Awareness and Its Requirements

The will of God is manifest in each moment; an immense ocean which the heart

only fathoms in so far as it overflows with faith, trust, and love.

Jean Pierre de Caussade                                                                                                             Cited in Mystical Hours

Brother Teasdale gives us some necessary background on this idea: 

“Although we typically think of present moment awareness as a Buddhist principle, Jean Pierre Caussade (1675-1751) a French Jesuit and author of the classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence, understood well the importance of mindfulness to the present moment. He realized, from his own direct mystical inner experience and to his awareness, that the divine will reveal itself from moment to moment. 

What God requires of us in each moment is to surrender to Him, the deepening of our love for him, and his will, and our compassionate, loving response to all others. But there is more! God’s will is not static; it is pure immensity, an ocean of unlimited possibilities. God’s will embraces the totality of our development and faith. Trust and love are the keys that open us to the fullness of God’s will for us.”

At times in my life, I have had some reservations and trouble understanding the whole concept of the will of God… Maybe that is because there is a willful streak in me that dislikes authority, and being or having to be in a place of submission? Or it can be simply not a more complete understanding, and a different word choice that makes the difference!

 There are many questions that this quote brings up for me… questions like: What is the true difference between surrender and submission; the difference between being willing and being willful; and the sense of powerlessness when there is the claim of an almighty God, or omnipotence; which from the various claims about the nature of God such as omniscience, and omnipresence, is the one that I have come to reject. 

For today, and for this space, I would share that my outlook on the will of God has been effectively replaced for me, by making the claim of omnipresence, and a divine companionship; as being always available to our awareness, even if we see or sense it not. 

For me, the will of God can most often be replaced by the Holy Spirit, and her pervasive compassionate influences on our lives; that She is ever-present and ever-available to us in both joy and distress, and that the graces she bestows can override any sense of stubborn will. She will open us to those transformative experiences that deepen and ripen our souls. The Gifts of The Spirit also brings me to this: In our spiritual quest for healing and wholeness, for compassion and justice, it is our awareness of her guidance, her presence, her transforming power that brings us grace, truth, and any sense of fulfillment.