The Master Lover

The will of God is the great sun
to which the soul, like the sunflower,
has to be always turned (James Alberione).

'Oh, I didn't love her because it was right. I just loved her.'

These lines from the film version of The Horse Whisperer seem to say much about our relationship with God, with others and with ourselves. They seem Godly.

We are often confronted with the question why God continually loves people who continually think less of that love. It seems not right. God could have just loved those who love in return and it will be perfect. God could have just left the lost sheep in that state and it would be just. The sheep has chosen to separate from the fold anyway. But God is not like that. As an author puts it: 'God loves each of us not because we are good or bad. God loves us first of all because we are God's child.' Yes, God, the Master Lover, just loves us! And he will fight for His love for us first of all from Himself and the desire that such love be selfish on His part... more than we'll ever know.

The Sacred Scriptures as God's Love Letter

The truth is that God loves us from the beginning and it is his desire to reveal himself to us. Did he not send his only begotten son Jesus Christ as his greatest gift to humankind in order to manifest his love? In other words, God's presence is already within us. "My word is very near you; it is already in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can put it into practice." (Deut. 30:14)

God wants to be made known and wants to become our ever-present companion on the journey. We are not left alone to face the challenging task of discerning God's ways in the world. And more than anywhere else, God reveals himself in his creation and in the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptures is where God speaks his words and offers his gift of love. The Sacred Scriptures is God's love letter to every human person. The Scriptures is where we can encounter our God and know Him better (a trysting place, rendezvous, isang pook tagpuan). And here, we can say that discernment is recognizing and giving attention to God's loving presence in our life as revealed in the Holy Bible.

The Word of God in Creation

God as the creator and provider of the universe has done everything simply by uttering a word. Even in creation, he seems to be always calling out. He calls things to him. He calls creatures into existence: there is no light, God calls, and the light becomes present; there is nothing in the waters, on the earth and in the skies; God calls, and living creatures fill the emptiness. God creates by calling, and he sees that everything is good.

Thus from the outset of scripture we have the tremendous, commanding (literally), creating, effective voice of God: Let there be ... Let there be ... And it came to pass. When it was time to create the human person, the story is a little different in form, yet still the same. He breathes life into the clay of the earth as if it were some kind of powerful command, a call to life, to participation in his own life.

The story of humankind begins in blessing but continues in Genesis 3 where it tells that the Creator God walks leisurely in the garden at the time of evening breeze. Even though our first parents had already disobeyed God's command not to eat of the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God still seeks them out. God's voice echoes through the garden, 'Where are you?' (Gen 3:9) -- a call for relationship.

Indeed spiritual discernment is rooted in our loving relationship with God described in Genesis 1, 27-28:

So God created humankind in his image,

In the image of God he created them,

Male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them,

"Be fruitful and multiply...."

Even if we have fallen and turned away from him, he never stops loving us and he continues to bless us. He patiently waits for our return. And in our return, he does not judge. He only opens his arms to welcome us back in his loving and comforting embrace. To be grounded in such love and blessing means to be at home with God, to be secure in the Father's presence, and at peace with his desire for us. Because God's love is perfect and unending, we can confidently trust in God's guidance and enter the journey of discernment with peaceful hearts.

The Will of God in the Scriptures

God reveals his will in the Scriptures. Psalm 78 and 106 reflect the two kinds of will in a tug-of-war: the divine will and plan, and then the human will struggling to win its own plan. Here, the weaknesses, and wrongful human tendencies are finding ways to dominate and enslave the person, thus, losing the way back to the Heavenly Father: paradise and perfect happiness which every human being desires.

