Longing in the Darkness...
Many of us have experienced this kind of moment at least once in our lives... darkness. It's impossible to feel good about anything. Perhaps I did something I completely regret. Perhaps everything went wrong at once. Perhaps I'm just frustrated with myself for making the same mistakes over and over and over again. Where is God? In these moments, I can't see Him, can't feel Him... I deeply want to find Him, to feel His presence and know that everything is going to be OK. But He remains absent. All that remains is silence.
Mother Theresa endured a similar experience, but courtesy of Fr. Joseph Neuner, SJ, she managed to realize something incredibly insightful --- that the deep longing for God is in itself a sign of His presence and action in the soul. For who else gives us that desire but God himself? Better than the saccharine sentimentality of "Footsteps" or the frustration of reading passage after passage in the Bible only to find nothing you can relate to, Mother Theresa and Fr. Neuner offer us an answer --- our desire itself is a sign of His presence. It probably won't make us feel better, but it offers a concrete proof that He is still with us in the midst of the darkness.
Peace,
Chris
Mother Theresa endured a similar experience, but courtesy of Fr. Joseph Neuner, SJ, she managed to realize something incredibly insightful --- that the deep longing for God is in itself a sign of His presence and action in the soul. For who else gives us that desire but God himself? Better than the saccharine sentimentality of "Footsteps" or the frustration of reading passage after passage in the Bible only to find nothing you can relate to, Mother Theresa and Fr. Neuner offer us an answer --- our desire itself is a sign of His presence. It probably won't make us feel better, but it offers a concrete proof that He is still with us in the midst of the darkness.
Peace,
Chris