Sensing Your Hidden Presence_ Toward Intimacy With God - Ignacio Larranaga

7/15/2019 Sensing Your Hidden Presence_ Toward Intimacy With God - Ignacio Larranaga

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SENSING YOUR

HIDDE PRESENCE

wd tm wth Gd

by gnacio arrafagaT W Dckm

R cRv

EDITIONS PAULINS



Orignay p ubshed as by Ediones Pauinas-Cefep al, Santiag, Cie.

Phototypesetting: Es Ps

Cover M

ISBN 2-89039-524-3Legal Deposit 1st Quarter 1992 Bibliotque nationale du Qubec National ibrary of Canada

© 1992 Editions Paulines250, boul. SaintFranois odSerbrooke QC

j2B9

Canada

All rgts reserved or all countries.



Contents

Preface o the Englih Ediion 7

Preface 0 13

Chapter 1 Relecon upon Cerain Givenabout Prayer o o 19

Chapter 2 Like ne Who Could See he Inviibe 33

Chapter 3 Step o he Encouner 75

Chapter 4 Adore and Conemplae

75Chapter 5 Prayer and Life 235

Chaper 6 eu a Prar 27

Concuion 327

Book for Al Seaon 33

Selected Bibliography 333

5





Preface o he English Ediion

When wrote this book hd no intention other thnto shout s in times pst Listen sre Yhweh ou God

is the one Yhweh (Dt 649) suppose nd hope thtthis intention continues to be id or the Engishspekingpubic

God hs neer been or nyone ppbe nd concrete person; insted God is diuse ce o couds thtwe uncoer with diicuty mong the trces shdows nd

sience But tody in our technoogic society the trces oGod he been eer more ersed whie t the sme timethe trces o humnity he become irm nd more pronounced Our society ccepts nything tht is empiricyeriibe but God is not eriibe empiric ct He isrther mystery o ith

We ee the conict between our diicuty in express-ing God with symbos nd metphors nd the exct ndeident ormutions used to express science We re bothered by the dierence between the crity o scientiicmethods o reserch nd testing nd our nogous nddeductie pths or pproching God Tht is why tody

we he speci diicuty in ccepting the God o ith ndwe he the impression o witnessing the ecipse o God

Neertheess God does not need to deend His rightsOn the contrry the te o humnity is decided herebecuse in the end God is the bsoute ue nd theutimte mening o our ies

The history o securiztion hs demonstrted tht thedecine o God is indissouby inked to the decine o

7



humanity The moe God is reduced to sience and expeedfrom our ies the moe humanity is dehumanized

Nietzsche said God is dead We do not know northom south midnight rom midday good om ei Goddies and monstes are born: absurdity nausea oneiness

notngness Without God this word is a desoate andcod panet Ater a God is the ony orce capabe otaking humanity out o our egocentric withdrawa andinusing us with the oy o iing

Many yeas ago when Harod Macmian then PrimeMiister o the United Kingdom was asked where in his

opinion coud the Soiet empire begin to crack he an-swered that it was nt in the areas o economics o strategybut in the aea o phiosophy meaning that ater eachmiestone thee wi aways be an and o wht and atercrossing the street the citizen wi aways meet emptiness

n psychoogica terms the destinyate o an atheistic

society whethe it be Eastern or Western is suicideThe uniersity students o Nanterre France askedthemsees in 1968 What is the purpose in haing manythings incuding the abiity to soe the hunge probem iwe a die o boedom?

Technoogy and a o the humn scences wi be abe to

resoe the maority o human needs but they wi neer beabe to gie a pope answer to th undamenta questionregarding the meaning o ie When we are conronted byour own mystey when we expeience the strangeness obeing there being in the word as consciousness then thecentra question wi be raised chaenging our path Who

am ? here do come rom? s there a future or me andwhat is it? n other words What is the utimate meaning omy existence? These questions obigate us to make thegreat eap into the Absoute

n the end mans best riend is God We are nottreading on reigious ground here but on anthropoogica

Dostoyeski said t is impossibe to be human and notbow down; i God is reected beore an ido we bow.When God is not the true God o humanity something ese

8



becomes bsoute in the humn hert The idol rookesnd cls the herts ttention; humniy is seduced ndensled becuse it is not only ed to dherence but tofnticism dos then insted of grnting utonomy ndfreedom bsorb ensle nd destroy humnity

Mon is the indisutble ido tht domintes mosthumn reltionshis; for the mority money is the bsolute lue you re worth s much s you he Powe is theidol tht ys on humn dignity nd inites the indiiduto be like god; ower is wht most seems ike diiniztion becuse more thn ny other idol it inokes ubic

dorion There re other idos such s sex hedonismhoizontlsm ermssiens sontneiy seculrism ndso on

But these idos re the gods of sery; they rob oyengender fer led to oneiness nd their fin go isdeth They re then the enemies of humnity

We reet mns best fiend is GodBut not n oressor God For mny een tody Godis thretening nd demnding being who mkes theiries miserble They hod dee drk coniction tht theymust be freed from this oressie resence to be ble toie oyfuly nd fuly And gree One must be freed from

tht God; tht is not the God of esus ChristThe God of esus Christ is the One who interenes inour lies to se iberte nd rise humn life God iswys t our side to console nd strengthen us in thestrugge ginst ei tht oresses nd dehumnizes usWe re be to fce the mystery of ife with confidence We

re not one Eil does not he the lst word n theinfinite nd inexhustibe deth of ife there is goodnessccetnce forgieness hoe nd beuty This God is thefriend of ife nd of freedom the One who ccomniedsrel on the ong igrimge through the desert

One only needs to contemte the ife nd deth ofesus nd to listen to His messge to be coninced tht Godis loe free surrender uncondition forgieness grcend mercy Those who were esus witnesses synthesized

9



eeryhing hey hd seen nd herd in the words God isove

When the Bibe mkes his tremendous stemen it isnot sying tht God hs the ininie cpciy to oe us she hs the ininite cpcity to ct rher it is trying to

express he uimte mysery o God tht God is oe itsehe ininie irrdition o oe the unhombe dynmico oing the genesis nd consummtion o eeryhing thtcn be ced oe

This is he strting point or thinking bou God God isony ove t is true tht He is so omnipoent but it is he

omnipotence o one who is ony oe God cnno doeeryhing God cnno mnipute humiite buse ordestroy Gods nture o oe preents it God cn ony dowht ininie oe cn do When we orget his we begin tobrice se God cricure n ido

The God tht eds to nguish to gui compexes nd

neuroses is se ido he must be shken We must toppethe omnipoten yrnt who nuiies humnity nd re-presses our reedom nd mke wy or the true ce oGod who is grce ibertion oy nd strength in wordthe Friend o humniy

Mrtin Buber writes God is the mos pregnn o

humn words No other hs been more sined or so rippedprt Precisey becuse o this cnnot set it side Genertions o men he hured the weight o their nguishedie upon his word or he trodden it ino he ground ities in the dirt nd crries the weigh o o themGenertions he sshed this word with their reigious

bises They he kied or been kied becuse o it tcrries then the ingerprints nd the bood o mny Wherecoud ind word tht is ike it to designte he supreme?We cnno puriy or restore the word God But we cn een though i is sined nd torn pick it up rom heground nd stnd it up in this hour o gret preoccup-ion

God is ire; nd hough or mny he m�y be reducedo embers he hour hs come to n the embers into me

0



because otherwise we wi die o the cod. Our happinessand our hope depend on it

With this book hae aso wanted to end my eort topickng up the word God and putting it on its eet in thishour o uncertainty and hope

he Auhor 987





PREFACE

e Chrsan o omorrow wll be a msc, one who hasexerenced somehn or he wll be nohn (KaRanr)

oda he world needs more han er beore a reuo conemlaon . e rue rohe o he Church o heure wll be he one who comes om he deser loses, Elah, he Bas aul, and aboe all Jesuschared wh ha secal radance whch onl hoseaccusomed o sean wh God ace o ace haeHotano)

Many popl far that th procss of scuarizaton willnd by undrining faith and that, as a consqunc, f with God w continu to dimnsh unt t s compltlyxtingushd

My prsonal mprsson is xacty th opposit Scu-larizaon coud b compard to th dark nh of he sensest s th most radcal purifcaton of th mae of God As arsut, th blvr of th scuarizd ag wll fnay b ab to iv pur and unadornd faith, wthout its fals supports

Th mae of God s oftn drssd up n varous attir:our fars and inscuritis, our ntrsts and systms, our ambtions, our waknsss, ignoranc and limitations; for many God is th magic soluon for th impossibl, th exlanaon for vrythng w do not know, th ree for th conusd and th wak

3



Th aith and ligiosity o many Chistians is sup-potd by ths cutchs

Dmythologiing continus to dmolish this igestipping away th appal and what bgins to appa isth tu ac o th God o th Bibl a God who asks

qustions intvns and challngs H dos not answbut qustions H dos not solv poblms but caussconlicts H dos not mak things asy but maks thm diicult H dos not xplain but complicats H ngnds not childn but adults

Th God o th Bibl is God th Libato th on who

pulls us om ou inscuitis ignoanc and inustic notavoiing m but coonting thm and ovcoming thm

God is not th matnal womb" that libats (alin-ats) us om th isks and diicultis o li t cationGod vy quickly cuts th umbilical cod laving us alon in th opn stuggl o libation and indpndnc and

H coms to us saying "B uitul and multiply ll th ath and subdu it (Gn 128) Th tu God thn is noton who alinats but a Libato who maks gat ma-tu and individuals and nations

This sculaization w insist is a tu dak night o th snss Fom now on aith and li with God will b a isky

advntuThis advntu o aith will consist in buning bidgsstting asid all ls o common sns and all pobabilitisand lik baham disgading agumnts xplanationsand poos untying ouslvs om all ational positionsand bound hand and oot making th gat lap into th

abyss o th dak night sunding ouslvs to th totally Oth God lon in pu and dak aith.Th contmplativ o th utu will nd to nt th

unathomabl gions o th mysty o God withoutguids without suppots without light God will b xp-incd as th Oth Limit God's distanc and poximitywill b mditatd upon simultanously; and as a sultth will b a ling o diinss which is a mixtu o ascination ight annihilation and dad

14



The cotempatve w have to ru the rsk o beg submerged ths bottomless ocea where dagerous chaleges are hdde These, the cotemplatve caot shu,but must face ad accept them ther bug sstecy.

Those who retur from hs adveture wl be fgures

sculpted by purty, stregth, ad re Trasormed by the ecstatc coseess o God, above them wl appear the lvg ad lumag mage o the So They wl become the trasparet wtesses o God

our day, there are certa facts that rase usettg questos for us For exampe, what does the aarmg use

o drugs mea? I such a complex pheomeo there scertay evaso, aeato, ad hedosm But, accordg to emet psychoogists, there s aso a strog, thoughobscure, desre for somethg trascedet, a stctve search or tese feegs hat are oy acheved the hghest of cotempatve states

Harvey Cox spoke o hppes as eomystcs Accordg to hs socopsychoogcal aayss, they take the path o humatys prooud ad acestra asprato order to experece, a mmedate way, the sacred adtrascedet

Aother group that vehemely lves the relgous ex

perece s the movemet called the Jesus Peope These are youg people who dd ot d what they were ookg for drugs, ad from ths rustrato there emerged through oe of those mysterous reactos the cal to aardet attachmet to Jesus Chrst They cam a persoaecouter wth Jesus ther le s a emotoal acclamato

ad procamato o Jesus; ad ther hedosm has beetrasormed to a lberatg ascetcsm. the West, there has bee a surprsg movemet

toward Easte mystcsm There are groups from everysoca class who, through psychosomatc meas (Yoga,Ze), try to reach powerul relgous expereces. Theyexercse a cocetrato o the teror facultes order toacheve tota ceterg.

my opo, for Wester Chrsas ths s a form o



subsun Amng rsians wh ar n bhrd abu h ivan f cnmpai prayr w ar lng ur with grus impd m nda r Pakisan arundwhm yung ppl gahr s ha by mans f mnaand psychlgica gymnastics hy mgh arv a cn-

ac wh h tanscndn Gd wud sm ha hyhav arrvd a a synhsis f rna mhds and Chris-ian hgy

Th nrnaina diain Scity f h Hindu a-harish ahsh Yg arady numbrs 25, nhusasswh can xrcs ranscndnal mdiain incssany

guidd by sm guu Thusands f univrsity sudns ar dircd h Hindu ashrams r ar cisrd n ZnBuddhis mnasris s ha hy migh bgin grw insrng xrasnsry xprincs and mmda rlanshp wih h dvin

Ths facs dmnsra ha chngy cnsumr

scity and mariasm in gnral ar n capabl f drwning h prfund human rs f his rnal andinxnguishab hirs fr Gd .

any frms stys and mhds ar augh fr advancing in h xprinc f Gd huss f prayr dsr xprincs hrmiags n Algria vr h brlan andburning dsr riss h ass f Bni Abbs whchhusands f sliay cnmpais cm arrivng frm a vr h wrd aracd by h mmry f Charls d

FucaudTh tebaidas ar again bginning b ppuad n by fugitivs frm h wrd bu by hs wh figh in h wrd and fr h wrd wh cm pur hmsvsnding h ga f Gd wihu bnkng

Wha significanc is hr in h fac ha husands f

Tranar' ne: Tbs ae e Arabi up gina inabiedb uaw bu me een being ued a deer rerea mmunie

6



yung pp frm a vr t wrd cm t Taz tpray? Ang tm ar wrkrs and unn adrs spcasts n g tcngy and mnrs A ar sarcng fr t xprnc f t mystry f Gd Ty ar pud by t magnt f Gd

Th mpssv nubr f frms ffrts prjcts andcasss fr prmtng t xprnc f Gd n t Curcndcats tat t Hy Sprt s strrng up praps nwmr tan vr bfr an vrwmng dsr fr t gst stats f cntmpatn and s ntatng a gratparad f bvrs t t mst prfund rgns f cm-

muncatn wt GdA f ts gvs us t sns tat w ar vng at t

dawn f a grat cntmpatv raWtn ts cntxt and bcaus f ts cntxt and

frsng t futur ts bk as bn wrttn. ws tffr a mans fr ts w want t b ntatd n r t

rcvr tr ratnsp wt Gd and fr ts trsw ws t advanc furtr nt t unfatmab mys-try f t vng Gd

e Auhor 979

7





Chapter

REFLECTIONS UPON CERTAIN"GIVENS" ABOUT PRAYER

oo am andn a he door nocn one o ouhear me calln and oen he door wll come n ohare a meal a ha eron de (R 3)

When we speak here o prayer we mean a personacontact wth the God who oes us; a growth n the profound and ntmate ntersubectty n and wh the Lord who offers hmse as a elong companon

he more oe prays, the more oe wats to pray

A ng power s expanse. n a purey humanlee we aspre to unreachable heghts; any goa whch hasbeen acheed eaes us lke a taut bow, always dssats

ed What s ths ongng? It s an endess search for afulness whch wl neer beAt the center of creaton, human bengs are stange

creatures somethng ke emergency cases They possessacutes that were desned for such and such a functon,and yet when the functon s accompshed or the obecte attaned they ee that sometng s stl ackng Let ustake for example, the sexua dre or the thrst for wealthWhen the desre s fuled, one contnues to fee "hungry

19



and, afer each ucceive aifacion i aained, one ipropeed in earch of new enaion or new riche

On a piriual leve, we are, according o S Auguine,like an arrow ho oward a univera (God), oward acener of graviy ha irreiibly arac u; he coer we

ge o ha univera, he ore peed we gain The ore we ove God, he ore we wan o ove i The ore we relae o i, he ore we wan o reae o i Speed iproporiona o i coene o u

Wihou reaizing i, beneah a our diaifacionhere i a curren oward he One, he Only One capable of

concenraing our rengh and caling our apiraion

God, yo are y Go, I pie or yo;y hear r for yo,y boy og for yo,a a a parhe, reary a aere. ( 6)

There i a aw of raining ha i valid for phyicalpor a well a for "piria por: he ore inene he raining, he greaer he reu If oeone uddeny olde o go for a ong wak of wey e or ore, I couldno do i Bu if I were o ar raining, going ou for

progreivey onger walk, afer a few onh I wouldhave no difficuly covering eny ie ow doe one expain hi? I had aheic abiliie ha were inacive, evearophied, due o ack of aciviy Being ued, hey were awakened and ade appare

In he ae way, we carry in our o piriual abii

ie ha are doran due o lack of ranng God hapaned a ee in u ha i gifpower, capabe of wonderfu boo I i a profoun and filia apiraion for GodIf we pu hi apiraion n moon, a i ee i objecand near i cener, he ore inene wil be he deire, he greaer wil be i weigh an, conequenly, he greaer wil be he veociy

Daiy experience prove hi. Tho� who have beenalone wih he Lord for a few day wi find ha, when hey

2



gt bc to thir vrydy routin, nw forc pushs thm mor nd mor towrd th ncountr with God pryrsnd scrmnts hv mning bcus thy r of God.In this wy, God's wight bcoms hvir nd w drwthm with grtr ttrction towrd im, whi th world

nd if in gnr wil b filld wth GodW s l of this hppning in th Bib h uthor of

th Pslms is thirsting for God li dry nd thirsting for wtr, i dr ongng for running strms (Ps 42). gts up t midnight i lovr to b with his Bovd (Ps119) Jsus sts hours from hs rst nd gos to th his

to spnd th night with th Fthrd prisonr by th nd forsing hs pproching

dth, itrich Bonhoffr, th Grmn thologin, wrot to frind, h dy of my funrl, I wnt thm to sing for m: On thng I s of th ord, to dwl n s hous lth dys of my lf

Th w is fulfild th grtr th proimty, thgrtr th vocity, s in th lw of physics concrnng th ttrcton btwn msss Attrction incrss in propor-tion to th volum of mss nd rltv proimty.

Fw things hlp us sns th rlty of ths ws sdos th dscripton givn by Nios Kzntzs n hsnov Saint rancis:

Ad whie I wa mug l hi i my mid my body

trembig Frai uddey eerged from the ave. Hewa radia a gowg ember Prayer had eate awayhi eh agai bu wha remaied hoe ke ure ou.He hed out hi had to me. A euiar exreio of oyws aig over hi fae.

Wl, Broher L he aed. Are you ready to hear

what I am goig to e youHe eeed deirou. H eye were famed ad a heame oer dieed ghot ad age i h u

2



ws teified Cod he hve tken leve of his senses?He nderstood, nd ghed t his re did not sb

side He cme coser to tel me:Peope hve enmerted mny terms of prise for the

ord p to now, he sid t I sh enmerte sill more

isten to wht I shl c Him: the ottomess Abyss, thensibe, the Merciess, the Uning, the Unstisfied Hewho never once hs sid to poor, fortnte mnkind:'Enogh

Coming si coser, he plced his ips next to my er ndied thnderos voice

Never enogh!' t is wht he scremed t me If yo sk, roher L wht God commnds ncesingy, I cnte yo, for I eed it in these pst three dys nd nightsin the cve isten! 'Not enogh! Never enogh' Tht'swht he shots every dy, evey hor to poor, miserbemn Not enogh! Not enogh!' 'I cn't go frther,'whines mn 'Yo cn!' the ord repi. sh brek

two,' mn whines gin 'rek,' the ord nswersFrncis' voice hd begn to crck. A ter rolled down his

cheek I fet overwheng compssion for Frncis Ibecme ngry Wht more does he expect om yo? Isked. Didn't yo kiss the eper?

