Friday the 5th Week of Easter
The community of believers was united by the bond of love. The Advocate, coming forth from the Father, prompted them to speak with the assurance of the Only-Begotten Son. The Holy Spirit who is the bond of love within the Blessed Trinity moved the community of believers to seek the Truth in love. Sadly, in our sophistication, we have stopped calling upon divine guidance in our decision-making processes. We have wandered from the One in whom we live and move and have our being (CF. Acts 17:28). Focusing our gaze on ourselves rather than on Him who is our Beginning and Goal, we have lost the anchor of our souls. Without this anchor, we no longer seek a resting place in the secret of our heart, which is the sanctuary where the Most High dwells. Saint Paul came right to the point. “At one time we were foolish, disobedient, we were led astray and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We wasted our lives in malice and envy, being hateful and detesting one another” (Tit. 3:3).
To reset our focus, let us consider this simple line taken from the Book of Genesis. “God looked at all that he had made. He was delighted because all he looked at was very good” (Gen. 1:31). It is shocking, even heartbreaking to think that we detest what God takes delight in. When Jesus was speaking to the disciples, he was speaking to the secret resting place of their hearts. There in that inner temple, the spark of Divine Love would be fanned into an all-consuming fire. Christ’s love for us is the well-spring of our love for one another. Taking it a step further, we need to remember that God is Love and He created us in His image and likeness. This means that, by God’s design, Love is the very fabric of our being. By implication, everything we do, in thought, word, or deed, comes through the fiber of our being, love. We will love our neighbor because he/she is loved by God and is sought by the Son, the Shepherd of our souls. Love makes a statement and leaves a legacy. Love performs acts that capture the heart and leaves an impression on the soul.
As I bring this reflection to an end, it is important to remember that “the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time” (T.S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding”). I will share with you a few lines spoken by Benjamin Franklin. “In this situation of this Assembly groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? At the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. — Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence, we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?” (Constitutional Convention Address on Prayer)
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