Spiritual Friends

By Ainish Philip

 “A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.” Sirach 6:14.

Are you among the ones who love to attend retreats, follow ups, and prayer groups? Have you ever noticed how God puts us among people who are spiritually hungry and whose journey towards God mirrors our own?

Once we are born-again and regenerated spiritually after attending a retreat, the normal tendency is to look for people with whom we can share our faith. The camaraderie is instant and magical and interestingly enough, there is a tendency to share the most important aspect of our life with the believer friend. People who were complete strangers before, find themselves knit together into one family. Who brings this incredible spirit of unity, fellowship, and love among the spiritual friends? It is the Holy Spirit!

We can see this reality in the lives of saintly spiritual friends over the centuries. St. Francis and St. Clare of Assisi were good friends who allowed their friendship to inspire religious vocations and institutions.

St Clare, who is known for her deep commitment to prayer and holy life thanked her friend Francis for leading her on the path of seeking Jesus, instead of worldly pleasure. What is interesting about their friendship is that it was a deeply pure relationship graced by chastity and godly love.

In the Old Testament we see the friendship of David and Jonathan. Despite the fact that his own father Saul was trying to kill David, Jonathan stood by David and intervened on his behalf. He even risked his life by traveling a long distance to see David in hiding, knowing that his father had deployed soldiers everywhere.

David on his part had high respect for Jonathan. When David was anointed King, He bowed before Jonathan three times. Not only that, even after Jonathan died, David expressed his love towards his friend by taking care of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth for the rest of his life.

Another example is that of Daniel and his friends. Daniel sincerely wanted his friends to do well so he requested that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be promoted to high positions. Daniel 2:49 - "At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court."

In the New Testament we see how the early Church was of one heart and soul. The early Church devoted themselves to the apostles' instructions, the communal life, the breaking of bread, and prayers (Acts 2:42).

In John 15:15, the Jesus calls us to be His friends. St Dominic Savio really made Jesus as his best friend from childhood. We too can develop that kind of friendship with Christ, and with all others of like mind, who share the same mission and zeal. We need our friend’s support to grow and strengthen in our faith.

So what about friends from different faith? Do we stay away from them to keep our faith intact? No! Never! Infact we must be very good friends to them and influence their lives by our holy conduct. 

By seeing the sanctity of our lives they must be drawn to Christ. It is also important to steer away from bad company lest we lose the grace we received from our Lord.