Another quote from the booklet Reflecting on the Serenity Prayer by
Philip St. Romaine:
“We can lose serenity . . . by neglecting
to nurture our faith. During such times, we are thrown back upon our own
resources. Anxious preoccupation returns along with the willful desire to
manipulate the world and other people to conform to our own deluded model of
happiness.”
We live in a perpetual
tug-of-war between the states of serenity or spiritual happiness on one hand
and the anxiety and preoccupation that exists when we think we are the authors
of our own happiness.
Someone might object: “I have
created a life of happiness for myself,” but how long will it last? And what
small thing or big thing might occur to change the circumstances that
such worldly happiness depends on?
Examine your own life and see
whether or not these observations are true. How often have you perhaps created
your own happiness only to see it dissolve or be wiped away suddenly and
unexpectedly? Does your happiness depend on freedom from care or anxiety? Does
it depend on a certain relationship, or measure of success? I particularly like
St.Romaine’s mention of the willful
desire to manipulate the world and other people. How has that project gone
for you? Is it working?
Of course not. And if you are
able to understand this right now, then you are already someone who has had the
experience of existential serenity, or even have it regularly and consistently.
“My shepherd will supply my
need,” the old hymn goes. God is providing you with everything you truly need,
not necessarily with anything you think you want. And what it takes to “switch
modes” between worldly and spiritual serenity is simply the thought that you
are a child of a benevolent God who is working out your greatest needs through
the circumstances of your life. (And, of course, when the going gets rough, we
sometimes think He is doing so in spite of the circumstances of our
lives.)
In the Gospel for today’s Mass
(Thursday of 11th week in Ordinary Time), Jesus reminds us that ”your Father knows what you need before you
ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8) And we must never forget that a great deal of time,
we often don’t know what we truly need since we cannot see the bigger picture
or trace the trajectory of our lives.
Never forget what St. Paul
promises: All things work together for
good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Romans
8:28)
I was inspired this morning by
reading a bit of the biography of a little-known saint, a 13th
century mystic: “In the last eleven years of her life she became completely
blind, an affliction she accepted as an occasion for greater detachment from
the visible world. When she felt herself close to death she received a vision
of the Lord, advising her to praise God for the graces she had received, to
pray for the conversion of sinners, and to rely on God alone.” (emphasis
mine). (.This was found in Give Us this Day, June edition, p. 166.)
God bless you
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