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The Grace of God in Winter
Those of us who have worked a 9 to 5 schedule know
that in the winter we leave our office or the workplace
in the early darkness of the season. And unless we
intentionally position ourselves --- while at work or
otherwise --- we let pass with little notice that particular
movement of light diminishing into darkness. As one of
the privileged staff of Mercy Center I am often, and
fortunately, distracted in the winter by beauty of the
setting sun; so much so that I make every effort to be
present to the sun's rising and setting of each day. The
gift of being present to the twilights and dawns of our
days is the divine wonder of getting caught in the mystery
and moments of transcedence. We experience the breathtaking
sunsets that draw us deep into contemplation, but
there are the less extravagant morning and evening
displays of winter gray more reflective of our less than
mystical everyday lives.
Winter's spiritual invitation has many callings, from the
softer stirrings of melancholy or fallowness anticipating
fruits of Spring to the more harsh exposure of sorrow and
deep chill in need of warm embrace. No matter our spiritual inclinations, winter is always a time for retreat
with its affinity to stillness, home, haven, withdrawal,
refuge, abandonment. Many a spiritual writer has
reflected on the spiritual dimensions of presence, of light
and darkness, and each winter I return to the reflections
of Jean-Pierre de Caussade (Abandonment to Divine
Providence) to guide me into the presence of God's grace
in the coming and going of winter days:
God reveals himself to us through the most commonplace
happenings in a way just as mysterious and just as truly
and as worthy of adoration as in the great occurrences of
history and the Scriptures.
Every moment reveals God to us. Faith is our light in this
life. Faith unlocks God's treasury. It is the key to all the
vastness of his wisdom. There is no peace more wonderful
than the peace we enjoy when faith shows us God in
all created things. All that is dark becomes light. Faith
pierces through the darkest shadows and the thickest
clouds to reach the truth, embraces it and can never be
torn from it.
The realization that God is active in all that happens
at every moment is the deepest knowledge we can have
in this life of the things of God. It is a continuous
revelation ... It is a foretaste of paradise, which is, in
this life, only sensed imperfectly through a veil of
shadows. When God gives himself thus, the commonplace
becomes extraordinary. The path along which we go is a
miracle and a constant delight ... turning all the ordinary
affairs of life into things which are rare and wonderful.
May you be warmly embraced by God's presence in the
absence of winter's light, and may God's grace illuminate
your every season of this new year.
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