Finding Room For Love And Forgiveness

John of Kronstadt, a Russian priest who lived in the 1800s, said the following:

"The purer the heart is, the larger it is, and the more able it is to find room within it for a greater number of beloved ones; whilst the more sinful it is, the more contracted it becomes, and the smaller number of beloved can it find room for, because it is limited by self-love, and that love is a false one. We love ourselves in objects unworthy of the immortal soul – in silver and gold, in adultery, in drunkenness, and such like."

When I’m at my worse, that is exactly how I feel. Like I don’t have room for anything except for my own worries and passions. What a lonely place to be. If we can find room to love, the room gets bigger and we are not alone.

I’ve learned this from our large family. There has never been any sense of “there isn’t enough love to go around” it just seems to get bigger. There is always enough room for loving each other.