MARY, OUR MOTHER

Mark Mallett

—Spiritual Food For Thought—

The Present Time

YES, this is the time to truly wait and pray in The Bastion. The waiting is the hardest part, especially when it seems as though we are on the cusp of enormous change… But timing is everything. The temptations to rush God, to question His delay, to doubt His presence—will only intensify as we reach deeper into the days of change.

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard "delay," but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Pt 3:9)

Is not this waiting also part of the purification of our souls? It is precisely this "delay" which leads us to surrender, to abandon more and more to God’s mysterious will. When you learn to abandon yourself to Him in absolutely everything, then you will find the secret joy on earth: the will of God is our food. I will consume it, whether it is sweet or whether it is sour, because it will always be the best spiritual food for me. Whether He says go to the left or go to the right or move forward or simply sit still, it doesn’t matter—His will is found within it, and that is enough.

Some of you ask me about "sacred refuges," or whether you should move to the city, or out of the city, or buy land, or get off the grid etc. etc. And my answer is this: The safest place to be is in the will of God. So if He wants you in New York City, then that’s where you need to be. And if you aren’t sure what He is asking of you, and you have no peace, then do nothing. Pray instead, saying, "Lord, I want to follow you. I will do whatever you ask of me. But I am not certain what your will is today. And so, I will simply wait." If you pray like this, if you are open and docile to His holy will, then you have nothing to be afraid of. You will not miss what God intends for you, or at the very least, you are giving Him permission to do whatever He desires. Remember,

All things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

How hard it is for us to accept His timing! How our flesh recoils at the deep darkness which faith must enter into! How restless we become when God’s agenda is not what we would do if we were in charge. But He looks at us intently with love and says to us this day:

I AM.

That is to say, He is right there, right beside you. He has not forgotten you, your needs, your mission, and His plan for the world. He is not somewhere "out there," but here, now, in the present.

I AM.

LISTEN TO THE HOLY FATHER

After posting Parts I and II of To the Bastion, I came across these words from the Holy Father. Let them be a confirmation of what God is asking of you and I in this present time of change…

The present time is a providential occasion for listening again with simplicity, purity of heart and fidelity to how Christ reminds us that we are not servants but friends. He instructs us in order that we might remain in his love without molding ourselves to the messages of this world. Let us not be deaf to his Word. Let us learn from Him. Let us imitate his way of life. Let us be sowers of the Word. In this way, with all of our lives, with the joy of knowing we are loved by Jesus, who we can call brother, we will be valid instruments for Him to continue drawing everyone to Himself with the mercy that flows from his Cross… —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Message to the Third American Missionary Congress, August 14th, 2008; Catholic News Agency

Published in: DAILY JOURNAL, TIME OF GRACE | on August 19th, 2008 |