“some souls, instead of abandoning themselves to God and cooperating with Him, hamper Him by their indiscreet activity or resistance” (St. John of the Cross). 

Have you ever walked somewhere with a purpose and suddenly found yourself questioning why you began to walk in that direction? You know there was a reason but your suddenly clueless as to what it was. The initial temptation (specially in a crowd of people) is to just keep going as though you knew where you were headed because it beats embarrassing yourself by turning back or standing in place trying to figure it out. The root of this is good old pride. I know I have been guilty of this.

Father Peter Ryan shared his insight into our life of discernment. He shared a refreshing reminder of our obedient dependence on Gods voice. He reminded us that there are specific desires God places in our heart, and that our surrendered response to his call is what springs us forward in holiness. But the most important thing he mentioned in all of this was our active engagement in the daily discernment of life, in the present moment. The daily yes we give to each moment lived is a practice of our yes to God’s plan for our life. He gave the example of a cathedral being built. We do not see the cathedral during the process of construction, we only see the pile of stones that will eventually form the awe-inspiring structure. The stones represent our life as a work in progress. He recalled that in our limited humanity we only see the stones used by the builder but not their fulfillment. Our faithful trust in God’s work with our life is what makes way for the beauty of his house of worship. Our cooperation to his inspiration in our daily lives is what allows him to keep building. Our Yes to his daily invitations permits the stones in our life to become the cornerstones to our vocational state of life in the future. It begins now! Discernment requires: detachment, motivation, willingness to “try to respond even if we are not 100% sure it is the right direction. It requires an ongoing act of surrender. Even when we stand in the midst of our life journey wondering where we were headed, forgetting the destination and being unsure of what our next step should be; there is a hope that we find in the hands of Jesus who walks with us and if we only humble ourselves in these times of uncertainty he will take us by the hand and lead.

What if we were to willingly adapt ourselves to a task that placed us on the pure and reliable road that leads to union? A road that required us to walk not with our own eyes but with the eyes of God. A road that required the confident Yes that Jesus seeks of us. Would we be asking God to adapt to our plans in life or would we plead for him to set them for us.

Look Jesus in the eyes and tell him to change and adapt to you. You will see that you are no longer looking at God but at your own selfish reflection. A god you have created to fit your every desire, your every advance in the world, your every passion. Is this innovation or is it isolation?

What if everyday you were challenged with a request from God that required abandon, trust, and surrender? What if you knew of God’s goodness and his intention for your life, would it change your receptivity toward him? Would you question his motive, would you try to convince him of a faster, easier way to do it? The way to holiness is not founded on innovation, advances in the world, or upgrades. Jesus’ way never changes, it never conforms, it never advances for gain’s sake. He’s way is simply “old-fashioned goodness” and it does not wow the faithless, or impress the unbeliever but it does open new doors to a never-ending enterprise of Love.

Will you say Yes!