'Not enogh'

Didn't yo bndon yor fther nd mother?'Not enogh'Didn't yo mke foo of yorsef, giving bck yor

cothes to yor fther nd stnding nked before thewhole town?

Not enogh't ren't yo the poorest in the word?

'Not enogh' And do not forget it, rother L God isNever Enogh.

If we re honest, if we ook honestly t or own historywith God, we wi see tht we lso hve experienced God sn byss tht ttrcts nd cptivtes, nd the closer we get,

the more it ttrcts nd embrces sSint Ctherine of Sien wrote in her Dalogues



ee Triny! Yo re booess se ino which,he more I sink, he more I find Yo nd he more findYo, he more I sll serch for Yo. f Yo I cold neversy "enogh" The so which lfils isef Yor dephsongs ncesingly for Yo becse i is lwys hngering

for Yo i is wys desiros of seing is igh in Yorligh Cold yo give me nyhing more hn Yo ownse? Yo re he fire, lwys bing nd never consed Yo re he fire which conses l sefish love ofhe sol Yo re he igh beyond l ligh. Yo, he clokwhch covers l nkedness food h wih is sweenessmkes l who re hngry hppy

ohe me, ee Tniy, clohe me wih Yorself h my ive his life in re obedience nd in he ligh of fihwih which yo hve inebried my sol.

he less oe prays, the ess oe wats to pray

There is physic mldy cled ne I is pricrly dngeros disese becse i hs no specr sypoms, nd deh comes silenly nd pinessly I consiss ofhis: he ess one es, he ess ppeie one hs he ess

ppeie one hs, he less one es nd he end res isce nemi. The individl is cgh in circle, he circeof deh.

The sme hing hppens in he inerior life I beginswhen e bndon pryer for pprenly vid resonsInsed of moving from he One o he mny, s bees oGod he mny envelops, ncloses, nd wihholds s, fillingor inerior ih chill nd disrcion.

In his wy, he difficy of cenering onesef in heOne nd Only begins o penere he deepes recesses ofhe individ, like ong nigh The more one becomesineriory disrced, he esier i is o find excses obndon ones relionship wih od. The desire for oddiminishes s he se for mlipliciy of hings, peope,evens, ork increses The hnger for od diminishes s

23



te diicuty to be content wit Him grows At this pointwe hae begun te spiral.

Once begun we find oursees on a decine: a continue to break myse away from the absoutey Other am being taken by others That is wile worldly thingsand people caim me and seem to drain meaning rom mylie God is a word which becomes more and more deoid omeaning ending as when we take an old dis in our andswe look at it; we ook at it again; and inaly we askoursees at do need this or? t is not useful anyoreThe circe is compete acute anemia is present and we

hae aen into the trap te death o God in our ies

Tere is also te condition known as atrophy, in which

death comes een more silenty Al lie is explosion expan-sion adaptation in a word moement This moement isnot mecanica but internay dynamic dynamic tensionis suocated or stopped it automatically ceases to be ieThere is no need or an external and etha agent to comeand cause disaster Any liing being ceases to be alive the

moment it ceases to be movementn the interior lie something similar takes pace Graceis essentiay life, and it gies to the sou the abiliy to reactdynamicay to moe toward God to know Him directy asHe knows Himse. This graceie establises a dynamiccurrent between te soul and God an interreationship oknowedge and oe

This grace wic is a gitpower is at te same timeexpansie and leaening The same thing happens as whena woman takes yeast and puts in three measures o fouruntil al te doug becomes leaened. Once witin umannaure this grace because it is lie tends to conquernew areas o our spirit graduay penetrating our acuesdominating our selish tendencies and submitting tem todiine approal unti our entire being belongs completely

24



he One and Absue Ts s e bre sr gpency pured n e deps e sul.

Hwever hs grace sps movng als sps lvng a e des n lw an ascendng and everdenng pah aumacal akes e rue dea due

arph There as s scleross n e e e spr he ssues he nner acues are n eercsed ardenng and gdy sn ake ver ne pras ver e becmes dcu pra Sensng he dcu praer sabandned ageher accrdng e aw eas ress-ance And gpwer s nbed; s va akes he pa

nacvy mmby and dea have e mpressn a amng Crsans ere are

sme wh have had a perul cal a prund le wGd and a cal s angsng due an repeaedsry e sp prang abandn acs pe underes-mae he sacramens pu asde persna praer sang a

he have search r Gd n uman; and n lkng r Gd e ave abandned Gdssenall e are dmnaed b a knd rusra-

n and e d n even kn T me he eplana-n s ver clear ere deep wn hemseves and be-neah her cnscusness e are sucang ha per-

ul call whch s gven sme and n ers A le c culd have ursed remans nl a pssb

he more we pray, the more God s Godwth-s

Gd des n cange He s denvel cmplee anderere mmuabe He s unaerabl presen n us anddes n adm varus degrees presence. Wa deschange s ur reansp h Hm accrdng e degree ur ah and ve. Praer makes s reanspmre nmae an nmae peneran he 1Tu pr-duced hrugh aecve eperence and u knwedgeand resembance and unn w Hm becmes mre pr-und da aer da



s e avng a candle n a dak oom Te moe gwe ge om e cande e bee we can see e oomwc becomes moe "pesen" even oug does noacuay cange

We a expeence e feelng a wen ou paye s

moe pofound God is cose o us moe pesen evdenand ave And e moe e goy of e face of God snesupon us (Ps 3), e moe evens ave new meanng (Ps 36)and soy s fled w Hm n a wod e Lod becomesvividly present in evething Tee s no game of sk o cance; ee s a po wo decs evens w a seady

andWen we ave "been" God He becomes moe

"Someone" oug wom and w wom we ovecome dffcues and defea epusons; we face ad mes wjoy and ove blossoms eveyee. Te moe we "beae"God e moe we wan o be w Hm; and e moe we

"ae" w God e moe God becomes Someone Te cce of fe s opened up

As e conemplave advances n e mysees of GodGod sops beng an dea a needs cang and begns obe feedom umly oy and ove Gaduay God becomes an essbe and evoluonay foce a daws all

ngs fom e places Wee ee was voence He bngs geneness; wee ee was sefsness He bngsove; God compeey canges e "face" of e ndvdual.

Howeve e pocess does no end ee As e con-emplave es mself be aken God bngs ogee evey-ng a s good n e peson and He becomes e "all

good" God "akes e place" of a ovng spouse a goodboe a solcous fae a ousand aces of popey o a wondefu paace ( 46; Lk 89; k 3334) na wod God becomes e gea ewad a feas a banque(x 9; e 47; z 377) "You ae my Lod" (Ps 6) "nyou name ey ejoce a day long" (Ps 89)

Ts s wa e psams means en e says "You ae a ce joy an al e con and new wne" (Ps 4) Te "con and wn" symboze all e compensaons emo

6



n, nd jy f whh u humn h ng h nmpv wh h "d" hw gd h Ld(P ) Gd " lk n nng wn, m plu hn l f h f f h h

he le we pray, the e God Godwthu

Th l w py, h m Gd vnh n h dn H lwy m mnng nd fd N n wn to be, to relate to live wh n d

n d mu u n m f ugg hngTh hw Gd p ng Smn nd dud h pn f ng dn nd n ly.

On w g ppd n h p, Gd wy png wd, hppn, y nd "wh" nd .And h pph W d n un Gd, u

H h m wd h "y" m nhng u w wud h y pyhlg hlp mply l ulv d wy y h

Wh h p f dnhnmn gng n h pn ld lfhn l h pn, nd h pp f h d mn gn k gnn. And why

h? A h n f gvy flng nd nmuvuum n h n d, humn mpnnpn hmv dfn mhnm dng h phy w f dplmn. And wh nd? Tv h mpy p nd pp up h uldng huldng d h meaning of life life project

Th l w py, h Gd mk n u ndh n Gd mk n u f, h l w un Hm A h pn, w ppd n h pl f dh.

If we top payg, God ed up beg a "obody"

If w p pyng f lng pd f m, Gd d n n Hmf, u H nly vng, n,

7



an a b e es n heas "es" ke awhee pan we have negece wae

Once we have abanne he srce f exsence wesn ce existential atheism Thse wh are n hssan ay n have frmay qesne he neeca

pbe f he exsence f Pehaps hey cnne beeve fee ha he "hyphess" f s has vayb he fac s ha hey manage ve as f n exs s n nge a cse cncee an vng reay s n nger he Easer Sengh ha se vehem f he sefshness n a cnsan "exs" a

w f free hy ve an cmen Ms f a he sakabe sgn f he "eah" f s ha he Lr n nge brngs happness he hea.

happens sees ha he empness f weghs as heavy as a cpse Ths s why pepe ageqesn an scss prayer as neve befe s nae

an he nee f Ths ay be a g sgn I may eanha 's shaw es n e hem ve n peaceNavey hese nvas ambe n an n ab new

frms f prayer sayng ha we ms emyhgze hecncep f ; ha persna prayer s a wase f me anegsc an an aenang wase ha we ve n secar

mes n whch he egs eemen s ae; ha rana frms f payer are js sbjecve games an s n Paye s ccze an neecaze an hs s aba sgn

Payer s ie, an fe s smpe n easy ancheen When sps beng ife we n n a hge

prbe We ask f nsance hw sh we pay ay?T e hs qesn akes n sense D we ask hwsh we ve ay? We ve an pay he saeway pepe 4 yeas g. Facs f fe have he rs n he mabe essence f beng

When a Chrsan expeences n empess f e he abannen f prayer he r she fees he nee frsef-affman by geng nvve n vas acvessch as pcs. Ths ay be jsfe by bea he-

2



gs but dp within pp ar tryig t giv maig tthir ivs tryig t cvr vr this mptinss by dig things and basig thm txts frm Scriptur

Ths is nt th cas fr vryn but it is tru fr may.Thy nvr ta abut ta if th su r Gd; rathr

thy spa abut suffrng and scia inustic Scigicastudis t us that mst prists i this nd up as aypp Sm f thm wi say that thy hav dn this inrdr t iv a mr authtic if as Christians and ashuman bigs But if thy hav bn uab t v irigus if thy wi cntiu t b unab t v

utsid and thy wi nvr fid th ra maig f thir ivs

am awar that ur ratiship with Gd can b ascap frm raity This b hwvr tris t shw thatth tru ibratrs ad th ty cmmittd pp i th Bib wr ths capab f withstading Gds ga i

sic and situd d crtaiy nt a swt Gd utn wh mas us uncmfrtab wh mvs away andpushs th wrshippr" dwn th hi f patic andhumiity tward th advtur f th grat ibrati f th asss f cntmpati ds t d i this it i b anything but prayr scap ad prayr ar mutuay xcu-

siv trms.

What wi happ t th if f Christias i hm Gd

has grwn wa? Thy wi crtaiy ctiu t taabut Gd but thy wi b icapa f spaig ithGd Thir wrds wi b br trumpts: thy i ma is but wi carry thig with thm ithr mssg nr if nr fir. Bivrs wi nvr s thir frhadsth radianc f Gd (x 29 Th faithfu wi say W wr ng fr a prpht but w hav fund a prfssia hs wh ar hugry ad thirsty fr Gd wi fida dry sprng. Ths Christias i hm Gd hs g

29



wek will nt rise the ded r he the sick Deiniteythey wi nt be thse "sent by Gd

Thse wh hve nt tken Gd serisy wil nt tke nything serisly; deep within they re rivls peple Nthing wi be imprtnt t them neither the pr

the sick the ppressed nr even riends They will ny be imprtnt t themseves It is mre cmrtble nd lesscmmitting r s t del with r wn seves thn withSmene wh meets s nd nmsks everything we hved nd re

When grp Christins nlyzes the cses r the

crisis in pryer the wing is reqenty mentined: thefear of God In wht sense Their thinking is mre r less like this: i tke Gd serisly my lie hs t chnge Gd willchlenge me nt t cnuse chrism with my wn desirest be pen t this brther r sister whm I cnt get ng with t pt n end t seess diversins t ccept this

brden t end tht riendship t be less wrldy t dmre pennce t prctice mre bedience; in wrd He isging t mke me like drwn bw Gd is smething seris S I pt rther r being distrcted with respect tHim This is ishness

Once Gd hs been displced ie is ike wer whse eves hve been stripped . Nthing mkes sense nd Niezsche's descripin in us So Zarathtra cmestre:

3

Hve y nt herd tht mdmn wh lit lnte in he bright ming hrs rn t the mrketpce ndcried incessntly: I sk d! seek d! s mny thse wh did nt believe in d ere stnding rndst then he prvked mch lghter Why did He getls

"sd ne id He lse hs y like child sd

nher is He hiding Is He rid s Hs He gne n vyge r migrt s ey yed nd lgh



The mmn mpe ino eir mis n pierce emwi is glnces.

Wier is o? e crie sll ell yo We vekle Him yo n . of s re his mrerers.

ow hve we one is? ow were we ble o rink pe se? Wo gve s e sponge o wipe wy he enireorion? i we o when we nchine e erfrom is sn? her is i moving now? Wiher re wemoving now? wy from ll sns? re we no pngingconnly? ckwr siewr forwr n in ll irecions? Is ere ny p or own lef? re we no sying s hrog n infinie noing? Do we no fee ebreh of empy spce? Is no nigh n more nig coming on ll e wile? Ms no lnes be i in e

• ? Imog . . .ere e mmn fel silen n looke gin is

liseners n ey oo were silen n sre im in

sonismen.e hve e o ie, n bsriy nse, ngis

oneiness, n noingness ve been born . . . Sione eevoi woe h, hvin sppresse o we hve beenef wiho e ony inermeiry wo ws ely wor

he bohe. ife becomes seess pssion, n bsbol of linin beween wo eerniies of rknessFeqenly, I ve ske mysef is qesion: W

wo he en be ike for hose wo hve ive s if oi no exis? Since e is he hihes momen in emening of ife, when ey become wre ere is nohope ef, h hey ve js few weeks of ife lef ohem, o wom o ey cling? o whom o ey offerscrifice? Wee o hey o on? ey ve no sppor.

1





Chaper

LIKE ONE WHO COULD SEE THE INVISIBLE

[oses] he to hs pose e someone who co seethe nvsbe (H 2)

Durin th past w yars, throuhout th ntir world,

thr hav n xplorations, inquiris, and valuations o prayr hr is tal aout a crisis, th aandonmnt o prayr, and th diicultis ncountrd in attmptin tocommunicat with th transcndnt God

vrthlss, in this nral xamination, popl hav com to th conclusion with unusual unanimity that

prayr is on th dclin du to a proound crisis o aithhy mphasiz that th cntr o this crisis is not th intllcual qustionin o ait ut, rathr, th livin out o that aith It is, thror, an xistntial crisis o aith h most srious inquirrs hav arrivd at th conclusion thatth cor o th prolm is not on o orms o prayr h

root o th crisis is not in h to xprss ourslvs in prayr ut in what to xprssSinc w ar sarchin or somthin practical, w will

concd in this prsnt rlction only aout th essent act o ath, which, in th Bil, is always adherenceand uncondtona surrender to God W will also analyz th diicultis ncountrd in this act o aith, spcially whnth silnc o God and th discouramnts that constantlythratn th li o aith ta plac. hs diicultis, which

33



ae neabe and noma fo anyone who e o eods ay seem o be nceasng oday de o andeologes ha we shal also analyze

h hese eflecons we wll adance n o ask ofexpong he mystery of prayer, whch s nohng moe han

png hs same fah in motion nay e l ook fo some means o help s oecome dscoagng and diffc saons ahogh we know hee ae no easy anwes.

1 HE DRAMA OF FAIH

Openng he be and conemplang he mon fpeople owad od n an ee-deepenng purcati ofhe fah we dly see how dffc h pa eads s o he mysey of od he pah of fa Ad tonly fo Isae b mos of all fo oseles Da t

we see ha dsmay nfahfness and css wi aond eey cone. And a hs who fgi fah n self s dakness and nceany Tha we

speak hee of dramaAnd so eneng hs nne we shold mnd u-

seles of ess chaengng naon Ty yo hd

ene by he naow doo (k 3:24)

he test in the desert

A dffeen mes he Second Vacan Conc pesens

he ng o of fah as a pgmage (Lumen Gentium 2 8,6) Moeoe s pesened o s as a paae o Isaelsjoey hogh he dese Tha mach ceany was a alby fe fo Isaes fah n od Neeheless een hogh s e ha saes fah was senghhened by ha expeence he pgmage self was fed wh woshpand basphemy sbmsson and obsnacy fdey anddeseon acclamaon and poes

A of hs makes a ea symbo of o elaonshp



wth Gd We, t, re "n the rd" nd, mt ll ndt wht we wh t emphze t ymbl the ln nd perplexte tht ll peple uffer n ther cnt Gd, even mre cncretely n ther le thFew peple, perhp n ne, hve been pred uch l-

ur, we hll ee by tkn the Bble n hnd .

