“Both the church and the individuals within it need to be purified if we’re to see God or ourselves clearly, which we must do if we’re to reflect the Divine to a world that is gazing at us. Purification is painful, because it requires a self-emptying, or kenosis, of all that‘s false and destructive, so that truth and healing can fill the space. It means entering into a profound poverty, in which we relinquish ownership of everything that made the false self attractive and compelling in the first place. If we have the courage to let go and simply face God naked and with open hands, our vision will get clearer, and we’ll discover a great secret: that very poverty is the road to liberation.”
-Susan R. Pitchford, The Sacred Gaze: Contemplation and the Healing of the Self, p. 74
