A Sunday Thought About The Frustrations of Trying to Get Closer to God to Start the Week Off Right

Sunday can bring us unhurried time to re-charge - or even supercharge - our spiritual life. 

Let's say we're sincere about seriously practicing our Catholic Faith. We spend time each week, even each day, in prayer, meditation, receiving the Sacraments, studying our Catholic Religion, good spiritual reading, etc. That's a base. 

We go to the next - and most important - step: growing closer to God. And we understand that what will propel us forward is unconditional love of God. Love.

But what happens when the will is there, we've found our way, but something still feels missing? Life seems to get in the way, day after day. Progress stalls as we put our time and effort into the ordinary duties of our state of life. We're stuck - or at least it seems that way.

No problem - at least according to Abbot John Chapman. Let's let him speak for himself. He's got some answers for us:

“After some time it always happens that one seems to return to the rut of common life. Provided you have the same desire to be all for God, what does it matter how you feel? Except that this sort of feeling of dryness or dissipation is founding humility in you – We have to accept from God with absolute submission (and with what joy we can) not merely our sufferings, but also ourselves, all our inborn and ingrained weakness and selfishness and incapacity. And also the poor amount of sanctity we see in ourselves. If we were always sailing along in a fair wind, we should have very little to suffer, and very little to make us humble. It is when we can’t pray, and can’t feel we want only God’s will, and can’t even feel humble (and so forth), that we are being purged and molded and made into what God wants us to be. We are like little children being washed and having their hair brushed by a nurse; they don’t like it at all, and think nurse is very unkind. Do you ever read Father de Caussade’s letters (Abandonment to Divine Providence)? Some of them might help you…When one is in a kind of ‘desolation’ the only thing is to wish to be there and remain there. It is the only means of union with God. 

"If you know ‘The Ascent of Mount Carmel’ you will know the doctrine that the only means of Union is the stripping of self, and that illuminations and inspirations are cheering and helpful, but are not union; union is the imperceptible giving of self to God, - the only perceptible part of it is the leaving of everything else. When we have no comfort in God, but want it more than everything, then we are probably more united to Him than at any other moment. Saint John of the Cross’ doctrine is austere, but Saint Francis de Sales teaches exactly the same in a more cheerful manner, and so do all the saints. So we must aim at being in the desert and not at any consciousness of God’s grace and Presence. One is inclined to say ‘I am so weak, I can’t go on like this! I must have some consolation, or I shall merely fall, and grow worldly.’ But God knows best. Absolute and complete confidence, trust, abandon, is what we need.” (Abbot John Chapman, O.S.B.)

I hope you found this helpful. It's so rich it's worth another read or two, don't you think?

 

Happy Sunday!