Showing all posts in 3 Minutes for God the Father

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Prov. 3:5–6)

Once again, the Book of Proverbs warns us not to rely primarily on our own abilities. This also applies to wisdom, the great natural gift that the Lord bestows upon us. However, it should not be the guiding principle of our lives. That would indeed be foolish, for it is a limited, created gift and requires the supernatural light of God to discern things in their depth. This is why the Lord invites us to trust in Him with “all our heart.” God is the true rock upon which our lives are built—the One who never wavers. If we take this to heart, our natural abilities will be used by God and take their rightful place. The proper order will be established.

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“Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” (Prov. 3:7)

How foolish to pride oneself on one’s gifts and thereby elevate oneself above others. What have we not received from our Father? Even if we have contributed through diligence and study, everything has still been given to us by God.

It is a simple realization, yet crucial to the fundamental attitude of our lives: if we attribute everything to God and express this accordingly, divine wisdom will take root in our souls. The honor and praise of God come first for us. We will therefore be careful not to put ourselves in the spotlight or view ourselves with vanity.

The fear of God at work within us—as a gift of the Spirit—will ensure that we do not seek to rob our heavenly Father of His glory before others. This can happen easily, and we may not even realize it. Yet whenever it happens and we fail to establish, at least inwardly, a grateful connection with God, we obscure the truth instead of giving glory to the One to whom it is due.

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“He who listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of evil.” (Proverbs 1:33).

Our Father makes it easy for us to gain wisdom and live in the security we long for. It has always been this way, even in the days of a carefree life in Paradise. As long as humanity listened to God, life was in perfect unity with our loving heavenly Father before the Fall. But then disaster struck. Disobedience and listening to the devil’s tempting voices brought it about.

Now, we humans no longer live in Paradise and must suffer the consequences of its loss. Yet our Father has not abandoned us to this calamity. He Himself came to us in His Son to free us from the chains of guilt.

And even today, the same is true. We are called to listen to our Father and follow His instructions: “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Prov. 2:6)

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“Don’t think so much about who is for or against you, rather give all your care, that God be with you in everything you do.” (Thomas à Kempis)

Time and again, spiritual teachers remind us that we shouldn’t concern ourselves so much with other people—especially with thinking about their attitudes toward us. Otherwise, we very easily fall into all kinds of assumptions and are not immune to lending an ear to speculation or even rumors. In this way, they find their way into us.

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“Lord, my God, my heart shall belong to you alone. You are my peace and my life; you are my salvation. I will seek only you, be seized by you alone, and irrevocably belong to you.” (St. Peter Claver)

This is the prayer of consecration of the great saint who served the souls of African slaves with unshakable fidelity and endured their unimaginable physical suffering (Bible commentary from September 9).

Filled with deep piety, he carried out his heroic service until the end of his fruitful life.

Through this prayer, we can begin to understand how deeply his heart was focused on our Father. When our hearts belong to God, we desire nothing more than to do His will completely. Our Father drew his heart to Himself and filled St. Peter Claver entirely with Himself, just as the saint had asked. St. Peter Claver, so to speak, gave our Father free and loving disposal over his life because God was his peace and his salvation. He sought Him and allowed himself to be seized by Him.

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“Learn to live in such a way that your death will be sweet. Keep your heart free and trained up towards God in heaven—you have no lasting citizenship here.” (Thomas à Kempis)

A sweet hour of death—what a wonderful prospect! This can mean nothing other than looking forward to death, or rather, looking forward to returning home to the heavenly Father.

And indeed: When we realize that we are hastening toward our Father every day, who guides and accompanies us on our journey through this earthly life, our hearts can be set ablaze and our longing to live with our Father in eternity grows stronger.

Of course, we still have our mission to fulfill. We do this best when we keep our eyes fixed on our Father, just as the Son of God always did the Father’s will.

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“Neither physical nor geographical circumstances can restrict the freedom of loving souls.” (St. Bernard of Clairvaux).

The art of true love lies in the ability to integrate everything into something greater when one learns to see it from the perspective of our Heavenly Father. Even suffering and the most difficult circumstances can be overcome when the soul unites with God. In a sense, the soul becomes invincible because it finds the path to union with God amidst all circumstances. Thus, it does not allow itself to be overcome by negative circumstances and retains its freedom.

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“Always hold fast to Me and go deep within.” (Inner Word).

No matter what trials we face, inner or outer, and even if we are unable to perceive God’s presence in them, the Word urges us to hold fast to our Father. It is not our feelings that provide security on our journey with God through this time, but rather the Word of God and His will to guide us. We can absolutely rely on this. If we sincerely strive to live in a state of grace—that is, in harmony with God’s will—we can entrust ourselves to it without question or doubt. If we have strayed from the right path, we must immediately return to God so that we may receive His grace once again and live in it. God’s love always surrounds us, urging us either to hold fast to Him or to turn back to Him.

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“The root of love should be the very depths of your heart: Nothing but good can spring from this root.” (St. Augustine)

At first glance, this is a surprising statement by St. Augustine. It brings to mind Jesus’ words that everything unclean comes from the human heart: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.” (Mark 7:21–23)

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“To depart from You is to die; to return to You is to rise; to dwell with You is to live.” (St. Augustine)

Our spiritual life dies when we stray from the path with God and turn once more to the promises of this world. The life of grace that has always sustained us begins to fade from our souls. The immediate, tender, and natural closeness of God—which gives true meaning to life—wanes. This is also true, to a certain extent, when we have been given a calling by our Father that we neglect and then lose. The grace‑filled surge we received through the call of our heavenly Father weakens, and even if we remain faithful to the commandments in the rest of our lives, something unfulfilled still remains in the soul!

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