Oftentimes the best insights are probably the most profound. Some years in the past, I heard prayer described as a “turning inward” in an effort to discover God dwelling in our souls by Sanctifying Grace. He isn’t a God means on the market in heaven lightyears away from earth, however reasonably He’s really current right here on earth and even dwelling within the very recesses of our soul.
This concept all the time made sense to me on paper, however when it really got here time to place it into apply I used to be normally a bit of confused. I do know (by religion) and affirm that God dwells throughout the soul of 1 dwelling within the state of grace, however how do we discover Him there? How will we communicate to Him and converse with Him there?
I’m afraid I spent many hours looking out the deepest components of my soul searching for God therein. So many instances I used to be unable to seek out Him. So many instances I searched in useless. This was all the time a bit complicated since I knew Him to be there, and the one clarification gave the impression to be that He was concealing Himself from me for one motive or one other. Every so often, He did make Himself identified to me, and His presence was so overwhelming that it virtually compelled itself upon my thoughts and coronary heart. Different instances, His presence was not so overwhelming, however it was very simple to seek out after solely a bit of looking out. Why so many alternative and various experiences? Is the success of prayer certain up with the pathetic caprices of human emotion and feeling?
A current retreat convention helped to offer a solution. “Our Lord stands on the door of your coronary heart and knocks,” retreatants had been advised. “Your job is solely to shortly open the door broad and kindly invite Him inside.” Each Catholic has heard this analogy a thousand and one instances, however for some motive it hit in another way this time. Maybe, after I was spending so many hours looking for Our Lord within the deepest recesses of my soul, He was nonetheless standing on the door. I used to be too busy anxiously looking out each nook of my soul to listen to His refined knocking. I used to be making ready myself to go on the expedition of a lifetime in an effort to discover my pearl of nice value, however all of the whereas all I needed to do was simply open the door.
These ideas necessitated a brand new decision: to start prayer by first opening broad the door of my coronary heart and warmly welcoming the Divine Visitor therein. After all that is the best of concepts with which even novices are well-acquainted, however once more, easy is commonly profound.
Just a few extra ideas. Simply because the door is open doesn’t essentially imply that the Visitor will come inside. It’s His prerogative to stay outdoors if He needs. He might additionally select to give up knocking for a time and even keep away altogether in an effort to watch from afar. What ought to my conduct be in such circumstances? I ought to merely hold the door open to Him for every time he chooses to enter once more. I ought to hold the door shut to all others and preserve fixed vigilance in an effort to hold the state of my soul simply as He needs it. I ought to quiet all noise and hear intently ought to He knock once more. I mustn’t change into anxious and exit of myself looking for Him. I ought to stay at peace, assured that He is aware of the place and the way to discover me ought to He want to go to once more.
It’s true that Our Lord advised us to knock so that His Coronary heart is perhaps opened to us, however doesn’t He all the time first set the instance for us? Can it’s denied that He knocks on the door of our poor hearts and patiently waits for us to open them to Him? Can we not say to Him, “Knock on the door of my coronary heart, and it shall be opened to You?”