When the rht mment cme, Gd w preent n th

mdt humn htry H ntrd t t wund, t ree, tmke eul Me, Gd rnd nd th lder Hppl, cnrnt Phrh, ther the cttered ppl,nd put them n mtn twrd the lnd reedmCmn ut Eypt, thy bn th rt urney thBut wth the frt tp, th cr th bn curln lk

nke rund thr hrt Dubt wll up n thr thrtnd cre ut, W t r lck rve tht yu hd t ldu ut t de n the dert?.. Dd w nt tll yu much nEypt? Leve u lne, w d, we wud rther wrk r the Eyptn We prr t wrk r Eyptn thn td n the deert" (Ex 14112 Ther preerenc r ecrty vr rdm n th mdt th cnfun, Mlne kep th lv D nt be rd Stnd rm, ndyu wll wht Yhwh wll d t rcu yu tdy Yhweh wll d the htn r yu ll yu need t d tkp clm (Ex 1413-14

Wth the wrd, th th th pepl w revved

n, nd wth ther wn y thy cntmplted wndrnevr ber n by nyn Suddnly, trn wnd rm th uth bn t blw, pnd th wtr nd dvddthm n tw And the ppl crd betwn twwll. n the mentme, th Eyptn were vertkn ndnk lk led t the bttm th e. n th ce uch pctcle, "the ppl put ther th n Yhweh nd nM, h rvnt" (Ex 43 nd n trumphl n(Ex 15:1-23 Nvrthl, nc mr thy ndd "n"

35



recver her fah "Besse are hse h have n seenan ye beeve" n 20:29)

The pgrmage avance fr hree ays n he eser f Shur The eser agan ese he fah f he pepe The sence f he an an smemes he sence f G fled

her sus an hey ere afra They ran u f prv-sns ha u hey ea? n ke brs f preyscuagemen hmesckness an subbns came upnhe pepe "hy e n e a Yahehs han nEgyp here e use s run he fesh ps and culea ur hears cnen! s s yu have e us n hs

eser sarve hs enre assemby eah!" (Ex 63)The pepe succumbe he empan f nsaga

an "began eep agan h gve us mea ea?hey sa Thnk f he fsh e use ea free n Egyp he cucumbers mens leeks nns and garc! (Num 5)

Mses hse fah remane unshaken because he

spke ay h G "as h a fren" hem have nhng h yur murmurngs yu are cm-planng agans G Bu e yu ha n he mng yushal see he gry f he Lr an yur cmpans u n rcuus vces" (cf Ex 659)

n he nex ay n he evenng qua came up an

cvere he camp an n he mrnng e ay al arunhe camp n hen he e ha sappeare here nhe surface f he enre lerness ay a fne fakeke subsance fne as harfrs n he grun an mrnng afer mng he pepe ae f (Ex 63-6)

The plgrmage avance ar ephm uner a

reh sun n a sea f shmmerng san n as heyen frar epressn an empan agan surbeher sus; he perssen empan sp abannhe urney an reu her l secury even f ere as slaves n Egyp The peple murmure agans Msessayng "hy yu brng us u f Egyp ny make us ur chren an ur vesck de f hrs?" (Ex 73)

hs mmen a naggng ub esrye he mem-ry f all ners gnae a he funans f her fah

36



nd eerged n h dredfu queson. s Yhweh wh usor no? (E 177) The dous hd reched her pek. Thss why hs plce s cled Mssh (ecuse of her proes gns God) nd Mer (ecuse hey chlenged God).Ts ws he gre rl n he deser on her journey o

CnnFew peope of God he een spred soe dffcu

es The wy of fh hs wys een rough nd dffcun our dy he dffcues he ncresed Tody he Church s gong hrough new deser The dngers h wyy pgrs re he sme s hose of ong go dscour

geen cused y God's dsppernce he ppernce of new gods h dend worshp nd he epon opu n end o he hrd jouey of fh nd reurn ocofore nd ferle Egyp

ntellectual difficulties

Huny hs led for housnds of yers under he power of he lnd forces of nure forces h were de no gods n order o ress hese dnzed forces peope creed gc rus Ahough he Ble s purfcon

of hose conceps n gc cusos n our ps here re sll renders of h enchned world ny of whchwe he rued o he God of he Be

Technology hs replced hose elefs nd cusosScence epns h hch preousy ws rued oyhc dnes or ws consered o e he ecluse

rue of God. And here s where he dnger es n he confuson of gc wh he supernurl n desroyng one or he oher whou seprng he whe fro he chff nd n cong o he concuson h eeryhng h s no scenceechnoogy eher does no es or s jus projecon of our helpessness nd fer

37



...

t is true tht in ties pst ny phenoen o nture ere explined by identiing the ith God No bystting tht eery nturl phenoenon cn be explinedith proper scientiic ethods e re unconsciously orgetting bot God The ore our ind gets rid o those diine explntions the ore our conscious lie is grdully eptied o God's presence Mny people siply sense it hile others sy it openly science ill end up explining eerything tht is explinble nd in the future God ill

be n unnecessry hypothesiseertheless neither technology nor een the socio

psychologicl sciences ill eer be ble to gie coplete nser to the fundentl nd unique question o hunity: the ening o lie Only hen en nd oenccidently confront their on ystery hen they experi-

ence the dizziness the strngeness o being there in the orld s conscious being nd s person only then illthey sk theseles fundentl questions such s Who ? Wht is the reson or y existence? Wht is the source o this existence? s there uture or e? Wht kindo uture?

Tody there re no otionl cpigns illed ithrguents pro nd con bout God We siply he seti side; God hs been bndoned s useless obectThis is practical atheism, hich is ore dngerous thnphilosophicl theis since it subtly penettes the in nd its thought processes

Our theologicl knoledge does not resist the cosic nd nthropologicl ision gien to us by the sciencesInestigtions into the origins o huniy nd the orlddier ro scripturl dt though e beliee tody thtthe Bible does not intend to gie scientiic explntions

38



Unbl to void it, w n th contt btwn oudifficuty to xp God with ign nd ybol, nd th cl, vidnt, nd dict xpion of th cinc h city of cintific thod of invtigtion confu u, incontt to ou wy of knowing God

f w hv not nutud ponl fith conitnt withcintiic dicovi, culiztion bco, without doubt, puifiction of th image of God But ny pop do not uccd in cognizing thi ufu nd ncypoc; thy nt th l of culity nd nd up in woldy i in which thi fith in God i goniz-

ingy dbtd to dthA ult of th fct nd id, th g

hoizontli, n idology tht wkn fith nd cupob fo ou iou coitnt to God t y thtny ffot dictd to tht which do not blong to thiwod i lintion Lif with God i wt of ti; ny

igiou puuit i wt of ti; cibcy i hutfu ndbud; th ony vlid ctivity i hun pog; th onlyin i lintion

h dtuctiv toph thu dcibd h pn-ttd th oul of ny who, in th pt, hd bn boundto God in powul covnnt by n unconditionl fith ini

hv th ipion tht th nw popl of God hv

gin bn toppd t Mib nd Mh, wh fith hdcndd to it owt lvl nd, bfo, w cn ldyh ci nd tggl ody, fith i fo ny nitob ngug ow could nyon ccpt it? n666)

At th confuion, tuity will co; tht i to y, cohnt nd living ynthi, ponlly dvlopd, ndnot ipy tkn o o nul of thology; ynthi in which th dvnc of cinc nd dp findhip

39



with God are fused In the meantime, this period that weare presently going through will help us to purify ourimage of God Faith, as Martin Buber says, is an adherenceto God, not an adherence to the image we have formed ofGod, nor an adherence to the faith in the God that we have

conjured up, but an adherence to the living God.

Existential difficulties

Imediacy, efficiency, and speed are accepted as the

criteia for life in our society By contrast, the life of faith isslow and demands superhuman faithfulness; its progressvares and canot be verified by methods of exact measure-ment Consequenty, we feel deceived, confused, and as ifwe were lost in a jungle

Today, under the influence of the psychologica and

socioogical sciences, the criterion of subjectivity predomi-nates Those things that were "objective" truths of faith,moral norms, or ideals, for example have ost their realityand value, freely opening the doors to subjective andinstnctive values What is popular today is the emotiona,the affective, and the spontaneous

The resut is the total devauation of certain crteria,such as sefcontro, asceticism, selfdenial, and selfimprovement, which are indispensabe elements in our jour-ney to God. These concepts and words are even repulsiveto many people. Others believe that they are harmfu to thedeveopment of ones personality.

he norm adopted by some coincides almost competely with the ideas of a consumer society enjoy life tothe utmost, consume as many things as you can, satisfyyourself completely, follow the ideal, "let us eat, drink, andbe merry" Of course, this is not said in so many words Wesay we should avoid repression and encourage spontane-ity let us not go against our nature we need to preserveauthenticity

We don't kow what to do with silence Consumer

40



socety hs ceted vety o ndustes to povde dstction nd entetnent n ode to sve people fo"lonelness" nd the e o eptness. In ths wy, theobjec s de to t the subject. People cnt stnd estblshed nos, so they open the doos to spontnety, the

dughe o subjectvty.

We lve n the new deset The pth to God s ddledwth dffcultes Tepttions ve cnged the nesTody, the tepttions e hozonts, seculs, hedons, subjectvty, spontnety, nd fvoty

How ny plgs w get to the Posed Lnd?How ny wl bndon te dcut jouey o th? Dowe lso hve to coe to the concuson tht only ennts gong to ve t totl fdety to God Wc nd whees the Jodn Rve tht we wll coss n ode to ente thelnd of feedo? Once gn, the hozon s led wthquestons, sence, nd dkness Ths s the pce o th

We e lvng te o pufcton Fth s lowngve. The putes e lodged n te vebed, but thecuent keeps ovng

2 CONFUSON AND SEFSURRENDER

n the Bble, th s n ct nd n tttude tht e-

bces the whole peson poound confdence, dety,ntellectul ssent, nd eotonl ttchent. t ebcesones ente lfe, cottng ones ente e hstoy wth llof ts pojects, ll tt eeges fo the ndvdu, nd ltht suounds h

Bblcl fth, n ts no developent, s coposedof the following eleents: God nttes counctonwth us. Then, God speks wod nd we suendeouselves ucondtony God tests tht ft We becoe

41



confused and waver. God reveals imsel once more Wefulfill the plan outlned by God, participating deeply nGod's own strength

This is the aith that caused Abraham to "live n mypresence" (Gn 171), an expresson loaded wh hea mean

ing God was the nspraton o hs ath; God was also hsstrength and ethcal norm; above all, God was hs rend"Abraha put his aith in Yahweh and ths was rckondto hi as uprightness" (Gn 15:6). With these wrds thauthor wants to indcate that Abraham's ath had xcptiona merit, that it conditoned, comprsed and trans

ormed his entire lie as well

A stor of fidelty

The New Testament presents Abraham a the po

type o aith, precisely because n him, mor than anyother believer, the dramatc alteatives o ath wre uilled He is the true plgrim o ath

God gives an order to Abraham, which s at t ametime a promise: "Leave your country or a country which

I shall show you; and I shall make you a great naton (Gn

12:1-4) Abraham belied. What dd it mean or hm tobelieve? It eant handng over a blank check, trustngagainst comon sense and the laws o nature, surrenderingblindly and wthout calculatons, breaking with all established patterns, and, at the age o sevenyfve, "to set out(Gn 12:4) toward an uncertain land wthout knowing where

he was going" (eb 11:8)However, this condent selsurrender cost hm a greatdeal and led him into a state o great inner tenson, whch snot separate rom conusion and perplexity In a word, Godput Abraham's aith to the test

The years pass and the promised son does not comeGod keeps Abraham in continual suspense like a T soapopera that ends every night precisely at the moment weexpect the clima to be shown - promising a son to

42



braham o s deret occasos ( 12:2; 15:5; 1:16;1:10 21:2 22:1) But dozes o years pass ad the sodoes ot arre Durig ths perod, braham es the , whch alctos alteate wth hopes, ke thesu that appears ad dsappears amog the clouds t s the

story o hope, though there seemed o hope (Rm 4:1)resstg the rues o commo sese ad the laws o physology ( :11) makg a ool o hmse rot o hswe So Sarah aughed to hersel, thkg, ow that ampast the age o chdbearg, ad my husbad s a oldma s pleasure to come my way aga ( 1:12)

oeless begs kockg at the door o brahamsheart He has to bear the paul separato om hsephew, ot ( 11) spte o the ctores agastour kgs ad the crease o rches ad serats, hsheart, ath begs to grow eeble ad agush gas moregroud day ater day

There comes a momet whe hs ath amost alscompletely d the mdst o deep dsmay he complasto od, sayig, What use are your gts, as am gog omy way chldess Sce you hae ge me o o-sprg a member o my househod wll be my her( 15:24) t that momet, od reewed the promse

But braham's ath, at ths momet, sks to a deepcrss: braham bowed to the groud, ad he aughed,thkg to hmsel s a chld to be bor to a ma oehudred years od, ad wll Sarah hae a chd at the age oety ( 1:1) s a aswer, od took brahamoutsde o the tet to a beautul starry ght, ad tod hm,

ook up at the sky ad cout the stars you ca Just sowl your descedats be ( 15:5).t happes a the tme Whe ath als, we eed a

sg, somethg to hod o to od uderstadg adcompassoate, ges a s cosderg the emergecy othe weakess whch s oercomg brahams ath ordYahweh,' braham reped, how ca kow that shalpossess t ( 15:) d od, whe the su had set adt was dark, took the orm o a amg torch passg

4



between te anmals peces" (Gn 57) braam was 100ears old wen s son saac was born to m (Gn 2)

e by fe

We see tat, as a result of tese events, braam notonl completel recovered s fat, but also defntvelsoldfed t; e deepened t to te pont of lvng permanentl n ntmate frendsp and relatonsp wt teLord, accordng to wat ad been sad to m: "Lve n mpresence, be perfect" (Gn 7) We can pcture m as aman used to ts testng, mmunzed aganst an possbledoubt, master of great maturt and nner strengt "bra-am planted a tamarsk at Beerseba and tere e nvokedte name of Yawe" (Gn 233)

God, seeng braam t suc determned ntegrt,

submts m to a nal tral b re, one of tose dreadful"ngts of te sprt" about wc Sant Jon of te Crossspea Let us take a look at te greatness and serent wtwc braam overcomes te test:

t appened some me late a od pu baam o

e test"braam, baam!" e called "ere am," e repled

God sad: "ake our son, ou onl one, our belovedsaac, and go to te land o ora, were ou are to oerm as a b oeng on a mounan wc sall pontout to ou" (n 1

n m opnon, n ts epsode, bblcal fat clmbs tots gest summt

To be able to understand te content and qualt ofbraams fat, n ts exact dmensons, we ave to re-member tat undertakng a eroc act mgt even be attrac-tve wen te act as meanng and logc, as mgt be tecase, for example, n gvng ones lfe for a noble andbeautul cause But to submt oneself to an absurd man



ate ether one nes to b crazy or the reasons or suchsubsson must ntly surpass our concpt an normso hrosm

et put ourselves n Abraham's place to explore thempss an motves o ths geat belever Abraham ha

aways hope to have a ch e s o an no longer hosthe hope o any osprng evertheless one ay Gopromses a son to hm Because nothng s mpossbe wthGo Abraham beeves. Many years o hope an espargo by an nally the chl who shall be the trstee o thhops an promses coms now Abraham can n peace

Bt at the las moment Go asks hm to sacrce the boyA eman as crue an rratonal as ths mght easy

esroy a llong ah. e most elementary commonsense woul have convnce hm hat he was the vctm oa hallcnaton But Abraham beleves once agan hsbeevng mples selsurrner an unmte trust

There s an nconona sposton o abanonmentan o gvng onese p wth nne conence bengabsolutly certan that Go s almghty goo ust wscontrary to any vnc o common sens; t s lke tyngor own hans an eet an allowng ourselves to al ntoan abyss becaus ll not lt us ht bottom. In my

opnon ths s the enve essence an the hghestmoment o bbcal ah

Now t us se Abrahams approach whch s lewth peace greaness an tenerness

Early nxt mong Abraam sal s onky an

took w m two o s srvants an hs son saac. chopp woo or t but orng an start on soy to th ac o a ncat to hm n thr ay Abraham oo u an saw t ac n tstanc. n Abraam sa to s srvants tay hrwh th onky boy an I ar gong ovr r; wshal worsh an thn com back to you ·

Abraham too t woo or t bt ong loa ton Isaac an ca n s own ans t r an t

4



kfe Then the two of them et out together aac poketo hi father Abraham, Father?" he aid. e, my on," herepied "Lk," he aid, "here are the fire and the wood,but where i the amb for the but offering? Abrahamawered, "My on, God himef wi proide the amb for

the bt offeng" And the two of them went on togetherWhen they aied at the pace which God had indicatedto hm, Abraham bt an altar there, and aanged thewd en he boud hi on and put him on the atar ontop of the wood Abraham retched hi hand and took theke to ki hi on.

But the ange of ahweh caed to him om heaen"Abraham, Abraham he aid "Here am," he repied."Do not raie your hand againt the boy" the ange aid.Do not harm him, for now know you fear God. ouhae not reued me your own beoed on. (Gn 22)

n thi account, faith and elf-urrender take on a

particuar hue God wll provde i ike a backround meodythat bring meaning to it a. t i ery ignificant that thitory end with the ere "Abraham caed thi pace'ahweh proide,' and hence the ayin today 'On themountain ahweh proide (Gn 224)

Hope against all hope

rae hitory i another example of hope againthope Durin the lon centurie, from Sinai unti "thecompeion of ime" (Gal 44), God ppear and diappear,hine ike the un and hide behind the cloud; there arethuderng theophanie and extended period of ience ti a on journey fied with hope and diappointmentGod had wanted the hitory of rae to be the hitory of anexperience of faith n both rae' hitory and our own ifeof faith, we often find the ience of God, the teting of God

the dark nightrae wa taken out of Egypt and ent on an unending

46



pgrmage to a better an It as a ong ouey, ewth san, hunger, thrst, sun, suerng, an eath A anong th mk an honey as promse to them; butthe prce wou be a proonge strugge e th eeats,humatons, boo, an tears An n the en, t prove

nether mk nor honey but as a hoste an that they hato cutvate wth a great ea o cuty

There was a tme hen Israe as convnce that etherGo not exst or He ha abanone them competey,an that the naton ha been sept rom the ace o theearth It was the year 587 BC., hen Nebuchanezzars

warrors succeee n breakng on the resstance oJerusaem, whch ha ought the nvaers or eghteenmonths Fnay, the cty e an the vengeance wasreau

Jerusaem was ransacke, estroye, an burne Theamous Tempe o oomon e to the groun, abaze, an

the Ark o the Covenant sappeare orever A thenhabtants o Jesaem an most o the peope o Juahwere taken an eporte to Babyon uner the eyes o therconquerors, on a march o a thousan mes, rappe nust, humaton, an saster

These are the ark nghts on the path o ath In the

mst o that arkness, e too are tempte to abanonGo, because we ee abanone by Hm But, ater a he,once we have ceanse our eyes o the ust, Hs ace appear more raant than ever he prophets Ezeke anIsaah gve evence o ths

Apart rom the mpera context o the kngom o

Dav an oomon, the e o Israe s an nsgncantstory o the aance o teve trbes, a naton assae bysuccessve aves o Egyptans, Assyrans, Babyonans,Maceonans, an Romans. It as as t were better not totrust n ther Go anymore, or to thnk o ther Go as aaughng stock Nevertheess, aong ths path o eceptonan arkess, Go e Israe rom the eusons o earthygraneur to a ty sprtua graneur te ath n the trueGo.

47



Boredom and suffering

Fr se w aep ve a a fai in Gd, ecriss a e prpe Elija suffered n is plgriage

Mun Hreb is a ving and ipressive eapeElija was a prpe w was epered y is sruggles wi Gd, like a wild anal aed alng e CerRiver He ae a piece f bread rug by e ravens, and edrank fr e rver He cnfrned kings and revealed eidden inenns f e pwerfu e cnfused and beeaded e wrsippers f Baal near e river Kisn.