Vocation and response then are a single thread that runs through the whole of Scripture. Vocation and response of the people of Israel as well as the vocation and response of individuals. In the process of reading the Scriptures, we will discover that God speaks and reveals his will to our soul. According to Blessed James Alberione, the will of God is the great sun to which the soul, like the sunflower, has to be always turned.(DF43)

If Sacred Scripture is God's word, and vocation is God's personal call to us, then there is much in Sacred Scriptures and in Creation that will help us notice and give attention to God's love for us and help perceive his will and answer our own call. In calling us, and in our failure to respond, God still persists. And as we learn to listen more faithfully to the Spirit who reveals truth, we are confirmed in our steps and movements, and are empowered to fulfill our call.

LISTEN! God speaks in the Silence of our hearts.

The journey of discernment begins with purification by reflecting on the relationship between God and us. In discovering the great wonder of God who is love, we realize our own sinfulness and weaknesses, and a deep longing of perfect happiness with the One who springs from the heart. Purification therefore is a process of breaking away from superficialities and ego-defences, of detachment from sinful inclinations, wrongful habits and selfish affections. Purification is recovering one’s original beauty and goodness as a human person and as a child of God who is made in His own image.

The stage of superficiality consists in the important elements needed to help the discerner acquire a profound disposition in order to perceive the desire and will of God, and in distinguishing the obstacles which affect choices and decisions. The main objective of this stage of spiritual discernment is to lead the searcher to answer two important and basic questions: 1) Who Am I? 2) Who is God?

Prayer, silent listening, noticing, admiration, faith, humility and purification are necessary to put a person in a proper disposition as he/she starts her/ his journey of discernment. Here, the discerner is led to discover and know more about the loving presence of God in daily experiences and distinguish his voice as he calls us.

Let us take a closer look at the story of Elijah. It is a story of God speaking in silence…

Elijah's encounter with God (1 Kings 19, 11-14)

Many times, when we pray, especially when we pray about our vocation, or about the desire and the will of God for us, we ask for a sign. We ask for a visible, audible and specific sign to assure us that we are not making a mistake, and that it will guarantee our contentment and bring peace to our confusion and crisis of choice. When we pray, we wait for an overwhelming experience of God as a response to our longings, expecting to almost hear his voice in our very ears because we are a people of certainty who welcome not and fear most what error brings.

But we should learn from Elijah who stood on the mountain waiting for God to pass by. There was the windstorm which rent the mountains and broke the rock into pieces, the storm and the earthquake, and the fire. All these were supposed to be signs of God's power. But they are not God, and God is not in them. Then came the silent murmur of the gentle breeze. Elijah recognized the presence of God in this and he goes out to meet him, face to face. The prophet perceived God, not in great signs, but in silence and gentleness.

And when God gave the prophet his mission, it is not primarily a message of consolation because it entails a lot of sacrifice and trials. There is no concession to the prophet's fears.

Jesus himself has totally mastered and continue to teach us how to handle silence. He often withdrew from the crowd and went to a solitary place to encounter his heavenly Father. It is in silence that we can test the validity of our emotional crowd-induced experiences. Jesus was ever attentive to the silent but clear voice of His Father. Jesus was ever sensitive to the desire and will of God. And it is Jesus who tells us that the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened (Lk. 11, 10). Our Father knows what we need even before we ask him, and that he will not hold back anything that we need.

We sometimes underestimate the value of silence, and we tend to take for granted the importance of what happens during silence. We expect our experience of God to be a "moving" thing, but it is not always so. More often it is more like the experience of sheer silence, or a gentle breeze touching our ears saying "Fear not, my beloved, I am just here and will always be here." Yes, things can happen to us in silence that would never happen in noise. All it takes is silent listening. It is in the very depth and peace of our inner soul, where deep convictions are born.

In the silence of God, is perfect love. And with this love the journey of discernment begins. It is in silence that we are able to notice God's nearness and hear and distinguish His gentle but unique voice from other deceiving voices. It is in silence that we can begin to 'purge' ourselves from the obstacles which affect our choices and hinder us from hearing the voice of God and perceiving his loving desire for us. It is in the silence that we can see beyond the immediate and transient. It is in silence that we enter more into prayer and communion with Christ. Most of all, it is in the silence of God that faith is born, because it is in the silence of our hearts that God speaks louder.

