Presence

I come into your presence, Lord and I take a moment to clear my mind of all the conflicting thoughts about this decision I have to make. I hand this decision over to you and ask you to send me your Holy Spirit to guide me through this decision-making process.  I remain open to all options and possibilities and trust that you have prepared the way for me. Come, Holy Spirit and guide me on this journey.

Trust

Most of what we say we know, we haven’t worked out at all; we haven’t proved. We take so much on trust. Have you walked the full coastline of Ireland? And yet you’ve no doubt it is an island. We trust all the time. Faith, too, is born from trust, trust that an invisible God loves us and is at work all the time for our good.

This year I’ve had a serious illness. What difference did faith make? Simply trusting that I am never alone, even when I may feel lost or down. That means trust in times of light and in times of dark.

Reflection

What is wonderfully surprising in Ignatian spirituality is the invitation to trust our deepest desire. That desire is God’s unique gift to us, guiding us along the path to God.

Many of us have learned to think of God’s will as something outside ourselves, an external blueprint that we must follow. Nothing is further from the truth; we find God within ourselves when we get in touch with our deepest desire. Of course, that doesn’t come easily: we have all sorts of competing desires, and we need to pay close attention to them if we are to sift through them and unearth what is at our core.

There is an ancient legend from India that says that, once upon a time, humans shared in God’s wisdom, but that they so abused it that God and his heavenly court decided to take it away from them and hide it until they were mature enough to appreciate it.

But where should they hide it? One angel suggested, ‘Let us bury it deep within the earth,’ but God said, ‘No, they will dig down into the earth and find it’. Another angel said, ‘Let’s take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there,’ while another said, ‘Let’s hide it in the depth of the ocean’. But God rejected both suggestions: ‘They will eventually climb every mountain and explore the depths of every sea’.

‘Then there is nowhere to hide it,’ said the angels. God thought for a long time and then said, ‘Here is what we will do. We will hide it deep within their being; they will never think of looking there’. And since then, the story goes, humans have been searching outside themselves for their deepest meaning, never realising that is buried within them in their deep heart’s core.

The time has come for us to start listening to our deepest self. Ask the Lord to help you.

I live, now not I, but Christ lives in me. – St Paul
My me is God, I know no other self save in him. – St Catherine of Genoa

Next Step

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.