We wuld n epec any falngs fr a an f succnvcin and curage nevereess, ey were presen and ey were any Queen Jezebe was nified f wElija ad pu all f e press f Baal e swrd, andse sen an eissary annunce i a e ne daye wuld be kiled by e swrd (Jezebel s e new nrduced e wrsp f freign gds Israe)

Wen e prpe Eja eard e annunceen ebegan e arduus arc Mun Hreb, syb f esus ascen, alng e pa fa, Gd

e was aad and led f lfe e cae Beersea a wn f uda were e lef s servan eself wen n n e deer a days e andsing under a fuze us wed e were dead Yawe, e said, I ave ad enug ake le I a neer an ancesrs en e la dwn and wen sle en a f a udden an ange uced and ad

e u and ea e lked rund and ere a eadwas a scne baked n sne and a ar f waer e aeand drank and en ay dwn agan Bu e angel fYawe cae ack a secnd e and uced andsad Ge up and ea r e urney wl e lng fryu ( Kgs 93

e prpe's deep depressn s surprsng s wrdssund like se f Jesus: "My sul s srrwul e pin

4



of deah (M 2638; M 434 Accordng o an John ofhe Cross, for hose who have aen God serously and whove n Hs presence, ese depressons have he charac-ersics of rue sufferng

There s no one who, sooner or laer, more or less

nensely, does no suffer from hese purfcaions whch,bascaly, are waves of darness, couds a cover God, asf he weg of one hundred amosperes were pressngdow upon he sou John of he Cross adds ha f Godwere o hdraw Hs and from us, we woud de

3 THE SENCE OF GOD

In her dayaferday search for e Lord, wha dsurbs mos people wo wal n fa s he sence of GodMguel de Unamuno, he pansh phlosopherpoe, sad,

God s He who has aways been slen from he verybegnnng of e word; and hs s he roo of he ragedy

ere have You hdden

Our eyes were desgned o possess, a s, o searc forrealy When hey end up maserng he word of perspec-ve, fgure, coor, and dmenson, he eyes are sasfedThey have lfled er purpose; hey have arrved arealy

Our ears, by her nerna srucure, are mean o

apprehend he word of sound, armony, and voces Wheney acheve her obecve, hey are sled and sasfedAnd so on, wi all of he dfferen powers ha mae

up he human sucure: nelecual, nuve, vsual, aud-ory, sexual, affecve, neuroogca powers, and so on Eachpower as s own unconng mechansms and obecveOnce s obecve s aceved, he power ress Ohewise, remans resless In summary, all our powers and our enrebeng are srucured for possesson

49



But theren les the myste: we pt all te ecanssnto acton and, one by one, they reac ther goals they aresatsfed, and yet we ourseves are eft nsatsed

What does ths ean? t eans that we are soetngmore ore than the s of al these powers The specf-cally consttutve eeent of han bengs s soe otherpower, that s, a sperpower that exsts and spports teothers.

Let e explan Becase we are an age of te Invsbe and an echo of te Sent One, we possess restless anduneasy strengths that eerge, ong for, and aspre towardther center of gravty, where tey wl adjust tesevesand rest, watng to get wtn sght of the ns nes

Every act of fat and deep prayer s an attept apossesson Those nner forces are put to wor by eechanss of fat The beever, fted by a powerfforce, approaches the Unversal, to possess t and thus fndrest And, at any gven oent of prayer, reacng tethreshold of God, st wen te beever has te pressonthat the Obect s n sgt, God vanses, as n a drea Godbecoes absence and slence

Ad the belever s always eft wth a feeng of frstraton Ths subtle dsappontent that rests ro te close-ness of God s ntrnscally nerent to the act of fathFro the cobnaton of han nature and God's naturecoes the silence of God we have been born to possess annfnte obect and, becase t s beyond te, our travelngn te st necessarly be n silence and absence

Te lfe of fath s at once an adventre and a sfr-tune We know that the word God has a eanng But, asong as we rean on the way, we w never possess Hphyscally or contro H ntellectualy The eanng always be slent, covered wth te vel of te Eternty wbe the lftng of ths vel Meanwhle, we are plgrs whoare aways searcg for H and never fndng H.

John of the Cross adrably expresses the slence ofGod wth these verses:

50



Were ave Yo enelove an left me moanng?Yo fle lke a sagafer wong me went ot cang Yo an Yo were gone

Te experence of fat, te lfe wt Go s ts anexods a constant "gong ot callng Hm" Ad ere swere te eteal osse of te seekers of Go begns telong monotonos stor, capable of overcomng all rsstance n ever moment n ever attempt to pra, wen t

seems tat te gre of Go s wtn sgt, "Yo weregone: te Lor wraps Hmsef n te mantle of slence anremans den. t seems ke a perpetall nstea annaccessbe Face as t appears an ten sappears getscloser an ten far stant or as t forms an ten vanses

Henr e Lbac s qote as sang

W s t tat te so wen t as alrea fon okeeps feelng as f t a not fo m? W te feelngof a profon absence even n te most ntmate presence?W tat nvnble arkness of m wo s al gt? Wtat mmeasrabe stance before m wo peneatesevertng? W s t tat al tngs betra s te ave

ar sown s o an ten te keep m awa fromor sgt?

Te nverse aron s s fle wt engma anqestons Eac a or ears are assate b te sons ofpan an man esperaton We see eat, mtlaton

nemploment nstce an war Wat s Go ong?sn't He a Fater? snt He Almg? W s He sent?t s a stbbo an ntoerable slence tat slowl

nermnes even te strongest resstance Confson enterste pctre An o begn earng voces from everwere askng Were s or Go?" (Ps 42). Ts s notsarcasm or te formal argmentaton of an nteectaatest

e belever s confse becase of te enveopng an

5



distuig silence of God nd, little y little, vguefeelg of nsecurity leds the individul to question every-thg s this rel? Am ceting it? Is it ll true? And theelever remins in the midst of the ching wters,distred y the slence of God And wht is sid in Pslm

30 comes te You tued wy your fce nd I wsteied

he rophet Jeemih experienced, with terrile shrp-ness, ths silence of God he prophet sys to the Lord,"Relize tht suffer insult for your ske y is mysufering continul, my wound incurle, refusing to e

heled? ly, for me you re deceptive strem withuncertin wters? er 15:1518)

e ultimate victo

Wht hppened to Jesus in the finl moments of Hisgony? t ws something tht hd ll of the chrcteristicsof disturing crisis due to the silence o God In thtmoment, the Fthe ws, for Jesus, the "Silent One Jesus,nevetheless, rected to this y mgnificently distinguish-ing etween eeling nd knowing

n orde to exmine nd ponder this crisis, we musttke into considertion certin physicl nd psychologiclpremises

Accoding to experts in this field, Jesus hd lost lmostll of His lood y this time he primry effect of theleeding ws complete dehydrtion, phenomenon where-

in the individul does not suffer cute pin ut rther depressed nd choking senstion As result of this, Jesusws overcome y uing thirst tht He felt not only inHis throt ut in His entire ody, thirst like tht experienced y leeding soldiers on the ttleeld Nothing inthe world cn llevite this thirst except complete loodtrnssion

Furthermore, s consequence of this loss of lood,Jesus ws overcome y high fever tht, t the sme time,

5



gave e to a delum temen whch n th cae and npychoogca tem a type of menta confuon t not afantg but a o moe o e of concoune wthegad to dentty and uoundng

pat fom a th and pacng oueve on a moe

nmate eve we mut take nto condeaton that euobedent to the wl of the Fathe wa dyng n the funeof youth at the begnnng of H evangelzng monabandoned by the owd and H dcple betayed byone eected by anohe wthout fame o hono appa-enty thout eut th a feeng of faue (Mt 23:3

pychoogca tae efected n the paye of the pamt

Save me od fo he aehave cloed n on my vey engI am ng n the deee am

and thee no f ound have epped no dee ae and the wave ae wahng ove me.

I am exhaued h calng ou my hoa hoaeMy eye ae o ou h eachng fo my od

( 69)

Wat moe n evey human eng thee ae evedeepe than the phyca and pychoogca Thee twoeve coud be bypaed n he cae of Jeu But thee nhe aea of the pt Jeu wa able to mantan an admabe eenty thoughout H Paon

evethele at a cean pon n H uffeng the decbed ccumance dagged Hm to a ate of dtu-bance and confuon. c? o of emotona tablty?We do not know how to cafy o decbe t momen-tay night of the soul? n exteme eve of adty? fea upon ndng Hmef faced wth he ay?

One thng te Suddeny all the lght went out n Jeu ky a f a ota ecpe of he un ee takng pace.ound Hm fom ea o we He aw nohng head

53



nong no one reaed Aence, empine, conion,ilence and darkne nexpecedly came over Je' ollike a wild and erocio ea Noingne ArdiyWa Hi Faer alo among e grop o deerer

wa e rial o e J e Un people dged

Him ly and condemned Him Ti wa o e expeced Neverele, a e rig momen, e Faer woldpeak p or e Son, ipping e cale in Hi avor B,wen e deciive momen came, no one poke p or eSon Had e Faer een iing nex o Pilae and aiapa on e rinal Wa e Faer alo oide e door,

imply wacing e condemned man paAnd en, o wom did He All ronier and all

orizon ad een cloed o So en, wa "reaon againe Son Had Je een an inrder raer an a meenger A dreamer Had everying een worle n eend, wa everying going o vani in a pycedelic

nigmare, in a decepive mirageTe "Son o Man" loaed over a limile ay likeomeone lo and ipwrecked Benea Hi ee, noingAove Hi ead, noing "Faer, Faer, wy ave yooraken me wa e ilence o God a ad allenpon Hi ol like a on o rick

Neverele, all a wa a feeling. Bu ai i nofeeling; i i knowing.Je wa never a magniicen a in e la momen

o Hi agony He opened Hi eye He ook Hi ead ikeomeone awakening and aking away a wicked nigmare He oon overcame a orrie momen e aware

ne o Hi ideniy emerged rom e azine o e"delirim" and ook poeion o Hi enire eing And calmed, He og e la ale: e ale or cerainy a oppoed o evidenc, or knowing a oppoed ofeeling And rom i uimae rggle aroe e limaevicory.

Wiou word, He aid, Dear aer, I canno feel Yo, canno see Yo My inner ene ell me a Yo are araway, a Yo ave ecome a mi, a leeing adow,



nbe disance smic empins ningns evheess in spie f a hese appearances know ha Yu arehere now with me; in Yur hands I cmmi my spiri(Lk 2346)

n he mids f darkness Jesus eap in e abyss

knng ha a he bm e Faher was waiing frHim h pen arms And He was n misaken was agri end he Faer did n save Him frm deah buimmediaey rescued Him frm is pwer

Those efeate by the silence

Amng e grea variey f experiences prduced byhe sience f Gd we are day abe disinguish hreevery differen grups especiay amng hse cmpeeycmmied Gd he firs grup is he deated

hese pepe cmpeey abandn he ife wi Gdand aange heir ives as if Gd did n exis Fr manyyears hey frced hemseves ive heir faih hey awkea midnigh prayed Gd and Gd did n answer heyg up in he ming peaded wih he Lrd and hey feha He was far away r simpy absen Every aemp

pray ended in faiure A husand imes hey fe ikehrwig he whe hing verbard A husand imeshey reaced agains his empain hinking ha afer ahe ny ing a gave meaning ife was Gd heynever frmay dea ih he ineecua prbem f Gd'sexisence hey were afraid f finding ning mre an

an empy mbday hey are s. ey seem be in a pecuiar andcnradicry siuain: n he ne hand hey wish haGd were an actual and living reaiy bu hey fee" ha Heis dead hemseves hey d n deny Gd even ess sin frn f hers hey wud ike beieve Bu hey ackhe sengh even if heir heads hey are cnvincedha here is nhing hey can d

hey ef he Church sucure r are in he prcess f

55



doig so Th partiuar symptom of ths pop is aggrs-siss ial of all frustratd popl ompsatoryiol Thy sm bittr Thy d to dstroy This isth oy way thy a justify thmsls ad thir dfatThy ioltly ad without just aus ritiiz th gral

sttur of th Churh: istitutios authority formatioprograms soial tahg ad so o

Thy do ot spak agaist God. O th otrary thykp silt. ut it sms to m thy prati psyhologialtrasfr; that is wh thy attak th Churh so obsssily udath thy ar doig so to God though

thy osidr Him to b a oxistt my a halluiatio who has watrd do thir jot of lif hirdptio ad frustratio th is dirtd agaist GodHimslf

ha hard som of ths pop mak som of thmost irdibl statmts: am almost forty yars old;

must bgi to li but aot rtur to my hildhood tobgi agai to mak plas or to dram You oly li oad ths o mad a big mistak ha wastd th bstyars of my lif ad a't gt thm bak

Harig ths ad simiar statmts o aot hlpbut fl a rrt sympathy for suh pop

ose disrbed by e silence

For may yars thy hld th torh high t had b aproogd hoymoo i whih God was o log celebra

tion Durig thos yars idals oatd o th wid slfd-ials bam librty ad rihs ad ths popl smd tolak othig i th world. t was a god ag

Th yars passd ad th ight of si bga toopprss thm Th strgth of youth disappard likmoy i a ordra aout At this tim th Lord waso logr th lbratio of th past Lif otiud ad asif by osmosis thusiasm draid away. Durig this timthy r rid a sig gift from o high ot a sigl

56



oe of ose graces tat mark, affrm, ad cofrm us fa ad gve us certaty oute vaded ter days kea visbe coud

a gt of sece was og, very og Fatgubega o weake tese pgrms ey cotued to drag

temseves aog amost ut tey dd ot eve ave tedesre to cotue It was ow does oe say t asesao somewere bewee dsecatmet, weakess,ad faure, as we someoe says, do ot ave te wgsfor suc fgts But te more exact word for defg esuatio s diturbance "You turd away your face ad I

was errfed" (Ps 3)e desre for te Lord ded ad was substtuted by

apay ey abadoed e effort at persoa prayer; teyook par te sacramets more out of abt ta uger;tey particpated oy a few commuty prayers eempess of God was substtuted wt strog doses of

compesato o avod te feeg of faure, teyauced temseves to actvty, wc tey abeed "ap-ostoc," ad, accordg to te w of euaty, te geaterte teror emptess, te greater te actvty

e yca spom of ts group, besdes dsecatme s notalg Wout tryg ad wtout beg abe o

avod t, tese peope retu to te tme of ter frst ove,te yeas wc te desre for te Lord was coted beauty ad meag

s rememeras pour out my ear

ow usd o pass undr roo o mos usd o o o ous o odamog s o oy ad pras,

te soud of te feas (Ps 2)

Eve te s of ts actvty, a voce at caot beseced foows ad pursues tem t s te acet re-proac of te Lord "I remember your fatfu ove, teaffecio of your brda days" er 22

57



Tey woud gve every one o ter proessonal successes to recover tat rst ove, tat lvng encantment ote past tat tey once elt or te ord What tey eelmost s tat tey ave lost ter appness. And tere, araway, n some lost regon wtn temselves, tey carry te

bele tat apart rom God tere s no appness And teyare aways ready to begn agan on te road o return to tssoce Te maorty o tose dsturbed by te slence oGod end, sooner or later, by recoverng ter frst love

The confed

A long and panul story wegs eavy upon tesoulders o te conrmed ey ave seen eerytng nter lves: marces and countermarces, crses, als, and

more alls. But a basc dety covered leetng aures wta mantle. And te "Slent One" was sapng, ardenng,carvng, and conrmng te ones wo ad surrenderedtemelves to lgt and darness.

From te begnnng, e gave tem te grace to per-ceve tat, on te ourney o e, God and God aone coud

gve meang and soldty to ter e proect And, oryears wtout end, tey rased ter unnterpted cry tote ord God. "Your ace, Yawe, I see do not turn awayrom me" Ps "Do not turn away rom your servant" Ps69, 87, 0) "et your ace sne on your servant" Ps 31)"Tey wll lve n te lgt o your presence" Ps 89). "etyour ace sne on us and we sall be sae" Ps 80)

But wat was te secret recpe tat rooted and conrmed tese belevers n at It was a proound andunversal spirit o surrender Not resstng but deliveringthemselves tat was te ey to ter conrmaton. God waste "Sent One" or tem, too. But tey never becamempatent, rrtated, or scared tey never demanded aguarantee o credblty, a sgn tey could see or crutces sotey could wal Wtout oerng resstance, tey delv

58



ered hesees, oer ad oer agai, i siece, to thesiece

They spet og periods o aridity ad dryess Theydid ot et thesees be beate by this. I the idst o thedesest darkess, they reaied ir They receied ex

pected bows, which ct dow their tree to the ery rootsThey wee ot distrbed, howeer They srredered, isiece, to the siece

The crisis cae For og periods o tie, the skiesreaied te ad the word appeared to be goeed byabsdiy ad ate. They were ot cosed by this, or

were hey dishearteed, bt, rather, tied had ad oot,they et thesees be carred by the rier o siece addarks, sre o saiig i the ea o God The copass,that gided their saiig, wa certaity

Like Abraha ad other peope o God, those cofired i aith bega by brig their brdges; that is,

eaig behid secrities, sch as coo sese ad prob-abiiy They cotied by igorig expaatios that didot expai ad eidece that dit ot satisy the adodig their ars ad coig their eye, they deieredthesees oer ad oer agai to the "Absotey Other,"icessaty repeatig Amen Jt ike the poor ones of God

they srredered thesees withot spport, i copetedarkes, with coditioa trst, to their God ad Fa-ther

Ad so, they reaied oreer coired i the cer-taity o aith.

Seng in silene

Today, we hae a proiet expoet o this aith osrreder Thr�se o the Chid Jess Fro her, we haethese words o pathetic ad aost sperha greatess

The o aboe aridiy and ee eder were ydowy Je a away eaed a in y ie boa.

59



Th ea comor or a o u, o ko ha omeoneo uch hgh eeem ha ived, mling and eaceu, hiurrender o aih, deie he abolue ience o od

Th emony gain a reneed grandeur hen i inihed ih hee ord

I cod be that [the png Jeu] wl not awaken unlmy nal re n eety But th, ntead o addenng megive me he greae comfor.

Thi rale oman a o he ame mod a Abraham e ha ee aer, ome eole a hrough he ordih he comor o od Bu many oher ee od a aorure Only urrender abolute aih ranor orure ino eene Thr�e o iieux belong o hi clao eoe er aemen a ew day beore dying eave udumbounded, and he hine above many men o he

Bibe ho aked od or a ign in order o have heecuriy ha od i od. Thi an reue ha grace.

I do not ih o ee God on earth . I preer to live n ah

Wih imle ord, he keche or u a beauiu

metahor or he myery o aih:

6

I thnk o myel a a baby brd covered wth down I amno an eagle I only have the eye and hear o an eaglebu, n pte o my exeme malne I dare o tare at thedve un a he o ove and n my heart I ee al o

he hope and dream o an eagle The lttle brd wouldke o ly oward the whch acnae he eye Wha ll become o that brd Wll de o an eeng

el o eak h no e lttle brd doe no even lorry Wh courageou uender t wan to connuetag at the dne Sun. Nothng woud be able toghten , no even the wnd or ran. And dark cloudcome o hde ha ar o Love the lttle brd doe nobudge know ha beyond the cloud t Su conue



o h ha h lor ano b ark v for amom.