Do you hear other voices within your silence? What did you hear? Whose voices did you hear (parents, teachers, priests, media, peers)? Do you also hear God’s voice?

Yes, God speaks in the SILENCE of our hearts. He uses our feelings and emotions to manifest his desire for us. What is our deepest desire? What is God’s desire for us? LISTEN!

We would only know the answer if we truly know who we are. See you in the next article: WHO AM I?

Wondering? Pondering?

Our world today is evolving rapidly. Our life now is becoming more and more dependent on machines, computers and robots. We want everything to be there at the click of our finger... everything instant!

But as soon as we wake up in the morning, we are already confronted with confusing choices… We live in the daily question-raising tension of what our heart truly desires… What do I wear? Where do I go? What do I like? What am I going to do with my life? But there are moments when we also deeply WONDER what God desires for us, because every person in the most secret part of one’s heart longs and thirsts for something more. Every human being has a hunger for the Divine. And everyday, with all the choices that is laid before us, we struggle in discovering what God’s will is for us.

Life is a continuous journey of search and choices. It is a journey of noticing the gentle presence of God in our daily experiences. Life is a journey of discernment of the will of God in our life. It is a journey of spirit. But sometimes we find ourselves immersed in a context of profound change characterized by difficulties, conflict, struggle and crisis. How come? What should we really do? How? That is why discernment is also associated with crisis, decision, critique, and renewal. But what really is discernment? How can it help us discover God's will and desire for us? How can it be used in the key moments of our lives?

Deriving from the Latin word discernere, to discern means to separate or distinguish. It connotes an exercise both of the intellect and emotions/feelings leading to an evaluation prior to a decision. It speaks both of consolation and desolation; of light and darkness. It also means to see the heart of the matter with spiritual eyes; from God's vantage point, to see beneath the surface of events, to see beyond the immediate and transient. We can therefore say that discernment is a spiritual process of noticing the gentle and loving presence of God in our life and distinguishing his gentle voice so that we can be led to the direction in which the Spirit is leading (Pagpansin sa pagpapadama ng pagmamahal ng Diyos at paghuhubad ng mga palamuting hindi mahalaga sa buhay upang marinig at mabatid ang Kanyang tunay na tawag at kalooban).

Discernment helps distinguish the way of life from the way of death. So when some fire of passion suddenly bursts into flame at certain moments … wondering begins. In our experience of this fire in our hearts, we start to notice the beauty of Someone who mysteriously and continuously touches the very depths of our being. Then, a great admiration and attraction begins. We are aware that there is something happening inside us, yet, we are unable to name it. There are interior stirrings which are difficult to explain, yet, we are never more absorbed by the all-embracing mystery of being alive. We are simply drawn into something wonderful and beautiful. We are drawn to Someone who loves us and makes us feel special. We are drawn to the Lover himself who is infinitely good and perfect in his love. How can we notice, then, the gentle passing of God in our life and see the heart of the matter from His vantage point with the eyes of faith? How do we learn to see beneath the superficialities of events, and to see beyond the immediate and transient? How can we distinguish the voice of God from other voices that speak to us? How can we let our hearts beat in harmony with the heart of Christ? Where can we search, and then find?...

Then, we PONDER more... Questions continue to come one after the other. And it will not go away, no matter how hard we try to answer them or deny them. Questions like “Who am I?”, “What is my purpose in life?”, “What is it that God wants me to do?” continue to echo in our minds even if we have already given answers to them at some moments in our life. They keep on repeating and repeating. Is it because we haven’t really understood them? Or we have not listened well to what our heart truly desires? To LISTEN to these questions, to ponder and take them seriously is to discover the beginning of a call…. A vocation … A call to love... A call from God.

But with all the many voices and noises around us, how do we LISTEN? ... We shall probe deeper and further in the next post... See you!