a greater vision of the God who has made himself known to us. This is the heart that leans into the future.
Thought
Longing is the human being leaning towards eternity. In the act of longing we transcend the present and open windows to a future yet to be unveiled.
Ephesians 4:25–27
February 4
Discerning the Enemy
The world is shaped by goodness but pocketed by evil. Grace abounds but evil lies close at hand. God is present but the
enemy of our souls waits in the wings.
We have seen amazing scientific progress during this past century. But this has also been a time of terrible wars and atrocities. Goodness and evil are clearly part of the human condition. To think otherwise is to live in unreality.
This double movement is also evident in the spiritual realm. The Holy Spirit ever brooding and life-giving brings peace and hope into our world. Evil spirits bring fear and chaos.
One of the desert fathers made this observation: “Whatsoever things are from God, have their spring in humbleness; but such things as spring from authority and anger and strife, these are from the Enemy.”35 Sadly, both forces impact us and both bring forth very different fruit.
Thus we are invited into the art of careful discernment. Understanding the ways of God, we are called to discern the work of the Enemy who sows discord and fear.
The testimony of the desert fathers and mothers is clear: the greater the awareness of God, the greater the watchfulness for the ways of the Evil one.
Reflection
True seeing involves seeing that which negates and destroys and seeing what brings life and hope.
Ephesians 1:22–23
February 5
The Joy of Wholeness
Well-being is never simply determined by health strategies alone. It also has to do with what I believe and what sustains me inwardly. Exercise brings well-being. But so does prayer.
There is a great emphasis in our contemporary world regarding the quest for wellness. This is partly due to the fact that in our world of economic rationalism and consumerism we are living toxic lives. Our driven and self-preoccupied lifestyle is barely sustainable and so we look for ways to cope.
That this search for well-being requires more than good eating and recreational habits is rather obvious. Well-being also has to do with our inner being. Wholeness is never merely circumstantial; it is also inward and spiritual.
St. Augustine understood well the ultimate source of wellness: “[It] is that I may serve and worship thee to the end that I may have my well-being from thee, from whom comes my capacity for well-being.”36 This church father saw wellness as a gift of grace from the God of life.
God as the source for my well-being is not the demanding and
judgmental God of our own making, but the God of love and companionship and nurture in Christ. This is not the far away God, but the God who through the Spirit lives within me. This God is the One who upholds me and showers the gifts of love and peace upon me. This God calls me beloved and nurtures me in the paths and ways of life. This God is the healing and sustaining God.
Reflection
With the Creator carefully and artfully reshaping my inner being with love, the core of who I am is nurtured.
Matthew 19:12
February 6
A Holy Calling
Throughout the history of the Christian church there have been those who have lived the Christian life with great
intensity and commitment. These persons are to be seen as a challenge to all of us to live the Christian life with greater fidelity.
St. Francis of Assisi in his Rule of 1223 writes, the Christian way of life is “to observe the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience without personal possessions, and in chastity.”37
This calling, lived out fully amongst those who have been called to this activist religious order, is a calling that has implications for all of us. Their way of life and service, while the way of greater intentionality, is also in some sense to be our way.
Whether married or single, in secular work or holy orders, with riches or in poverty, we are called to live in the power of the gospel. The gospel is to indwell us and we are called to be in Christ and to live for Christ. All of us, no matter what our life circumstances are, are called to live in obedience to the way of Christ and all of us are called to great
generosity because God has been generous towards us in Christ.
The heartbeat of the monk or that of a member of a religious order to live one’s whole life for Christ is a calling for the whole people of God, even though they may need to outwork that calling in different ways.
Reflection
The imitatio Christi lies at the heart of Christianity. We are all called to
follow Christ’s love for the Father in heaven. We are all called to community. We are all called to purity of heart and to a life of service.
John 2:23–25
February 7
Silence
Jesus both spoke and acted and was silent. He healed people in the public square and went to desert places to pray alone. He made himself known and he asked people to be silent about him.
Living the Christian life is not simply an outpouring of love and service to others. It also has to do with the growth of an inner life. And it is from these interior resources of prayer and reflection that a life of service can come and be sustained. Interiority is not a withdrawal but a spring from which flowing waters can come.
St. Ignatius once made the seemingly enigmatic remark: “He [or she] who has really grasped what Jesus said can appreciate his silence.”38 This can mean many things, but it does make an important connection between one’s interiority and one’s externalization. Put differently, behind the words or deeds of a person lies an inner reality that also needs to be understood and appreciated and needs to be nurtured. In fact, it is only when the latter is understood that the former can be appreciated.
In the case of Jesus, his words and deeds invite us to an intimacy of the Spirit. And being drawn to the inner person of Jesus—and into his silence—is an invitation into the very presence of a love that knows no bounds, is willing to suffer and to give its all.
The invitation for the Christian is not only to imitate the deeds of Christ, but to become like him in our inner being and in prayer and
silence. From such an inner life good fruit can come.
Thought
Entering into the silence of Christ opens a new world. This silence needs to become our own silence for which all goodness springs.
John 15:15
February 8
Friendship with God
We must never reduce our relationship with God to a glib
familiarity or an estranged distance. God is sovereign and Lord of our lives. But God can also be the great friend.
It is possible to think of God in images of distance. This is particularly so when we use the language of distance: omnipotent, sovereign, all
powerful. But there is also another language that we are invited to use. This speaks of intimacy and closeness: lover, healer, redeemer, friend.
Clearly both forms of language are appropriate. It usually depends on the way and the circumstances in which we seek to approach God. Being