Thi i h fia myry of faih W hav b ign for a ifii Objciv Bu h ig ha b

ior by a iar ha mak h origia objciv ifcu o aaiW ar paow bu w hav h har of agl hi

i h rrbl a coraicory myry of humaiy o b a o a h am im arrow a agl o hav h ag' har a h aow' wig

Wha ar w o o? I kow ha cao fy ha high Iwi o v amp i I will o v roub my wig ourrr myf o h wi ha wi which i Go H wi o h r I know ha I am o a ag bu I aoknow ha if urrr myf o Go H wil b ab ogiv m h powrfu wig of h ag I ayhig

impoib wih Go? kow ha am a pil of rui afaiur bu I alo kow ha if I urrr o Go H wilb ab o raform m io a magific maio H ipowr a grac

If Go i wra i a mal of ilc or i hibhi h cou "wih couragou rr" I wilcou o gaz alhough I may or f ohigAhough a houa voic may aaul m pakig om of iio I kow ha H i bhi h ic a Iwi ubboy a aclly coiu o arch for HimAn alhough Go i "al" i my boa for a og a liv i o o mar I know ha H wil "awak o h gra ay of iy

ou biv ha h moo hi ow bcau h clou hav iapar ou ar miak Th moo hab hiig for a riy (Aci Provrb)

61



TOWARD CERTANTY

They were ke two old ends Between the two othem, they were carrng on a memorabe epc. Fghtngebow to ebow n a sngar batte, wthot gvng ortakng rege, they had gathered together an oppressedpeope Then they took them to the and o the ee, whchs the desert And, wakng over the goden sands, theybegan marchng toward a aro and amost mpossbedream They treated each other th the camaradere otwo war veterans. The two were God nd Moses.

Bt God had been an nvsbe "comrade" However,becase Moses was an ardent contempatve, he had desred to see God's ace or a ong tme And once, when hewas overcome by anety, he broght orth ths prayerwhch he had kept secret or so ong "Pease show me yorgory" And the Lord answered hm:

I sha make my goone eore yo t myFace yo cannot ee or no hmn eng cn ee me nsrvve" en Yahweh s, "ere ace ner me. Yow stand on the rock, n when my gory passes y, w pt yo n cet o the rock nd hed yo wth my

hand hve gone t en w tke my hnaway n yo w my ck t my ce w not eseen." (Ex 331923

n ths wd and amos cosmc scene, the whoe mystery o ath s admraby reveaed as ong as the batte oe contnes, t s mpossbe o ook pon the Lord ace to

ace t w ony be pose to ge a gmpse o Hm romthe eetng traces, movng rom the eects to the Case,wakng aong the path o dedctons and anaoges, nshadows, ndrecty n short, rom behnd"

62



e dk night

on of e Cross neer res of sying oer nd oergin n differen wys fi is e b of dark andcertain soul e wys oug of on s e gredoctor of faith becuse if e is e mser nd guide onspir ps e is especiy so on e nigime ps offi Among e mny ougs re deeoped n sbooks concernng is subec e foowing words from sAscent of ount armel mig be ken o be synesis ofose des

Fi is e subsnce of ings o be oped for nd esehings re no mnfes o e ineec een oug isconsen o em is firm nd ceran f ey were mfeshere woud be no fi For oug f brings cerudeo e ineec i does no roduce cy bu ony

darness w ry o expin ese wo conceps ke

bckbone consiue e essence of f: dark nd certain

is s ced usng compced nme ecognitive process e mysery of fi is ken from is

mpressions nd sensons of differen obecs enere umn mnd roug e cnne of e senses nreiy e mind is fer or neng Esseny from ec

obec deeced by e senses e mnd kes wic eobec is in isef nd so sepres wic e obecs in common o oer obecs of s css T is ideduces common ide of obecs nd s consequence rres uniers is sk of universalization.e ke concree exmpe

see cir ere; ere see noer cir isdifferen from e firs; ere is noer cir does noook nying ike e oer wo in design or size And so



on Fy ar o y deren ape ener my mndNow e work o e mnd begn Te mnd pu ade eparuar araer o e y ar, or raer, o emage o e ar and pk ou wa ommon o afy a uveral dea o ar From now on, I wl be able

o reognze a arDoe e ame ng appen n e proe o knowng

God In , no Te Lord no loed n oor ormel, doe no ave meaemen, anno be appreended by e ene God anno enter e laboraory oe nd and ub o analy and laaon Beaue

o , God wll never be an object of the nteect, beaueere nong n e mnd a a no paed rouge ene Te Lord an object of fath Ony a an"underand" Hm propery

So en, God w never ake par n our le game. Hewl alway be outsde, ranendenal; He above e

normal proee o uman knowedge He n anoerorb God somethng ese

I mean, God no o be "underood" anayaybeaue He wl never be par o our gymna o yllo-gm, preme, and onluon o nduon and deduon God "underood on one knee prang Hm

welomng Hm, vng Hm Te "overakng" o Jon oe Cro no o be underood n e nelleua ene a no poble bu n e aual ene To onuer(neleualy) God In ene, God unaalable Tedul and neeary ng o be onuered by Hm

Beaue no pobe o neleuay "overake

Hm, en God myste T doe no mean a He somethng mysterous, bu raer a He naeble bynelleual power a e Bbe ay, we wl never be abeo look a Hm ae o ae

Henr de Luba one wroe a n every ene, God oally deren A proe w brng u o oer bengor oer ru w no be able o brng u o Hm, u arepreenaon, uen or oer beng are no apabeo repreenng Hm



Even after logic has demnded that we afrm that Godexists, His mystery remains intct. Reason does not reachHim Dialectic and representation cnnot cross the threshod

But even before any diectic or representation, ourspirit afrms tht He who might be reached by dialecticand representation is beyond dilectic and representation.

And this affirmation, moing from drkness to ightand rom light to drkness, remains standing

his beautiul concept of de Lubac's underlines the"ift" of faith before, here, nd beyond all dilectic andrepresenttion he te belieer surrenders in drkness,and only then begins to understnd the mystery andcertainty is bo

Saint Augustine in ontra Adimantum sys

o you you no ht od s o you hnk htyou kno h od is ike He is nohin you imine,nong your houh embrces od, You ho reaboe eery nme, boe thouht, beyond eery idend eery ue, Liin od

Because of this, humn words ill neer be "messen-gers" of the re essence of God Words carry nd transmitimages of the reaities we ie, her, nd fee God, beingout of rech of the senses, never be understood by us interms of our lnguge Every word referring to God willhave to be in the negtie infinite, invisible, incomprehensibe, uncreted, unnmed Words cnnot coneyHim; tht is, the Lord is greter thn nything we canimgine, drem, desire He ty is the ncomparabe One

God is undertood in fith More thn n intelectuobject, He is the object of contemption t is ery wel tobecome invoved in the things of God But, originly, theact of faith consists in approaching "mystery in the darkness of night John of the Cross says:



To aa uo w o a so soul aac usa o b f u lf...Fo os cao as llc oa o ss . mos a ca fl a as ofo s l s sa fom o ...

at is Your name?

T s of Bb o a o f osb, l alo am, Go. To f s, som wa o

coa som a Lo Go s ucoaabOs name, fo Smc o, qua so ao am s, a ca ss, o a a asu ssc of pso a o s mmasuab

a Bl os w sc o Go spa of a comlx am: os a aos

Hm a am sa, Bbl maks us of a ouaouwa of f o Go o of Abaam Go ofIsaac Go of acob" Follow s sam s, Paulspaks of Go a Fa of ou Lo sus CsT mos aqua wa of ps o po o Gowoul b s he One wo was al paacs

he One wo was a sus Cs. To f o Go,o ol s poou, o am

Bcaus of s, Isals coul o u amof Yaw. Ba s mo al ls a a a ofp ascc of o of sal

fo, fo sas, w caabl a cal qusos: Wo a You? Waa You? Wa s You am? I s w s cox a follow bblcal sc s o b usoo.

Fl fom u of Paao, oss as aku la of a a wc o s of

66



aenlaw Go ai o im, "Bing my people eIaelie o of Eg"

Moe en ai o God "Look I go o e Iaeliean ay o em, e God o you aneo a en me

o you ·and ey ay o me Wa name, a amI o el em" God ad o Moe "I am e o i" (x31314).

Go a no avoide Moe qeion He give Moee only anwe manly poible Go old no ave aname He i e unnameable We anno lai Him Weanno qalify Him e mo impeive wo will no beable o onain Him He i no wiin e pee of pokenvoablay bu wiin a o Being Col we eve annela oaing ive wi a ingle ovel

i i e meaning o e myeio an amaiepioe o e nigime bale beween Jaob an e angelof Go. In e moning Jaob ak "Pleae ell me youname" And e anwe o God alay evaive "Wy oyo ak my name" (Gn 322533)

e ame anwe i given o Manoa "Wy ak myname I i a name o one" (Jg 13:18) Go i e Onewo anno be name Go i alay "omeing ele" He

i eepe an e deep, wide an pae, and ige ane eaven He i omeing oe an eavenly melodie He i no oun, b Being

In e pooun nig o ai en e ol, like ablind an iy lan bo umbly befoe e ivineaiviy and aep e Ininie Myey like e of ain

a all, loo and eed only u enee andeepive ill e oul begin o "unean" e Uninelli-gible

67



aogies, aces, d symbos

raveling at night, without the shining stars, how wwe avoid being devoured by ear Where wll we hod on

so as not to succumb to distress at signposts, whatpointers wl we use to know that we are on the right pathWere is God How do we contemplate Him, even "rombehind

he Bibe oers us images and symbols he Invisibe ismade visible through the orces o nature, the written

word, and historical events, which are an invitation or usto dive into the divine waters

God oten takes the orm o ire, a very appropriatesign or making Himsel visibe by virtue o the briliancewith which He lights the darkess, and because o theenergy o His heat by which He tempers, joins, or gives lie

On Mout Horeb, Moses is scinated by the buing bushthat is not devoured by the ire x 32) On Sinai, themontain burns but is not consumed x 1918). God is aire that does not destroy but puriies

And so, by way o the path o deductions and traces,we stggle to discover the Being and Face o the Lord

We ony need to poke a little bit beneath the skin ohumanity to discover that we are measured in terms oininity Who dug such a deep well Who put this ire herethat always brns yet never goes out From where did thishunger come which a the ood in the world caotsatisy And that thirst that cannot be quenched by a o

the wateras in the mountains Athough no one saysanything, underneath everything there must be a source olie, a irst cause, and a inal goal.

Ad that shiny mirror which is the word Behindsuch beauty there exists Beauty behind so much lie thereis Lie; behind so much tenderness there is Love

And so we cimb rom creature to Creator, rom theeects to the Cause, but aways by a bind path, guided by

68



means of analogies and deductions goping in shadowsin faith.

In spite of all this in he fulness of time Eph 1:10),God showed Himsef with signs and wods of salvationHis mystey howeve emained hidden and veiled in

silencehough the Wod that vei was dawn aside and the

mystey of Chist "was made known to me by a evelationEph 3:3) Howeve the pofound and ultimate eaity ofmystey is still tapped and hidden in wods and signs andwe contempate the goy of the Lod ony like mios

(2 Co 318)Fom now on thoughou the centuies the destiny ofhe Chuch is to discove eve moe ceay ha mysteyuntil the veil is compleely dawn back n each stage of hehistoy the Chuch advances towad the heat of themystey in an eve deepening gowth peneation depth

and claity of the mystey of esus Chist.Revelation is an historical event in the sense that it ispoduced in the past But evelation is no completed in thepast; it continues unfolding thoughout hisoy ha is theknowedge of the mystey of Chis did not end with thewiing of the Scipues bu ahe is eniched and deep

ened with the contemplative conibuions of al times anda cules Histoy is nohing ese but an advancingtowad the inteio of the Wod.

The great leap into the abyss

he "adult" believe is the one who believes surrendering him o heself. We could then speak of an adult faith Inode to undestand it we begin by pesening some odinay concepts fom eveyday common speech A child isessentialy a dependent being who needs suppot fomsomeone ese to wak eat live An adult is capable ofstanding alone wihout being suppoted by anyone else;alone the adult can live ean a iving ceate a famiy

69



Applg hee idea o he cae a hand, hildish faithwod be ha which neceiae ppo, eciy, ea-ance Adult faith i ha which, ho ppo, eacheo, n evey i, , alow, and ende We aedeliveed ino he aby, void of all eciy, evidence, and

eaance Adl faih i ha which i done anding andalone

he peon who, in ode o believe, need eciy anddefene, ha he faih of a child i a if omeone wee ocome p and ay appea ha wha yo believe iconay o common ene i i again he law of he

nivee and i i conay o eaon B calm down bing yo eaon why wha yo believe i no o cazyWih hee agmen, yo wil be convinced ha wha yobelieve i no conay o eaon, no eaon conay ofaih am going o peen o yo an odey agmen,poving o yo ha miacle e poible becae he One

who ceaed he law of nae can bea hem and, finaly,ha he fndamenal h of faih can hold p o hedob of cience Cam down, and yo may believe inpeace

hi faih i chidih becae, in ode o ake a ingeep, cche ae needed i good ha he believe

inelecally pobe he maeial of faih; b a faih haneed eaance o ofen he figh of he leap i nofaih n ielf, adically peaing, he mae ac of faih io ae he leap iho any cche

he "ad in faih ovecome all diance and alimiaion inheen o faih, eaving hem o hemeve;

he "adl" give p a he ineecal handhold ha giveweigh o agmen, and ake he gea leap ino heaby, in he fllne of nigh, endeing o he -lutely Other i a leap ino he aby becae he believeende "eaon" and le himelf fal ino he dephha ae yey

he believe alway ha he feeing of nning a i i no aional hogh b blind and "iaiona feelingha ovepowe he believe and "ay" hing ch a oo,

70



you be everyhing on a Someone, and wha i you loe hebe he believer i e wihou any oid handle, wihouany empiria proo, wihou any explanaion ha realyexplain, wihou any evidene ha ele e queion h i he aby ino wih he believer make he eap

and no u one, bu oreverhi i he grea momen o aih i i he radial a

ha uderie aih meri and ranoming value I ionly meoriou o beieve in ligh when we are in darkne believe ha behind hi ilene, You breae Ibelieve a behind hi darkne, Your Fae i ining.

Ahough everyhing i urnin ou bady or me, aloughbad luk olow me, believe ha You love me Alhougheveryhing appear o be ae, alhough i eem a abudiy le he world, and we ee hared and adne,ha evil iumph and good ail, ahough adne reignand he dove o peae ha been kiled, alhough we eel ike

dying believe I urrender o You Wihou You, whameaning would here be in lie? You are eeal liehi i he aih ha move mounain and give be

liever an indebe olidiy Wih i "eap, he gi oaih uderood o be Wihou a doub, aih omGod i , he primary gi Bu, i eem o me, ere i

ao a beauil and bai a o giving on he par o ebeliever In pure darkne, he beiever leap ino he armo he Faher, who i no een, wihou having any ohermoive or euriy han Hi Word here i grea gi (andmeri) on he par o he believer, in he a o aih And,we repea, i i e geae a o love

Wale Kaper, in hi book esus the hrst, wie

Faih d no mean meely aen omen a e,bu neier i i merely

Believn mean ayn Amen o od, oldin a om and an im a ou od Believin meanaow od o be woly od, and a mean eonz a he ole ound and meanin o le Fai iexene in eeviy and obediene

71



Trsfigure night or certainty

f it is tue that the at of faith inoles the whoepeson feeings, thoughts, and behaio, it is neetheless

an at of the will beause it deas with a eal "holding fast."With this suende, the beliee opens the way, in asingle stoke, fo the entie night of faith, and gies up thatadal inapaity of ou intelet to "dominate" God intelletualy he beliee suendes, leaps oe all mentapoesses, aboe the poblems of fomas and ontent and "eahes" God and thus, the Lod beomes etainty

he seuity that ationality oud not gie us is gienby the ne who is the ontent offath on ondition that it hasbeen aepted though a "feey gien" and unonditionalsuende

d so the night of faith is onquered and, withouteasing to be night, is tansfigued, taking the fom of light,

o bette, taking the plae of light; that is etainty PopeDionysius, in the thid entuy, alled faith a dark ray: abeam of dakness that penetates the wold and "iluminates" eeything, not with sight o eidene but with theseuities that ome fom within and ae something othethan laity hee is no laiy in faith but thee is seuity

"dak and see" his etainty is not a podut deiedom eident tuths, but one that poeeds fom suendeitself Likewise, the psalmist tells us that "een dakness toyou is not dak and night is as lea as the day" Ps 139).

d so, God, tansfomed into light etainty fo theadut beliee, leads and peedes the aaan of beliees

though the deset of ife, walking in ight and hope And,so that the people ae not distubed by the dakness ofnight, God will take the fo of e to gie them light fEx 132122)



e ae now abe to cassi aith as certanty Becauseaith is the ist git o God, cetainty is the rst grace omthe Give o a gaces Neetheess, ooking at cetainy as

a han phenomenon, we ae seaching hee o theoiga souces o that cetainty

John o the Coss discoes o us, in immota veses,how the night o aith is tansoed into the ight o day:

with no othe ight o guide

than the one that bed in y heatths ded e oe suey than the ight o noon

Cetainy moe suey does not come om the tacesound in natue, no om phiosophica aguments, butom the inne stuctu o aith itse "that bued in my

heat ithout beieing, nothing is undestood ithoutsuendein nothing is beieed And no one suendeswithout making a ea decision The one who suendesdoes not sue om inteectua pobems th aith Secuity is oud in ie

The beieve begins by not being aaid o the dakness

o esising the sience Seduced by the voice o the Onewho cas us out o the deep and biiant dakness, weeach out, ovecoming the puzzes and inseities o taein an unknown and Just as the stas iuminate the night atmidnight, so the semieied ight o Gods ace gies ightto the path o the beiee Thee is, uthemoe, anothe

ight and guide" that which "bun[s] in the heatThe conuence o these two ights though the nightconinues to be dak makes ou mach in aith moe sue,stonge, as i we wee waking in the bightness o thenoonday sun It is a bght and mysteious night, something ike a wedding night: we suende, coness, aimwithout seeing, we see without eeing, we ae sue wesuende the keys and ae united in an etea covenant, atansigued aiance A insecuities disappea in that

73



momen and the eah he sky he sea and eveythingunde the sea eveything is oveed with etainy aeainty as seene as a summe evening and we aeonmed oeve in aih

n ealiy eainty is bon out o lie t is the it o

he hea no o the mind.

