In much world mythology the sword first has a positive
meaning: a person’s ability to be discriminating and decisive. The sword helps
a man separate his feelings from the issues at hand. It helps him name and
maintain appropriate boundaries. A man with a sword knows who he is and who he
isn’t, and what is worth protecting.
The sword has also borne a negative meaning, killing and
death. Spiritually speaking however, it’s necessary to kill or at least
distinguish the dark side, the small egocentric self. Also for a man to be born, boyhood and “keeping
all my options open” must die, and this is painful especially in a culture that
encourages perpetual adolescence. So even in its negative sense the sword can
become a symbol of the healthy warrior and an expression of his spiritual side.
~Fr. Richard Rohr
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