“Man must not anticipate the Providence that guides him” (St Vincent de Paul).
It is a spiritual art to be “in tune” with Divine Providence, or in other words, to follow in the footsteps of the Holy Spirit.
Because we are too wrapped up in earthly realities, or because we are attached to our own ideas, illusions and all sorts of things, we tend not to perceive sufficiently the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In such circumstances it is as if we put up a barrier to Him, so that He cannot reach us or has great difficulty in communicating to us what He has in mind in this or that situation.
But it can also happen that we get ahead of the Holy Spirit, as St Vincent de Paul mentions in today’s word. This happens when we are not able to wait for the Holy Spirit’s guidance to become clear to us and we do not have the patience to wait for His light.
So, on the one hand, it is a certain laziness that prevents us from immediately following the guidance of the Spirit, making discipleship of the Lord more burdensome and leading us to miss the opportunities that come our way. On the other hand, an impatient haste makes the journey too hectic and, moreover, runs the risk of leading us astray, thus creating obstacles for the Holy Spirit which He will then have to remove.
Both tendencies must be avoided. An intense spiritual journey is needed to overcome both our laziness and our tendency to rush.
If we ask the Holy Spirit to instruct us in this regard, He will not fail to teach us to follow His guidance according to God’s plan. Then we will learn to recognise our omissions or our haste more quickly, and we will know how to correct them with His gracious help.