For ow well

One moe i is John o he Coss who gives us the link

beween dakness and eainty in his Song o the soul thatreoices in knowing God through aith Hee ae a ew veses

Fo kow ellhe sping ha los and usalhough i is nigh

a eeal spg is ddeno kow well whee i has is sealhough i is gh.

do no ko is ogin o i has none.u kow ha evey oign has oe o ialhough i is nigh

s lay is neve dakened

And kow tha evey ligh has oe o iis living spg hih log o s in s bead o lie alhough i is igh

he deep mystey o aith is peisely in hose woonadioy expessions ha n hough alenate and

dominae he sanzas know well (eainy) although it isnight (dakness) he a o aih onsists o he uniingand onasting oe ha eases o be a paadox hemomen one begins o ive it

74



a 3

TP TO TH NOUNTR

Rl our resence,

An may the vson o our Beau be my thor the scness o loves not cureExcet by our v resence an e

oh o h Coss

n wng hs haps, ha spally n mndhos Chsans who do no ha an gudlns a hdsposa by whh o d and hannl h dp hopsand aspaons

Wanng o mak hs as asy as possbl, I haaangd hs gudlns n a paal od so ha,whou ndng any hlp, hs psons an mak hplgmag owad h nn mysy o God, ansom-ng h ls n lo

Meg of is chapter

Pan, onsany, and hop wll b k h guad-an angls ha wl aompany us on hs pah, no alow-ng h ngh o dsoaon o ak us by sups

W nd calm Anyon domnad by no dsa-on, lakng wholnss du o agaon and nousnss,

75



cannot achee a transformng unon th God In order tocalm ths nerousness we hae collected a seres of exercses that are easy to practce

We need pce Anyone loaded down wth aggressonnner resstance and deepseeded rejecton s not able to

enter the temple of peace whch s God n order to calm thesou we must put together a process of profound purfca-ton th practcal exerses n surender

Furthermore we need interior unity Great waes as-sault us our spral salng dstracton dryness ard-ty at are we to do Here we wll pont out practcal

methods for oercomng these squallsn order to take the frst steps we are gong to lean on

the word as a brdge between the soul and God As practcalmeans we wll propose ocal prayer sprtual readng andthe lke

here are other thngs that apparently are secondary

and yet play an mportant role n the results to be ganedfrom prayer Where when how to pray Posture breathng We ge practcal gudelnes for concrete problems

Prayer is not easy

In my opnon one thng that prejudces us and throwsus off s the assurance that prayer s easy as easy asconersng wth our father mother or a frend I agree thatt may be easy to say a prayer out loud to jon n theprayers of the fathful to say some ejacuatons or to takepart n some superfcal commucaton wth God

But to explore the deep mysteres of God to prepareand strengthen the psychologcal facultes for growth ngrace to temper ths growth to the dfferences n humanmakeup to contnue along the dark and dffcult coasts ofGod's demands toward that transformng unon ths entre process s one of slow and unnerng dffculty Of allhuman endeaors adancng to the depths of a lfe wth

76



God is he mos complex diicul and emendous ask.Paye is no easy

Gace oes a limiless aay o possibiliies om zeoo iny No eveyone is given he same capaciy odevelopmen no eveyone is demanded o accomplish he

same amou i is o each one accoding o he measue ohe g he diiculy is ha no one is able o say havebeen given so much poenial and will be demandedsuchandsuch a ul God alone is he give He aloneknows he measue We ae o be oally aihul wihouagug abou how much we have been given and how

much we ough o euBe ha as i may wih only a lile paye lacking

peseveance o discipline we canno expec a poweulexpeence o God no can we expec ansomed lives;no as a esul can we expec o see shining pophes

Prayer is an

hough paye is pimaily he wok o gace i isalso an a and like a i mus submi on a psychologicallevel o he noms o all leaing us like any ohe humanaciviy Good paye demands hen mehod ode anddiscipline In a wod i demands echnique

I ow ha a simple peasan wihou need o anyechnique by way o gaces and exaodinay gis givenby God is able o discove God and he unahomablepanoamas o he mysey o His being and His love Buhese gaces ae no meied no ae hey obained bysengh hey ae eceived apa om any planning ologic because hey ae absoluely eely given

echnique hou gace does no lead o esuls Buhink o how many yeas how much enegy how manymehods and how much schooling ae needed o anyhuman developmen ha o a paine compose poessional echnician I paye is among ohe hings an a



let ot dream that we can arrive at a high state of lifewith God withot effort order and method.

It is te that here we are speakig of a differet type ofschooling that may disregard all methods follow the mostsrprsig paths ad override psychological and edca

tional aws.Bt ormally God is fond in the evoltionary laws of

life the same as in the case of the mstard seed it is aninsignficat seed almost invisible It is planted Days andweeks pass ad to all appearances nothig happensNevertheess at the ed of a certain period of time some

thing begins to sprot that looks like a plat bt that isbarely visible Months pass and it grows and grows til itforms a thick shrb pts ot its branches and the birdscome and make their nests in it (Mk 4:3033)

This slow and grada process is tre of all life. It isespecially tre for growth in prayer and in commnity life

with the aim of incorporating the figre of Jess Christ intoor lives

A bdseye view

If we take a birdseye view of the march along the pathof life with God from vocal prayer to more profondcommicatio we will have the following general otlineIn the first stages God leaves the initiative to the individal who fnctions according to the norms of psychologyGods participation is rare. He leaves it to the individal to

find the means and spports as if the individal were theonly carpenter in the hose And althogh it is te that inthese first stages divine consolations may abond prayerappears to be an edifice exclsively spported by hmanscafolding.

we advance toward higher levels God slowly andgradally takes the initiative and directly itervenes bymeas of special spports We begin to fel that the psychological spports which helped s so mch before are now

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useless cches. God, wih ever greaer decisiveness, aeshe iniiaive rom us He paces us in sumission andsurrener, o he poin where anoher sujec, he Spiri,comes on he scene and remains as he only archiec, oranso us ino a "chid" o God, a living image o His

Son, ou ord Jesus Chris.

The Spi oo comes o elp u in our weanes orwhen we do no now ow o pray properly en heSp personally mae our peons or u in groan hacano pu ino word; and he wo can ee ino all

ears nows wa e Spir mean ecause e prayerha he Spi maes or od's holy people are alway inaccord wi e mind o od (Rom 8:228)

The irs seps are compicaed All o us, lie childrenlearning o wal, need psychological suppors mehods o

concenraion, ways o reaxing, and poins o relecion.Bu when God eners he scene, we, in such closeproximiy o Him, sense he conras eween our "ace"and he "Face" o God, and we are hen dragged alonghrough successive puriicaions y means o a generaldeachmen Having gained puriy, liery, and peace,

nohing sans in our way, and we speedily advance wihopen sails under God's direcion oward a ransormingunion n he meanime, we are compleely sculped inohe gure o our ord Jesus Chris, ull o mauriy, humiliy, grandeur, love, and service

Wriing aou prayer in his oo, Quiero er a Dios,

Faher Eugenio del Nio Jesus says ha hese ineriorransoaions have an echo ha revereraes in he psychological consciousness. ndependen o any exraordinary avors which cause e shocs in he consciousnessand eave a healhy scar upon i, grace grows in heindividual, silenly and slowy, hrough he passing joys,hrough violen suering and wih hese, o a region opeace a rege where sound or sorm rarely come, an oasiso springs o srengh and joy.

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Paee

Many uneae he pah of paye Some aanon ialmos om he eginning, saying, was no o fo his

They also say, is a wase of ime; I o no see any esulsaigue, ohes ae soppe on he fis slopes, suc inmeiocy They coninue he aciiy of paye, u onleel goun An hee ae hose who aance, amiiffculies, o he unfahomale ephs of Go

The pimay enemy is inconsancy, which is on ou

of he feeling of fsaion ha some people suffe whenhey noice ha esls ae no fohcoming o o nocoeson o he effo hey hae gien o i So mucheffo an so few esuls, hey say. many yeas eicaeo paye an so lile pogess.

We ae acsome o wo ey ypical laws of ou

echnological sociey: spee an effciency. n any humanaciiy, he ynamic cycle woks somehing lie his: fomsuch a cause, such a esul; fom any acion, a eacion;fom so much effo, a coesponing esul The esulseems o e a pize an simulaes us o new effos Weconinue he eo ecause we can see he esuls while, ahe same ime, he esuls pomoe geae an eneweeffos

Howee, he same hing oes no happen in he life ofgace We seem o e moe lie hose fishemen who eepwach all nigh long wih nes spea ou, an in hemoning, fin hem compleely empy (L 55)

We nee patence o accep he fac ha wh gea effohee will e few esuls, o, a leas, o accep he eenualispopoion eween effo an esul

Some say ha paience is he a of waiing Ohesanswe ha i is he a of nowng We coul comine hewo an say ha i is he a of knowng how to wat Onewais ecause one nows n ohe wos, paience is an acof waiing ecause one nows an peacelly acceps ealiy as i is

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Whch ality? In ou cas th a two alitis. Thfist that God is ssntially f and as a sult that Hisconduct is ssntially distubing And th scond that aof if advancs sowly and gadualy

Th most diffilt thing fo thos who hav mbadon th mach of faith is to hav patinc with God Thconduct of th od fo thos who hav dlivd thm

slvs up to Him is otn conusing Th is no ogic inHis acons Bcaus of this th is no popotionbtwn ou ffots to discov His blssd Fac and thsults of this ffot; and many los patinc and confusdabandon th who thing

God is th souc fom which vything is bo and in

which vything is consud H is th bottomlss wl ofal lif and gac. H disposs and dispnss vythingaccoding to His goodwill In th gnal schm of Hisconoc policis th xists only on u that of givingNo on may dmand anything No on may qustion Himcononting Him with qustions

Rlationships with Him a not th sam as ou humanationsps In ou intationships th a contactsof bagain and sa wo and salay mit and wadNon of this xists in th ationship with God Th isony gift gac H is of anoth natu; w a in diffntobits Whov dcids to ta God siousy nds to bconscious of this diffnc and accpt it paculy That iswhat it mans to b patint with God

It is good to wa towad God by mans of povnmthods of pay but without losing sight of th thiccutain that is th mysty of gac Patinc mans to bawa of and to accpt pacfully th fact of ou having toopat in this stang distubing and impcptibl dy

nac that oftn puts faith and patinc in chc.u God is distubing. All of a suddn unfosn i

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a snea aac, God descends pon s, overwhelming swih His powerl presence, confirming s forever in faih,and leaving s shaen for he res of or lives n view ofsch specaclar and sponaneos evens, many ask hemselves, Wy no me? Qesions canno be asked of God We

ms accep Him as He isOhers are carried by he Lord o he sands of he

deser, in an everlasing afernoon of aridiy. To ohers, Hegives a mared sensiivity for he divine as an innaepredisposiion of heir personaiies and, ye, He nevergrans hem a special grace as sch There have been people

hrogho hisory who never worried abo God, neiheraacing Him nor defending Him; ye, his same God cameo hem in splendor and glory There are hose who sail ona sea of consolaions for heir whole life There are ohersdesined o make heir pilgrimages dring a perpetanigh, and a sarless nigh i is There are hose who wak

pon neven grond, beeah a brillian sn or nder hickclods. For ohers, heir life wih God is aways a gray dayEach person is a sory, an absoey niqe and singarsory.

Woever wans o enis in he army of God ms begno accep his primary realiy God is free, consany new,

and nforeseenNo one may qesion God, saying, Wha is his, Lord?To he one who worked only one hor, Yo are paying hesame salary as he one who worked al day? He willrespond, Wa gave was no a salary b a gif, and maydo wh wha is mine wha consider o be righ.

n his ingdom, God conines, he verbs to py and toen do no exis Nohing is paid here becase nohing iseaed Everyhing is received Everyhing is gf, graceYo m realie ha we are in differen orbis My lawsare no yor laws have oher crieria becase My nae isothe

f we, who begn he climb o God, repea, do nobegin o realize and accep he free and disrbing nare ofGod, we are going o sink ofen ino complee consion

8



y obseation of life has brought me to the conclusionthat the common reason gien for the abandonment ofpraye this life with God for many often appearsmeaningless illogical out of proportion; they end up withthe impression that it is all unreal irrational.. and they

abandon it altogetherhee is more just as there is no logic in Gods aciiy

there is also no logic in the reactions of nature And lifewith God takes place on the border between nature andgrace.

Say for example that a person slept ery well during

the night and yet awoke in a bad mood tense. he nightbefore hat he could not sleep at all because of the noiseand mosquitos and yet he arose relaxed and refreshed Inthe ups and downs of human life there are no straight linesecause of this our reactions are unpredictable

n a single day the same person may ump among the

most aried and contradictory emotional states now onefeels sure; a little later araid; after that happy; and in theeening anxious. We are not talking about clinically unsta-ble or disurbed personalities. An author or an artist can goto work and in twele hours produce nothing yet all of asudden in sixty minutes produce more than is normally

accomplished in wele hours. Who understands this? hatis ust the way we areNaurally eery phenomenon has its cause or series of

causes There are no accidents ut normally the reasonsfor moods and emotions are not detectable And wen it isimpossible to detect the cause of someting we say we are

confronted with someting mysteousn the life of the spirit the same thing appens in asingle afteoon a belieer who goes to a quiet hermitageto pray passes through a prism of the most aried emotional siuations rom moments of complete aridity tothose of the greatest consolation as well as moments ofapathy What does this mean? Is it a question of diferentbiological states psychological reactions or responses tograce? It is impossible to say Without a doubt it as to do

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wih a gea complexiy of causes, beginnng wih biochemica pocesses. Life, by is naue, is moion Andmoion is vesaile And because of his, emoional saesae conanly changing

Wihou ealing i, we ae aleady involved in a

quesion ha oubles many people: in a single spiiualphenomenon fo example, song consolaion a whapoin can we say ha i is somehing fom od and a whapoin is i meely a poduc of ones physical naue? Inohe wods, wha is naual and wha is gace?

I believe ha no one knows he answe I is useless o

peend o discen i because hee ae no insumens bywhich o measue and poin ou he boundaies. I also hinkha his peoccupaion, moe han being useless, is hamul, because i causes us o be selfceneed

Neveheless, speaking in geneal ems, we could esablish an appoximae cieion, he cieion of he fuis

anyhing ha causes us o each ou and give of ouselveso ohes is somehing fom od Eveyhing ha poducesa sense of calm and a sae of peace is also fom od Wemigh also venue fuhe we ae going o suppose haany given emoion, a is oos, is a sicly biophysicalpoduc Even in his case, if, in fac, he peson is pomp

ed o each ou and give o ohes, we could conside i obe a gif fom od

Persevere

Paience engendes peseveanceIn he geneal sphee of life, hee ae no leaps neihe

in biology, no in psychology, no in he life of he spiihe gain of whea is planed in he afeoon, and we dono hink o go ou ealy he nex moing o see if hewhea has gown Many days and nighs mus fis pass.e many weeks, he whea begins imidly o appea, likea miniaue plan hen, duing he monhs ha follow,



that itte plant ises into the ai until it is tansomed intoa beaut stal o wheat

atence means to now (and to accept) that thee aeno leaps only steps And patience leads to peseveance

hs is diected at those who ae pushing themselves to

obtain (o ecove) a elationship with God Both goupsespecialy the latte ae maed by a common denominato: the aophy o spiitual enegy and a eal desie to getout o that situation

hese people deteminedly begin the seach o theFace o the Lod And taing the ist steps they ealize

lamentably that it is impossible o them to wal; theyhave ogotten how to wal with God; thei eet do notobey thei desies; they ae not cetain how to establish auning dialogue with God (the living God); thei wingsae too buised o such a light s God "dead?

hey spea to the od and have the eeling that thee

is no listene that thei wods ae swallowed up in avaum his happens paticulaly to those who have lostthei amliaity with the Lod and want to ecove it It is anght o the spiit

hese people seem to be ovecome immediately by adeep hge and impatience appeas in the distubing

wods aleady alluded to: I am getting nothingWhat happens to those who say they get nothing? Itis an eveasting dama a atal spial I will explain: they donot eat because they do not eel lie eating; they do not eellie eating because they do not eat And death comes dueto anemia Whee and how can we bea this deadly cycle?

By eating without eeling lie it so that the desie to eatmay be egainedany believes because they have not payed o a

long time do not eel lie paying And because they donot eel lie paying they do not pay And so they entethe cycle: the aculties become sti God is moe and moestange and distant and the deadly cicle is closed tap-ping them in its womb How do they get out o this mess?By payng with peseveance and without eeling lie it in

8



order a e desire o pray and e sense of God migblossom

We ms persevere in is personal relaionsip wiGod, even og we ave e impression a we arewasig me Sppored by voca prayer and spirial

reading, we esablis a line of commnicaion wi eord in pre fai, we repea e words a will be ebrdge beween or aenion and e person of e ordand we even persevere wen we ave e feeling a ereis no one on e oer end

f we ave lived on e osirs for many years, i is

insane o preend a in one wee we are going o ravelino e ving and Unfaomable Mysery We ae seps,no leaps

Perseverance is e ig price we ms pay for allconqess in is world

lgrow is mysery A lile plan, appearing imidlyfrom e grond, eracs organic elemens from e soiland ransforms em ino a living sbsance I barely gives

signs of grow, b i grows iewise, e grow of graceis no deecable a firs glance, or even by means ofinsrmens How many people were aware of e divinepower and naure in Jesus, e Son of God Ms weimagine a e Nazarenes veneraed eir inswomanMary as an ecepional being How disurbing and unfaomable is e mysery of grace!

Some may answer me: grow is observable in isefecs, wen e individual advances in love, mariy,umiliy, and peace is e, b only p o a cerainpoin We now from our own eperience ow mc efforwe need o overcome naral fauls; nevereless, only Godand we are winesses o a effor oers do no evennoice

On e oer and, grace adaps iself o dieren

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natures, operating in accordace with the oe receiving thegrace. Grace does not go agaist human naure: the extrovert is not made an introvert; a talkative person does notbecoe reserved and quiet Grace respects human liitations

PEAE TROUG SURRENDER

Upon entering or wating to eter into a transformingrelationship wth the Lord we begin to sense the existence

of certain roadblocks withi us which interpt the progress of our attention to God t is then that we realize thatit is impossibe for us to "remain" with the Lord in faith andi peace Wy precisely the?

