The purpose of Christian formation is not developing a better self-image, achieving self-fulfillment or finding self-affirmation; nor is it the development of individualistic qualities that make singularly outstanding saints. Rather, it is developing certain qualities that enable us to live responsibly within the community that we have been baptized into. Virtues are ecclesially based. The theological virutes of faith, hope and charity make the best sense (if not the only sense) for Christians when they are lived out in the Christian community as the "peaceable kingdom." Spiritual Theology, pg 103.
I guess that pretty much shoots the idea that church is for and about me in the foot. This quote seems to imply that the more we grow and mature, the greater our focus is on the community as a whole rather than me as an individual.
Isn't it amazing how so many seeming pillars of the church miss that?
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