try to reform a man by beginning with outward things, such as his bearing, dress or hair. On the contrary …. Since the heart is the source of our actions…..In short , whoever wins a man’s heart has won the whole man….For this purpose I will give you in summary fashion the following words of advice” (Francis de Sales, Introduction to the devout life, translated and edited by John K. Ryan, p. 172)

Report and art layout by Mackley