READER 1

Somehow, Lord, everywhere we look in Scripture, the concept of maturity is always fused with our capacity to love,

and our capacity to love is always bonded to our ability to first love ourselves.

Why? Why did you have to make the task of maturation so brutally simple ... so crucifyingly modest?

Why does our maturation migration always have to wing its way home to the context of loving ... the art of loving ... the work of loving?

It is just such a naive notion ...

such an idealistic and sentimental vision ...

such an exercise in hopeless frustration.

If our maturity is always to be measured by the extent and depth of our commitment to loving, well, then we are all hopelessly destined to lives of foolishness and childishness.

Even at the beginning we are utter failures ... to love our Selv…