What
do we truly desire for ourselves in life? Is it to be loved? Is it to
feel at peace? To be in ecstasy or a state of total happiness? Where
does this desire come from?
To answer these questions, we must understand who it is that put these desires in our hearts... the One who knows us inside and out; who created us and watches over our every breath. We, who are made in the image and likeness of God, have in us, in the depths of our heart, God's heart. We may not even realize it, or even understand. But He, in his infinite goodness, has made us in a unique and precious way; to be in His image and likeness is to say that He is very much a part of us.
Our heart is constantly yearning for something; and our mind tirelessly searches to quench that need, but our mind is very much influenced by the world. It tries to rationalize our feelings in a way that is easily comprehensible. And once our feelings are quenched, we can function more effectively. But the problem is our mind will try so hard and speak so loudly that we often drown out the source.
Our feelings and yearnings aren't easily comforted, and require something the world cannot give us. Why? It is because of the One who put those feelings inside of us. In the image and likeness of God, we find that we aren't God, but with Him we are fulfilled. He created us in our weaknesses for a reason; He very much wants to be a part of our lives. He gave us this burning desire that can only be quenched in Him.
He very much desires to give us this happiness, and provides many opportunities for us to find it; but He also wished for us to choose it freely. He implanted His love in each of us, and mysteriously waits for us to respond to it. This response is known as prayer... A conversation between us and our Maker.
"Saint Augustine, in a homily on the First Letter of John, describes very beautifully the intimate relationship between prayer and hope. He defines prayer as an exercise of desire... And if the object of one's desire is a relationship with God, his blessing and love, then the struggle cannot fail but ends in that self-giving to God, in recognition of one's own weakness, which is overcome only by giving oneself over into God's merciful hands... We would not be able to pray were the desire for God, for being children of God, not engraved in the depths of our heart." -Pope Benedict XVI
What God challenges us to do today is to take a moment and stop. Pause your life, just for a moment, and quiet your mind. It is in the silence of your mind that your heart speaks freely. Let your heart's emotions pour out, and let the Lord comfort you. Only then can you truly feel at peace. "Each one of us needs time and space for recollection, mediation and calmness. ... Thanks be to God that this is so! In fact, this need tells us that we are not made for work alone, but also to think, to reflect or even simply to follow with our minds and our hearts a tale, a story in which to immerse ourselves, in a certain sense 'to lose ourselves' to find ourselves subsequently enriched." -Pope Benedict XVI
"I will ask my Lord for what I want and desire," St. Ignatius of Loyola. Because it is only in Him that our desires are truly quenched. May God bless you
To answer these questions, we must understand who it is that put these desires in our hearts... the One who knows us inside and out; who created us and watches over our every breath. We, who are made in the image and likeness of God, have in us, in the depths of our heart, God's heart. We may not even realize it, or even understand. But He, in his infinite goodness, has made us in a unique and precious way; to be in His image and likeness is to say that He is very much a part of us.
Our heart is constantly yearning for something; and our mind tirelessly searches to quench that need, but our mind is very much influenced by the world. It tries to rationalize our feelings in a way that is easily comprehensible. And once our feelings are quenched, we can function more effectively. But the problem is our mind will try so hard and speak so loudly that we often drown out the source.
Our feelings and yearnings aren't easily comforted, and require something the world cannot give us. Why? It is because of the One who put those feelings inside of us. In the image and likeness of God, we find that we aren't God, but with Him we are fulfilled. He created us in our weaknesses for a reason; He very much wants to be a part of our lives. He gave us this burning desire that can only be quenched in Him.
He very much desires to give us this happiness, and provides many opportunities for us to find it; but He also wished for us to choose it freely. He implanted His love in each of us, and mysteriously waits for us to respond to it. This response is known as prayer... A conversation between us and our Maker.
"Saint Augustine, in a homily on the First Letter of John, describes very beautifully the intimate relationship between prayer and hope. He defines prayer as an exercise of desire... And if the object of one's desire is a relationship with God, his blessing and love, then the struggle cannot fail but ends in that self-giving to God, in recognition of one's own weakness, which is overcome only by giving oneself over into God's merciful hands... We would not be able to pray were the desire for God, for being children of God, not engraved in the depths of our heart." -Pope Benedict XVI
What God challenges us to do today is to take a moment and stop. Pause your life, just for a moment, and quiet your mind. It is in the silence of your mind that your heart speaks freely. Let your heart's emotions pour out, and let the Lord comfort you. Only then can you truly feel at peace. "Each one of us needs time and space for recollection, mediation and calmness. ... Thanks be to God that this is so! In fact, this need tells us that we are not made for work alone, but also to think, to reflect or even simply to follow with our minds and our hearts a tale, a story in which to immerse ourselves, in a certain sense 'to lose ourselves' to find ourselves subsequently enriched." -Pope Benedict XVI
"I will ask my Lord for what I want and desire," St. Ignatius of Loyola. Because it is only in Him that our desires are truly quenched. May God bless you
