Silence
and interior life are the condition for recognising God's presence and
welcoming his love as an invitation, as the way to go, and as a compass
for the plans we make as persons, communities and groups.
"Hence
it follows that the spirit of this Society is essentially based upon
prayer and the interior life, since we cannot glorify the adorable Heart
of Jesus worthily, save inasmuch as we apply ourselves to study its
interior dispositions in order to unite and conform ourselves to them." (1815 #5)
From Validity, Dynamism and Vitality of the Society's Charism by Georgina Zubiría, rscj, Mexico 2010
"If
only it were given to me, if only I were not so unworthy, that God
might give me the grace to speak to you of the happiness of persons who
give themselves over to the Holy Spirit, completely and without
reserve!
If
I could tell you all that takes place in them, if I could depict their
happiness. It is no longer they who act; it is God. They go nowhere,
they do nothing except by the Spirit's inspiration; everything becomes
easy for them; they no longer experience difficulty; they meet no
obstacles. The Holy Spirit pulls them along and sets up a communication
between them and heaven.
These
people have found the secret of touching hearts. It is as if they do
not act of themselves; they do not know whether they are doing good; one
might say they do not even desire to do good; rather they have only one
desire to follow and obey the impulse of the Holy Spirit in
everything."
St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Conferences I, 2 June 1827, p. 18
Our human mind is a gift from God. The mind can focus intently on our
sensory inputs and become carried away in its own activity. We create
stress when we force our wishes and impress our will. With busy-ness of
mind, the voice of the Divine is difficult to discern.
Turn
inward, quiet the senses and still the mind. In contemplation and in
surrender, the presence of God can fill us and the Voice heard.
Renewed, refreshed and restored, we find the solution to the puzzle, the
answer to the question, the key to the lock. We wonder - was it here
all along?
Are
we prepared to walk with her? We can make ourselves aware of the
conditioning that ties us excessively to what is "tried and tested".
And
we can also recall our own "experiences of daring", those moments in
our lives in which we were capable of taking risks, trusting in the Word
of God, savouring the freedom that is born from this.
"Be
brave and strong, do not be frightened or dismayed because the Lord
your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1: 6,9)
"Cast your nets... and you will find some." (John 21, 6)
What are my "nets"? Am I ready to leave them? On all this, I ask the light of the Holy Spirit who is promised to us.
I
contemplate this scene unfolding at the lake side. Where am I? Am I
right in the scene in the midst of the participants? I listen to Jesus'
word as if it is addressed to me personally. Does it evoke something in
me? Does it inspire enthusiasm or fear?
From an online retreat by Marie-Thérèse Deprecq, rscj, France
