Yesterday Father Jim spoke some powerful words in his homily that really hit home in a way I didn't expect.
His point was this: The way YOU feel about the presence (or lack of) of God in your life IN NO WAY determines God's actual presence. Jesus was despairing in the garden, and despairing on the cross, but he KNEW that God was there with him. Even if he didn't feel the presence, he knew God was there.
I sometimes rely on my feelings of God's presence more than I realize. I think that if I am not feeling this overwhelming warmth and direction, like I have experienced, that God must not be that close. But the truth is, REGARDLESS of my FEELINGS, He is always right here. His presence surrounds me all the time, every day.
(Happy Holy Week)
That is truly amazing. It is really overwhelming to think about that---so often I get wrapped up in winding thoughts or confusing frustration or befuddled musings, longing for the clarity of the top of Vespers or other mountaintop moments when His presence is so abundantly clear. You put it so beautifully:
ReplyDelete"rely[ing] on my feelings of God's presence more than I realize." I am going to focus on that awareness this Triduum especially. :)