“LIVE + JESUS” The Presence of God

Scriptural References Mt 18: 18-20 (where 2 or more are…) Mt 17: 1-5 (Transfiguration) Mt 14: 25-33 (walking on water) Mt 12: 16-22 (mercy of Jesus) Lk 10: 38-42 (Martha & Mary) 1 Kings 19: 9-13a (God in whisper)

Saying of De Sales Keep yourself constantly in God’s presence in the manner you already know

Placing yourself in God’s presence God is omnipresent (everything/everyone) Be attentive to this Ps 139: Yahweh, I know you are near. Present w/i our heart and soul. He is the heart of our heart, the soul of our soul. “In him we live, and move, and have our being.” (St. Paul) Consider the Lord in His glorified humanity gazing on you particularly at prayer.

Placing yourself in God’s presence Use imagination to picture the Lord in his sacred humanity You may wish to be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Recall: where 2 or more are gathered… This demands withdrawing your soul from every other object and make it attentive only to God’s presence (quieting down, shutting out)

Placing yourself in God’s presence It’s a matter of the will No faculty is needed Rest, quiet, will what God wants Union of hearts, wills, and minds

Distractions When beset with preoccupations, w/o worrying about them, remain calm amid distractions and be satisfied to spend the appointed time of prayer, quietly and peacefully, doing nothing in God’s presence, content simply to be there w/o wishing either to feel His presence or to make an act of devotion. Sit there, in inner and outer tranquility and reverence, convinced that this patience is a powerful prayer before God.

Why we come into the presence of God: 1st reason To render God honor, praise—w/o His speaking to us or us to Him. We acknowledge we are His creatures; He is our God. We show our willingness & gratitude to be in His service

Why we come into the presence of God: 2nd reason To speak to God & to hear God speak to us through inspirations and the inner stirrings of our Heart (cor ad cor)

Which reason draws us? The individual situation dictates which reason is needed. One is not qualitatively better than the other.

Abandonment Required The simple practice of the presence of God is effected by a total abandonment of oneself to Holy Providence (a means to union). Get rid of distractions: Need to simplify one’s spirit in every way Suppress reflection on past, present, future Look only to God, forget oneself Unite your spirit with God’s

Abandonment Required One doesn’t attach oneself tenderly to how one feels, or to what the results of prayer might be. One might in fact affectively feel nothing. If the focus in the prayer is upon waiting before God in loving attention, then the receiving of gifts like warmth, spiritual thoughts and attractions are secondary.

Holy Indifference “Ask for nothing, refuse nothing.” Salesian liberty: a freedom to serve To wish what God wants, to be at God’s good pleasure

When coming into God’s presence… Should you be drawn to a particular affection, follow it for it will bind you to God—don’t waste time trying to understand what you’re doing or how you’re praying

When coming into God’s presence… The best prayer is that which keeps us so occupied with God that we don’t think about ourselves, with what we are doing. Be at peace & walk along the path God marks out for you.

Staying in God’s presence Ask for grace. Intellect & will become active. By using your understanding or will to make acts to God, either looking upon Him or some other thing for love of Him; or not looking at all but speaking to Him; or neither looking nor speaking, but simply staying where He has put you, like a statue in his niche (Treatise, Vol. 1, p. 298)

Staying in God’s presence Thoughts on rising Morning Offering Direction of Intention Recognition of Christ in others Evening, night prayer Examination of Conscience Thoughts on retiring These are all designed to habituate one to infuse each moment with a sense of divine presence & purpose Allow us to pray continuously; stay united with God.

Thoughts regarding God’s presence Sometimes we must be content with staying in God’s presence for only a short time (St. Jane) How blessed are they who are lost in the presence of God that they can echo Paul’s sentiment: “I live now, no longer I, but Jesus Christ lives in me.”

Thoughts regarding God’s presence A well-ordered exterior results from an awareness of God’s presence Spirituality is about seeing the hand of God, the activity of God, the presence of God in our lives. Seeing God’s presence in all things: the beauty, the shadows Oh, where can I run from your love? If I climb to the heavens you are there …

Questions regarding God’s presence Do we recognize God’s presence? In all things? In all persons? At all times? Where do we struggle? Where do we not even think about God’s presence

Questions regarding God’s presence Should everything speak of God’s presence? Why is this presence often questioned or denied? Where is God in tragedies? Mishaps? Evil? Death of a young child? A loved one? Someone killed by a drunken driver? In destruction (nature)? In recent beheadings related to Iraqi situation? In divorce? Cancer?

Questioning God’s presence Are not WE the presence of God?

Keep in the presence of God In the present moment Directing you intention towards God To achieve Union with God