In our daiy activities we are noaly alienated, that isto say, separated from ourselves Consciously or ucon

sciously, we are fugitives from ourselves avoiding confrontation of our ow mystery

But, upon entering the proudity of God we asoenter our deepest recesses and touch our own mysterywhch is summed up in these three questions Who am I?Wat is the fundamental purpose of my life? What is

necessary to keep this pan going?Ten, confronted by the God of peace ad illuminatedby the Face of the Lord we notice that within us there is anagitaton, a disturbace as if an earthquake were presentwe feel as if tere were a great dea of aggression storeddo beow And, as a result we feel out of step as if

someone in this temple of peace were shouting War!"We are aware that sefishess has unleashed a state ofwar in our iterior Tall living flames of resentment burnthroughout resentmet toward ourselves, toward otherstoward the ystery of life and, indirectly (and subconsciously transfeed), toward God When our sensitive eyesare opened ore ad we begin to analyze these mosthdden words, we discover and not without surprise, agenerally sorry state depressing sadness meancholy

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emotional blocks, frustration, antipathy, insecurity, alkinds of aggression We appear, deep within, to be like athreatened and threatening caste

We know that, with so much turbulence within, it wlbe impossible to establish a current of peacef and harmo

nous intimacy with the God of peace. As a result, we feethe real need for purification, and we see that such apuificaon is only possible by way of a total reconciiation.We feel the necessity and the desire to put out the flames, tocover the trenches, to silence the battles, to accept thenegative aspects of our personality, to forgive others, to

abandon a resistance. n short, the need for genera recon-ciliation And a fruit of this will be peace

The geesis of fstratio

Without trying and without taking the initiatve, wefind ourselves already alive, in ife, as consciousness Wesuddenly awaken for the first time and find ourseves in aworld we did not know before We did not seek existencewe were pushed into it and find ourselves there

Awakening to our own existence, we are aware of

being ouselves We look around and observe that there alsoexist other realities that are not part of ourselves And, evenwithout leaving the sphere of our consciousness, we en-counter basic elements of our being such as shape, charac-ter, popuariy, and so on

t is in this moment that we begin to elte to the est to

the othe In estabishing reationships, what we follow andwhat comes into play is the primary motive of all humanbehavior: the pleasure principle. We meet reaities (withinor wthout) that we like they cause a pleasant feeling Wealso meet other reaities that we do not like they aredisagreeable

Against this background, we establish three types ofrelaonships In the first, with pleasurable realities, desire,atachment, or appropriation is spontaneousy bo, de

88



pnding on th situation n othr wrds, whatvr causspas is thought to b good; w appropriat it motion-ally and stablish a possssiv ti to it

Scond whn th good that w alrady possss orintnd to own is thratnd by th dangr of losing it)

thn far is bo, w ar unasy; that is, a substantialamount of dfnsiv nrgy is rlasd in ordr to rtainth plasuabl raity that sms to b scaping our grasp

Third, w rsist othr raitis on any vl that causnot plasur but pain; that is to say an motional dischargis lt loos and sts out to attack and dstroy ths ralitis

Accordingly w hav thr typs of rlationships: possssiv attachmnt rsistanc and far Th thr ar intimatly conditiond rlationships

O "eemies"

Evrything that w rsist bcoms an "nmy" as dosvrything w far bcaus far is a crtain form of rsistanc

W far and rsist a varity of nmis for ampsicknss failur oss of prstig and includd in this ar

thos prsons who tak part in ths nmis As aconsqunc, w may find oursvs always gloomy farfu, suspicious, aggrssiv W fl surroundd by ns bcaus vrything w rsist has bn abld "nmy Basicaly, this situation mans that th individual is of attachmnts and possssions Now thn, in ordr to

ntr dply into God's prsnc w hav to b poor andpurEmotional rsistanc, by its vry natur has as its nd

th limnation of ths nmis," onc th motion hasbn acknowldgd Thr ar ralitis that, whn rsistdstratgically, ar partialy or totally nutralizd; for xampl sicknss or ignoranc

Nvrthlss, th majority of things that w do not lik and so rsist do not hav a solution; by thir natur

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they are desttble t s what n ommon language weal an ipossibility, or t o lie, aganst whh we an donothng

If some evls have solutons and others do not twopaths le before us: that of foly and that of wsdom

It s foolsh to mentally resst realtes that by thernature are unalterable Wth a lear head we see that agreat many of those thngs that dsgust sadden or shameus have absolutely no soluton whatsoever or the solutons not thn our reah Why fght t? No one an doanythng now so that what happened before mght not

have orred at allWsdom onssts n dseng what one an hange

from what one annot hange puttng nto aton the stepsneessary for hangng whatever an be hanged andwhen onfronted wth nsurmountabe barrers surrenderng oneself n fath and peae nto the hands of the Lord

Eperiee of freely give love

The experene of God has vaous faets One s theexperene of the love of the Father n ths ase the person

feels unexpetedly flooded by an unmstakable paternalsweet and tender Presene It s a deeply lberatng mpresson n whh we sense an rresstbe mpuse to reah outand relate to others as the Father has related to us. t seemsto me that ths experene s always a gft espeally whent omes lothed n ertan haratersts suh as surpse

dsproporton vgor and lberatng stength; that s whent s not the result of a slow and ongong aquston butthe rest of a surprsng nterupton

There s the experene of ontemplatve ntmaywh also has spe haratersts and s frequentyaompaned by great emoton

There s also the experene of freely gven love whhwe are gong to treat here I say freely gven not emotonalNo one kes to fal or fal from the pedestal of hs popular

90



ty No one kes the feelng of beng forsken of beng thesubjec of ors or the vcm of msunderstndng

Bu these nd other evenules my be ccepted wthpece nd sense of unbounded love lke someone whosurrenders nto the hnds of the Fher s pnul yet

plesng scrfce It s pure love becuse there s no return of ngble

stsfcton Furthermore t s pure love becuse t s theproduct of blnd fth Beyond he vsble sgns of nustcewe look for the wl of the Fther who llows ths test

The lbertng purfcton we re proposng here s

not hen psychc therpy bu regous experence ofthe hghest clber

In the deepest regons of ech person the followngoccurs confroned by ny nusce or ggrvton mnydfferent flmes re gned - he desre for revengeverson npthy not only for he thng tself but bove

l for the person who cused he prculr sutonThere re lso more pnful suons n lfe n whchohers re not to blme for exmple n ccdent physcldeforty fure n one's ow ps n generl l of thets o lie The nol humn recon gns such thngswe repet s some form of voence feeng of powerless

ness nd ury he sme me shme nd rge gnstoneself fstrton sdness n word ressnceFced by such negve thng nsed of volence we

cn dopt n tude of pece f we op for he wy ooferng n he presence of pnul nd nevtbe stuon we feel one wth he Fher freey oved by Hm feelng rses somewhere between thnkfulness nd dmrton for tht Fher of love neror volence s clmedhe chld tkes the pnful suon n hnd we delver tnd ourseves to the wl of the Fther nd ressnce strnsformed nto desre of pure ove nto n offerngThs oblton does no produce emoon but pece Ths she experence of freey gven love

9



a spiri of fai

Now what do our soows have to do with the Father?Why invove the ord in our pettiness or injustice? The

atttude of suender depends on whether or not the factsof ife are seen in the perspective of faith Peace depends onthis et me expain

God the Father organized ife and the word around asystem of normative aws The deveopment of the universe was based on the aws of space and He made human

conduct subject to the aw of freedo Noray the Fatherrespects the cosmic and huan structures as He designedthem and so they foow their naura course survivingdespite disaster and injustice

Nevertheess speaking in absoute terms nothing isimpossibe for God The Father etaphysicay speaking

ould interfere in the aws of the word scatteing what Hehad previousy gathered and interfering in human freedoso as to avoid this accident or that mor But I repeat theFather respects His own work creation and aows theisforunes of His chidren athough He does not ike it

Now then if God being abe to avoid a evi does not

avoid it it is a sign that He aows it And so we can neversay that a sander has been deiberatey caused or desiredby the Father rather we say that He aows it When wespeak of the wi of God we mean that we are invoved inthe orbit of faith in which things and facts are seen at theirroots beneath a appearances

Yes the ast ink of the chain is hed by the Fathershand The ast thing that happened to me was the mostbitter many seepess nights! I know that resentment byprofession is bound to destroy e The thing is that itaost finished me off But ever since ast night everythinghas changed I et go of the resentent reaying my misforune to my Father He hed the ast ink He peritted it a remained I reained sient. The faes were put out took the incident in y hands I paced it with ove in His

9



bessed hands, saying, Becase Yo have peied i, Iagree o everyhing, my Faher. Yor will be done ineable peace, like he peace a he dawn o he world,invaded my whole being. No one wold have believed i Iel like he happi person in he word.

Hidden in he golden coer o aih, we carry he magicwand o srrender A is och, ailres cease o be ailes, deah ceases o be deah, misndersanding becomesndersanding Everyhing i oches, i ransorms inopeace

Sueder

his process o priicaion is caed suendehis word and is meaning are coched in ambigiies

Wherever his word is spoken, i neashes a wide range omsaken impressions among hose who hear i o some, ispeaks o passiviy; o ohers, i sggess resignaion Resig-naion was never Chrisian b Soic; as a res, a resignedaide s close o pagan aalism Wha is speciicalyevangelical is srrender

In every ac o srrender here is a yes and a no oha which I waned or had waned revenge agains hosewho had a par in his mess, shame or being mysel,resenmen becase everyhing rns o badly or me, orbecase I wish i had never happened Yes o ha whichYo, in realiy, waned or permed, 0 Faher

I we srrender ino he Fahers hands, peacelyacceping hose realiies we canno aer, anxiey dies andhe peaceness o a cam aeoon is bo

Hman wisdom is redced o an exremey simpleqesion Can I change wha I don like? I here is any-hing le o do, why ser? I he opposie is re, i hereis nohing le o do why worry? As he ancien proverbsays, I yo have a remedy why complain? I yo do nohave a remedy, why complain



mpossl

Reentess as suound our ives ike rins of fire: thea of certainy, the a of transitoriness, the a of

faiue, the a of mediocriy, the a of soitude, the a ofdeathWho has been iven the opportunity to choose ife?

Was estence oered to me, or as it imposed on me?Who chooses his ancestors? Does everyone ike his parentsor the socoeconomic conditon of the home n hch he

as bo? Who, before embarkin upon ife, has chosen hisse, temperament, physique, mora tendencies, inteectuacapabiities? Who arraned his o enetc code?

his is the soce of much frustration, resentment andvioence What can e do in the face of such an absoutebaier, such a liited sitution?

Utimatey, human beins are radicay incapabe ofstoppin or chanin reaiy as it appears before their eyesWe are essentiay imited Dreams of omnipotence areshados of stupidity and eftovers from chidhood. Wisdom consists in havin a proportionate and objective appreciation of the ord thin, and of the ord outside: ofll reaiy

After measurin the ord thin and ithout) eacty, e ouht to accept it as it is, peacey acceptin thefact that e are imited, bounded on a sides by absoutes.

We ouht to pace ourseves in the ream of faith andpeaceuy accept the universa ystery of ife peacey

accept the fact that e are oin to obtain fe resuts froma reat dea of eort accept ith surrender the fact that theascent to God is so and difict peaceuy accept thefact of sin that I do hat I do not ant to do, and I do notdo hat I oud ike to do) and accept ith surrender thereaiy of human insinificance We ouht to surrender tothe fact that our ideas are so hih but reaity is so sma,surrender to the fact that e are so sa and poeressOur Father, into Your hands, I surrender mysef

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Aother source of fstration is the irreversibility of time. This is perhaps the most absolute of our boundaries.Eveything that happened before tis moment is irre-versibly anchored in the web of tie, transformed intosomethng essentially immovable These are accomplihed

facts.There are those who are ashamed, perplexed, angered

by thousands of memories fro teir past, and they spendday and night banging their heads against the wall

There are those who constantly look back on teir livesto try to remember all of their successes or the events that

have caused them much shame and anger Why cry overspilled milk? Why waste enery on accomplished successesor on things we cannot change even if we want to?

t is necessary to retu, above all, to basics It was theFather who permitted everyting Everyting is possiblefor Him; He could have avoided everything if certain

things took place, it was because He allowed it Wy didHe allow it? Why question tat for wich there is noanswer? And, although it is an impossible hypothesis, if wecould otain a satisfactory answer to tis question, I wouldrater give the homage of my silence to my God andFather

I only kow one thing: He knows everyting and wekow nothing. also ow that He loves me a great dealand that whatever He allows is in y best interest So, Iclose my mouth and accept, silently and in peace, eac andevey incident that, at the time, caused me so much suffer-ing Your will be done My Fater, into Your ands

surrender myselfWe need to eal te wounds We are te sowers of peace and hope in the world f we do not heal the woundsone y one, very soon we will be breathing through them,and through the wounds, only rentment is breathed

yone who relives painful emories is like the onewho takes a uing coal in his hands. The person whofeeds te resentment he feels toward another is like the onewho strs the flaes of a fever Who is ued? Who suffers

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more e one wo es or he one who is hed? e onewo envies or he one envied? Jus like boomerng, whI feel gins noher comes bck nd desroys me Howmuc wsed energy!

Life s been given o us o be hppy nd o mke

oers ppy We will mke ohers hppy o e degree we ouselves re ppy Te Fher hs plced us in grden We re he ones who hve chnged grdenino vey of ers hrough our lck of fi, love, ndwisdom

A way ou

Tere re hose wo sy, Don bring God ino ny ofese conflics He s nohing o do wih em They repysicl lws following heir nturl developmen, nor

ml bridge beween fstion nd violence They resociopoliticl givens, ieversible biopsychologicl lwsTere is no wy ou

I will never ire of repeing: he only liberting ndconsoling wy ou h we will nd in is world is fihTe only ndow of rnscendence open o us, when ll

else is closed, is e window of fi The only hingcpble of consoling us, giving us pece, nd lleviingou suffering when our morlity dwns on us is he visionof fi Tis is e fi ells us h, beyond llpenomen nd ppernces, here is he Hnd orgn-izes, coordines, llows, nd orders everyhing h hp

pens in e worldLife seen from his perspecive will never le blind fedomine our desinies know h beyond ll firslevelexplnions, misfortune hs been willed or llowed by heFher I hen close my mouh; I kiss His nd; reminsilen; I ccep everyhing wih love; nd profound peceis mine

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a do we ow

There are others who say, How an this be? f He ispowerf and ty is a Father, how an He onsent to His

hidren being tossed abot by the winds of misfortne?Those who tak ike this are ignorant. They are ignorantbease they are sperfiia They are sperfiia beasethey see, anayze, and pay with fats and reaity on asrfae eve. We do not know anything; that is why weopen o moths in protest or brst ot with fooish words.

We are myopi in that we stand with or noses to the wawithot the east bit of perspetive, and the wa is aedtime We do not give orseves enogh experiene or theperspeive of time so that we may ponder reaiy in treperspeive and in right proportion By being ignorant, weare insoent

Do we know what wi happen to s in the next threedays or in the next three years? What do we know of thedeepest aves of the word of faith for exampe, of thetranshistori destiny that many foow, giving ife to thebody of the Chrh, beyond their own bioogia existene?

There are those marked by God for a messiani tre

destined to partiipate in the redemption of Christ, toredeem others together with Him; they were born to sfferfor others and to die in the pae of many s ife not f ofenigmas that are deiphered ony by the ight of faith? Wemst aways remember this: what is essenta is invisibend if we ive ooking ony at the sperfiia and visibewe wi know nothing of the essentia

Faed by an nknown word wth so many ontingenies, it is better to stop and remain sient, srrendered intothe hands of the Father, aepting with gratide orpersona ondition and the mystery of ife have knownmany in whom sikness sddeny appeared and remainedni death, whih ended p being the greatest bessing otheir ives.

am sre of this: if we had the perspetive of eteity

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ha he Faher has, al o he adverses ha we ace everyday wod e consdered as specal kindnesses rom heFaher o us, Hs chldren, n order o free, heal, awaken,pur

Faed wi e future

Surrender lves n wo enses he pas and he uure

Wh respec o he pt srender akes he orm and

name o reconclaon Those who wan o ascend o hehghes reaches o God's neror need rs o pracce, oenand or a long me, a general purcaon pung awaanxey, soening he ensons, accepng everyhng whnhe closed oundares o le. n order o aclae hpurcaon, have pu ogeher soe praccal exercse

elowWh respec o he tue surrender mgh ake hename o ido, accordng o whch we repea once more everyhng ha I am gong o encouner rom hs momen unl he end o my le can e summed up n hesmplcy o he same quesons s here anyhng le o

do? Does depend on me? In ha case, ge o work s allaccomplshed? Are all avenues closed o me? Then, noYour hands I surrender mysel, my Faher

Here, we are gong o magne ha here are possles open o us. The ollowng relecons are made wh hsn mind

n he course o my le rom now unl he grave,wsdom suggess ha I dscern eween eor and resuls

The sage called eor s wha we do now: we organzehe aleron we say ha God does no ake par n hsaar s no he hour o surrender u one o acon We

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ac as eeryhin depended n us we d n verkdeais and we d n wase enery

Ad hen, wha happens? Ahuh he effr dependsn us, he esult des n depend n us, bu raher n acmpex cmbinain f causes, such as, ur emina

sae, insuffien preparain, unfavrabe circumsances,ered deais, and, abve a, he reacins f hers my actin

u, in he ih f faih, we knw ha everyhin,utimaey, depends n he Faher, as has aready beenexpaed Here, a pracica cncusin neay emeres ifeffr depends n and he resu des n depend n us,hen we are respnsibe fr he effr and n fr he resun her wrds, when i is ime fr er, we bae;and in he hur f he resu, we surrender in he Fahershands

n ur pans, we ry fr e maximum resu, nehundred percen Tha is eimae, and he way i shudbe Hwever, ce he sge is ver, we find urseveswih ery difere ad fe discurain resus Smeimes we aain sevey percen wa we aemped;her imes, fry r fify perce Frm ne hudred d, he aw f faiure akes ver eer ye, he eative

resu becmes faiure he mre we resis i The wer heresu, he mre we are ashamed f urseves, ad s i isransfrmed in a reaer faire his ishess des exis fr hse wh pracice surrender

Once we have dne everyhin pssibe ad haveiished he bae, we ca g back Wisdm es us hai is insane spend nih afer nih ashamed f negaiveresus A he hear f he maer ies he fac ha we aren wise: we d n pen ur eyes ad we resis accepinursees as we are

Pepe en have an iaed image f hemseves eyfee a burnig desire have he resus f heir aciscrrespnd he eevaed imae hey hd f hemsevesAd, because his is eeray achieved, hey ed up

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rstrate a resetl. ey are o te brik o isaiywiti te mist o allciaio.

so a great eal o eergy is selessly set.Comlexes arise Peole become isecre I tre roectsare resete to tem tey reect tem becase o teir

ast aile ose wo migt give iey ercet i teirie ony give twey Becase o tis ey eel lileFrsao ts to violece agaist emselves So (ike asake w a tosa rigs) a cai o evils is stretceover teir lves

I watever activiy or roessio te ecaio o

cire ormatio o yo roessio aostoic work we ogt to give or mos ow e i te reslts oot correso to e eergy se we sol o esroyte eergy by miliaig orselves isea we og osely accet realiy as it is a i ait lace orseves ie as o te Fater

ighspeed pah

et s smmarize tese ieaso srreer orselves is to reoce orseves ree

ig oselves orer to etrst everyig reservelyto e Oe wo loves sSrreer is te sres roa becase i is exraoriar

iy sime. It is aso iversal i a all ossibe sitatiosi lie are icle ere. ere is o ager o illsiobecase wi tis visio realiy is coemlae rey

a akely wi obectiviy a wisom. Were ere iswisom tere are o ilsios Srreer cases re ai a re love to live i

ig gear Pre ai becase by crossig te ores oaearaces oe iscovers a reality a is ivisibe basica lastig. Pre ove becase oe akes e ail awoig bows eacey

Srreer cases oe o live ermaely i a sirit orayer becase i every mome o or lives we are

1



presened wih lile roubes rusraons decepions heacold pain impossible dreams .. and all o his is reerred ohe loving Faher by he chid who s loved. There is nomore eecive asprin or he pains o le han surrender

his pah we de wih Jesus in order o lve wih he

Faher. Jesus ded o "wha wan" in Gehsemane o accep"wha You wan The one who surrenders des o hs ownwll whch maness ise in ressance The one whosuenders quies he ivng voces o resenmen is sup-pored in he hands o he Faher remans n peace andlves here ree and happy. We become like he whie hos

so poor so ree so obedien ha beore he words oconseaion i les isel be convered ino he Body oChris We come o be ke hose drops o waer hasurrender wihou resisance losng hemselves in he wineo he chalice.

