"...and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength."
- Mark 12:30
God desires your love and calls you to an intimate friendship. Yes, it is possible to 'Fall in Love' with God - to think of Him continually and to try and please Him in all we do. If God calls us to this and Jesus commands us as he did in Mark 12:20, then it is possible for all of us. We must desire it, persevere, and pray for God's grace to help us. But is there some guide to help us along this road? Some light? Some 'way' ?
Fr. Killian J. Healy, in his book, Awakening Your Soul to the Presence of God, writes about an excercise or 'way' to grow in love of God. Fr Killian says that though some may "...shy away from following any special road to love of God that appears systematized or scientific, ... Many people have desired divine friendship, only to find that, after months and years of fidelity to prayer and the commandments, they are still strangers to God. They have been driving in the night without any light to guide them." Fr Healy "... proposes a way of love that leads quickly and directly to divine intimacy. It is called the excercise of the presence of God."
According to Fr. Healy, there are two parts to practicing the presence of God - The action of the intellect (thinking of God) and the action of the will (desiring to be with Him and to speak to Him). In his book, Fr Healy explains, with clarity and beauty, five practical ways to practice this excercise. "Exercise of the presence of God leads us to intimate love of God, and indirectly leads us away from sin and worldliness."
If you or someone you know has been "driving in the night without any light," learn about this simple excercise of the presence of God. With this knowledge, your desire, and God's grace, you will be on a sure road to intimacy with God.
Quotes taken from Awakening Your Soul to the Presence of God, How to Walk with Him Daily and Dwell in Friendship with Him Forever, Fr Kilian J.Healy, Sophia Institute Press, Manchester, New Hampshire, 1999.
Originally published in 1948 by the Declan X. McMullen Compay, New York, under the title Walking with God.
To learn more about Awakening Your Soul to the Presence of God, Click on the Link below:
In closing, we share the thoughts of Pope Pius XII on this very subject:
"Millions may hurry along the streets of great cities absorbed in their business or pleasure or sorrows, with never a thought for God. Yet the only true God is no less real. It is He who sustains them in their existence. Men and women must be brought to consciousness of the fact of God's existence, of their utter dependence on His power and love and mercy, and of their moral obligation to shape their daily lives according to His most holy will."
- Pope Pius XII
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Comment moderation has been enabled. All comments must be approved by the blog author.