"For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self." -- Thomas MertonThomas Merton was an American monk, mystic, poet, artist, teacher, and inter-religious dialoguer before it was a cool thing to do. Today would've been his 99th birthday.
I haven't spent an enormous amount of time reading the 20th century greats of theology and spiritual writing (Merton and de Chardin, mainly), though I've read smatterings of both. One of the ideas that resurfaces in both of their work seems to be this notion of living into the self that God made each of us to be. That requires discernment, self-knowledge, and humility. This is really the process I've stepped into these last couple of years, led by the Holy Spirit. I've extricated myself from situations and environments that were not conducive to me being my best self, the person God sees when God sees me.
I suppose it is this "best self" that is able to engage with the evil of the world and be the Body of Christ in the face of darkness. We are the light of the world, as Yeshua tells us. And St. Teresa of Avila (Carmelite saint and reformer, 1515 - 1582) echoes this:
Christ Has No Body (St. Teresa of Avila)
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are his body.
Christ has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
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