Surrender adds o lie because compexes disappear

securiy is born we sruggle wihou anxiey we are noworried abou he resuls (whch depend solely on heFaher) and all human poena is exercised o he ulesn he end deah is soened

Those who surrender ve in he arms o he FaherThese arms can carry us anywhere perhaps o he boom

o he abyss or o he midde o a rushng river. The shingriver migh be called deah does no maer. We crosshis orren oo carred in poweu and loving arms Deahmay be he hardes blow o hem al. This blow oo wl becushioned as i we were o al ino a sea o whie linen.

Surrender is he ases and sures road oward allliberaion

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PRATAL EXERSES OF SURRENDER

Aepe of family

Generally hildren deand oo uh o heir parensas i he parens had an obligaion o be pere This ideapreudie) is born in inany when he hild is easilyysied by he parens

Te eory o erain evens aus a eeling o aversion soe hildren oward heir parens Oen heseparens lak beauy inelligene eonoi suess a reaive personaliy All o his a ies leads o a eelingalos a oplex o shae in ha he hildren areashamed o have heir riends mee heir parens.

n oher ases he parens have personaliy deesleading o unbalaned behavior: all o whih auses hehild o harbor a sere indignaion ha akes i diiul oorgive hose dees

There are also hose who eel resenen or he plaein whih hey were born and grew up a very poor hoevery insigniian

These resenens ause any people o arryhroughou heir lives an underground river laen buvery real o general sraions Beause o his nohingakes he happy and hey do no know why This is heexplanaion: ha hidden river oes o he surae wih-ou heir realizing i in ors o dissaisaion and invarious ypes o violene

Many o us or our enouner wih God irs need oreonile ourselves wih our roos .

Plae yoursel in he presene o God. Le yoursel bepeneraed by he piri o he Lord lowly le yourselbeoe al and peael

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Mke yur prents mently present Especily bring t mind those incidents r eatures their persnaity thtcuse yu embrrssmen I your prents hve lredydied, bring them t mind as i they were ive

epet the wrds this pryer many times until yu

eperience pece nd cmpete recnciitin

y Faer sender mysel o Yo In is momen, accep my parens wih peace and ove , wi heir deecsand iaions I I ave e a idden embarrassmen owrd hem, I wish now o be compeey reconed.

Hly Faher, beore You I wa o accep hem as heyare Yo presence and rom Yor hands, I now receive hem, I brace em and love hem wi graide andendeess.

I ccep hem deepy and oay in he mysey o Yor wi, becase Yo made em he sorce o my esence.Tk Yo or e gi o my parens Yor wi be done Isrender myse o Yo men.

Acceptce of the body

Our enemes begin n he surce There re thse whomke destuction int pression in their ives They hve n ecessive amunt energy, originating in the perm-nent rejectin hemselves beginning with their physi-c makeup nd they need t let go this energy

They eed n unspken "nimosity" towrd their wn

colr, height, eyes, hir, teeth, weight, and other specs heir ntomy They re ashamed o who they re. Theyeperience n ver insecurity They attribute the aiure their ives the lck certin physicl chrcteristics

This hared towrd themselves is ridiculus because i is rtiici They mke themseves their wn vicims andeecutiners, which is mst insane ttitude We mustawke rom this craziness and remember the wrds esus Wh, by wrrng, cn dd an inch t his height?

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Ths observaion mus be applied o he whole sphere oorganic nae n his sphere, we can change lile ornhng a all So, why resis i?

For a general reconciliain wih urselves, many usneed o make a pround and repeaed ac o accepance o

o body, wih a sense o graiude r i.

Place yoursel in he presence o he Lord. Remaincmpleely calm Bring o nd and ocus your aenin oneach aspec o your bdy o which you are an enemy

ile sang he ollowing prayer, eel tendeness oreach rejeced par o your body, one by one, slowly andcarelly Feel hem as inegral pars o your personaideniy

Repea he prayer unil you eel graiude and joy orhaving he good orune o be alive, hanks o ha body

My Faher sender yse Yu have en elshame r his bdy ne. ed an aral resisanewih my usless wars agains i was ay. Aer all rejed ne Yur gi Frgive my insensiiviy and

inrade.n s mmen, wan be reniled mysel, sbdy Fr nw n, will never l srry r being heway am.

nw accep, wih hanklness and lve, his bdwhh is par my persnali ne by ne, lve andacep eah par bdy Yur will be dne. suender msel o Yu Aen

Accepace of sickess old age ad deah

There are hree black chargers ha drag human beingsdown he pah o he boom o he abyss: sickness, old age,and deah.



us as he day becomes igh, so eveyhig ha has abeging is desied o have a ed Eveyhig ha isbo dies, omay passig hough he coido of sicess o old age

Once i he wold, we lif ou heads, ope ou eyes,

ad fid ouselves agais a bacdop ha will evedisappea deth We ae lef wih he feelig of beigied, ad desied o die This is whee axiey is boThe oy way of ovecomig his axiey is o abado alesisace, accepig his ubeaabe bouday, deiveigouselves io he hads of he Fahe, who ogaied

eveyhig i his wayWe only live oce We would ie o mae his uique

oey wh a sese of wellbeig ad pefec healh.Howeve, sikness lies i ambush fo eveyoe, lie shadows o evey coe, waig hei u: oe disappeasad aohe appeas, his oe goes away ad aohe

comes o he scee, i a uedig cyce of suffeigWe mgh be caled biologil prbles: we ae bo wecmb he blue sy up o is eih we begi o declie,desceding lowe ad lowe befoe disappeaig compleely

Old age is he waiig oom of deah. iself, deah is

empy ad wihou subsace. is i old age ha hisempiess is filled wih faasies ad feas is i od age ha we sowly say goodbye o evey

hig Bee ye, al iches ae sowy deied o he agedsegh, beauy, heah, vaious abiliies, uil hey aeasfomed io useless beigs, devoid of all ichess

Faced wh such limiaios, we ough fequely addeeply execise he ac of suede, accepg he pailmysey of life wih is bioogical cue Acceped imiaios lach us io he ams of he Iie; accepedempoaly lauches us io he as of he Eeal Axiey is exchaged fo peace

0



ae a eclinin position. Pactice some fom of elaxaton. Place yosel in the pesence of the Lod in faith

Cente yo attention on yo actal illness o on theones that woy yo o that yo fea the most Focs yoattenton on each one accept each of the pains one by oneslowly in the mystey of the will of the Fathe ntil thefeas disappea and yo bein to expeience completepeace.

maie the fial days of yo lfe when yo will becast aside and seless. While payn the follon payety to expeience sacificial loe in ths sense: becase theathe has oanied life in this way accept the ineitablethe painl mystey of the bolocal ce the incapacityfo anythin the hope of death and est in the loe of theFathe

Do the same with death Imaine that yo ae on theee of yo depate Lie Jess sende yoself onceaain Do not esist. Let yoself be caed ccept the wllof the athe who in His wsdom oanied life in thisway. maine that death is lie a ie that yo cosscaied in the ams of yo athe

0

My Fahe sende mself to Yo! ese lmtatonsme me sad and fel le potesn t no ecase Iloe Yo I close m moth I eman slent I peacellyaccept e panl mste of lfe that s the mste ofYo wll My od ill fht th eey means to be

healthy; bt if the eslts ae neatie I will esist nomoe Fom no on sende myself to Yo I accepteeyh I am eady fo ann ne by one I loly accept m od the pas that now afflict me

I accept peacefly he das of my old ae the completeltaions and inabilts. I accept the fact that life is ths

way becse Yo made t so Yo ll doneMy athe at s wtten n Yo boo abot my endA slow aonzn death e me the senth not to



resst, and to pronoce y "Yor wl be done" What swen A sdden or oent death cose y oth tote Yo wth y sence if that s wrtten f that s whatwhappen, fe Yor wl be done I accept I a readyfor aythg

no Yor hads comend y fe and y death.

Aepe of our personaliy

ddeny we awae n the word and fnd orseeswth eethng, aost eerythng, predeterned ehae tte to choose e st enter the race wth theont we hae been assgned oe hae been gen adoce and speedy charger; others, a sow horse; others, awd staon e st a rde nto the rng on these

The sorce of the ost profond frstratons s orown persona condtonng The greatest dsgrace s to feelshae for who we are The greatest sadness s to fee sadfor beng who we are wthot beng abe to change t

Too any peope sffer horrby and do not owwhy nd athogh an anayst ay hep the to dscoer

the roots of ther dea, they ay get no rther becasethey ay st be eft wth the brght red wonds, wthotthe beneft of heang therapy

There are those who want to deonstrate a hgh nteecta abty; nstead, they dscoer ther tatons andst ge p ther dreas of sccess

There are others who wod e ther condct tocorrespond to ther deas; bt, they reae that ther pses do not obey ther desres

oe peope want to hae happy teperaents and,often, deep depressons oerpower the; nothng aesthe happy, eerythng aes the sad There are thosewho want to be webaanced and, yet, freqenty etthesees be carred away by nerotc excesses

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Oters are envious and they suffer Some are resentSome are sy and suffer from fear and te desire to esape

ecause we ony ive one arrying su a eavy oadon ou souders is a sad ting ust as we take off a sutand put on another wy an we not do te same wit thisappare?

If we wis to arrive at ose intimay with the Lord weneed to exerise surrender to the point of a profoundreoniiation wit every aspet of our personay

Take a omfortabe position Pratie some exerises ofreaxation Let yoursef be enveoped in the presene of theLord

Wit am introspetion beome onsious of thoseaspets of your personaty that hurt you the most beausetey are ontraditory or negative One by one aept tethings tat you do not ike and tose things you woud iketo hange but annot

Imagine that you are arryng the ross of your personaty Imagine that in the way of the ross" of your ifeesus ke Simon offers His shouder to hep you ary te

ross of your personaiyRepeat te foowing prayer appying it to ea aspet

of your temperament Forgive yoursef over and overagain Pae a of te aspets of your personaiy one byone ike an ofering of ove into the hands of the Fatherunti you experiene ompete reoniiation

08

My Faher I suender mysef to You! Into Yo hands pae what itte am aept and ove his sma ight ofmy inteigene In Your i aept and ove the mysteryof my mitaos I do not ish to f ay more sadessbecause of my isigae ve You thans o havgade me abe to thnk what I thk ak Yo fo mymemoy

Ito Yor hads I pae hat tte am Fo many years



tor up anger and ftration againt who I am I fetuch meanchoy and depreion uch fright and prideMy God I did not chooe any of thi A heay wapaced on my houder. I do not ike thi way of iingBut I cannot diet myef f thi a if it were a piece of

cothng My God I do not want any more inteor batte want peace and reconciiaonn our oe accept and oe thi ange and contra

ctory peronaity r wi be done. In our oe Iaccept and loe thee apect of myef that I do not ikeone by one owly Jeu I knw that for me ou are thegd Cyrenean wh help me carry my cro Thank oufor the hep. Thank ou for my o Thak you for myetea deny My Father I ender myef to ouAmen

Aepte of others

The ae wa that eparate one peron fro anotherare ao wa that come between ouree and God It ifooih to drea f attaining deep intimacy with the Lordwhen we are at war wth ne anther

en d ok at the human race the priary area inwhich we are chaenged i that of couniy with theurpriing quetion: where i your brother or iter?

Couna harmony i woen with a patte of deand ike repect comunicatin diaogue prtectinaccetance But there i a priary and neceary cnditin t fre e need peace Ony in peace de theencounter with God take pace And only by ean offorgiene doe peace come about

en we peak f epting others, we undertand itexcuiey in the ene oforgiving To frgie i to et go ofreentent tward anther ith the act f urrenderreitance i paced in the hand f the Father reitanceto the other and reitance to myef in a unique act ofadoraon in which and by which we are one

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There is what is known as intentionl forgiveness It s awilfu forgiveness because we nt to forgive We want towench om the heart al hostlty and not feel any hardfeelings We sincerely forgive but this includes those whosay: I forgive but I do not forget Ths forgiveness is not

enugh to heal the woundsThere s also eotionl forgiveness Ths does not de

pend on the will because the wll does not have controlover the emotions Emotiona forveness heals the wound

There are three ways of granting emotonal forgveness The rst is given in a state of pryer ith esus

Take a prayerul positon Step by step, calm yoursefCenter yourself Evoke, through fath, the presence of JesusWhen you have entered nto fu intacy with H, bringto mind the memory of your enemy brother or ssterSowly, trying to fee each word, say ths prayer:

Jesus, oe win e to the deest roots of y beingJesus, take possesson of e. al ths sea of hoseemotons Jesus, acept y heart wi al of ts hoslesTake it and subsue Your own for ine

Jesus, want to f now what You fl for that ersonForve that ndvdual whn e Forve h in e,

touh e. Yes, Jesus, want to fl the sae sennts You have for that person want to forve, Jesus, asYou forve ht now wan to be You want toforve tat rson as You would. want to forve

magne how darkness dsappears in the presene ofany light Now,

feelthe anger fade n the presence of Jesus

Fee the peace, lke fresh ar, entering and fllng your soulmagine yoursef, n ths moent, approachng your "enemy to embrace him or her

When the wound s healed and does not open up agan,it is a sgn that emotional forgveness has been a gft frothe Spirit, an extraordnary and nfused grace Do notforget that every wound needs any treatents in order tobe healed copetey

0



e second path o emotonal orgveness s understnding

I we could understand, we could not al to orgvehnk o your enemy When your attenton s osed

on hm or her, make the ollowng relectonsExcept or extraordnary cases, no one n ths world

acts th evl ntentons, no one s evl I others oend me,who knows what s happenng wth them? Who knows ut

maybe they are gong through a serous crss? What seemsto be pde may really e shyness her atttude toward meappears to e stuornness, ut t may e somethng else:the need or selarmaton. her ehavor appears ag-gressve to me n realty they shout empty threats n orderto assure themselves

I I suer because o ther ehavor, they suer evenmore hey would lke to e at peace wth the whole world,and yet they are always n conlct wth t hey dd notchoose ths way o le

ter all ths, can our enemy e that much to lame?Does t make sense to e rtated y a behavor they dd

not choose? hey do not deserve rejecton but, rather,undestandng. By all accounts, s t not I who am mstakenand unjust n my atttude, and not the other? Don't wealways ask or the Father's mercy?

I we knew how to understand ths, the sun o angerwoud set, and peace, lke a lessed shade, would enter our

nnermost rooms.

he thrd way o orgveness s dethenths s an act o mental eort to detach and dvert our

attenonIll eelng s a rver that ns etween my attenton and



my enemy my part it is an intentina and emtinaresistance aunched aainst the ther.

Friveness then cnsists interruptin r detachinthis chan aressive attentin remainin intentinaydetached frm the ther in peace

Ths manner riveness can be practiced anyhereand anyme D nt ai t be reaed

When yu becme aare that yu are verpered bythe memry sme enemy make an act mentacnr and detach yur attentin; simpy cut this ink aenn Empy yurse inside suspendin r a mment

a huht Then bein t think abut smethin ese andmentay fy in sme ther directin

Take every pprtunity t practice this eercise riveness Sn yu i ee that yu are n nerbthered by the memry that persn

Aepte of our o past

The archives ife! We can ny say that histry is abattefied cvered th dead eaves

Many pepe nevertheess ive trmented ives be

cause they are aays kin back cused precisey ntheir red pen unds The sad act is that many pepereive dead paes repen d scars that they never a thea cmpetey They ive a sad ie because they nyremember sad events Their n museum is the mstabundant surce resentment

e have aready epained time des nt backards even r an instant The past is cmprised accmpished acts that ur tears and aner never ater

We need t practice this puriicatin memry tenand deepy t accept nce and r a the pain histrythat the Father has aed t take pace

Take a recinin psitin Pace yurse in the presence the rd and enter int a state intimacy ith theFather

1 12



Slowy tae inventory, divin into the paes o yourown histoy One y one, ome to aept your painlmemories in the love o the ather, with an " surrender toYou"

Bein with the time o your hidhood Clm throuh

your le throuh hildhood, adolesene, adulthood hose persons who so neatively inluened you hatadolesent risis hat event, so small in itsel, that has letits mar on you he irst deared enemy he irst ailurehe irst mstae, so reretted aterwards hat person whonever understood you, or at least did not appreiate you

hat emotional rsis that shoo the plans you hadmade or your lie his aiure and that one hat msallation in the amly udet Those projets that ell throuh,and we now whose at that was he artrary andunjust aiude o that roup

hat sinul situation, whh even today does not leave

you in peae hose ideals that were not realied ae possession o all o it, in aith, and the peae o

surrender will streth over the attleied

Lord o hstory, aser o the re and o the ast, suender to You or Yo, nohn s osse You

allowed everythn to haen as t dd Your will e doneBeause Yo ove e and love Yo, extend my senthoae over te paes o my ast

Now tae ossesson, n te stery o Your wll, o ao e events whose eory dstrs me ne y one, lkered roses o love, want to lae these panl events n

You ands, o hldood to s resent moentAt Yo t also eave te eavy load o y sns ndyo anel to ary the and uy them n the dets ohe sea ay never reeer the

aeuly ae te at o wann to e mleand not en ae aet the at o not en as re as wod lke to e aet n ae te at o wantin tolease everyone and en naale o t aet n

3



peace he fac hat he path o sacy s sow addct

Accep, Faher, the offerg of my hear Ame

Pye o Suende

Father, p mysef Yor hadsWhaever may be gve Yo thas

am ready for ayhg, accep everyhg,sch ha Yor w be accompshed mead a Yor eatres wa othg more, Father

com o Yo my so,

gve o Yo Wh a the ove have.ecase I ove Yo ad eed to gve mysef o Yoto pace mysef Yor hadswthot mtaos,

thot mease,wth nfe cofdece,becase Yo are my Faher

Ch F)

INTERIOR SILENE

Oce e have me peope prayer, ad as soo as wehave ade he rospecve dve o or o eroraers, e reaze ha he prmary obsace o sberso he sea of od s sperfcay: ha s, ervosess,aato, ad eera dsraco.

To be e orshppers spr ad rh, e eed, asa ecessary codo, coro, cam, ad eror sece

4



On op of he Mon Jess said ha o adoe andwoshp he iing God lod oices o many wods weeno necessay b ahe inne silence wihdawing ino hemos sece cone isolaing oseles fom al noise esabishing "conac" wih he Fae and hen simply "being"

wih Him M 66)If paye is an encone and ha encone is a

meeing of wo pesons o is meeing o ake pace oy be i is indispensabe ha he wo indiidas is"each o" and pojec hemsees ono a poin in a paica momen of ime

Neeheless he eaching o o an indiida o hiso he encone wih God is no an "exi" b paadoxicaly an enance an inwad moemen in ode o eacho o he One ha is nteror ntmo meo moe ineiohan my own inimacy hen and "hee" wil he enconeake pace

We ms begin by caming e waes siencing enoise being mase and no slae being "od" o oineio lie conoing a moeen wiho alowingmemoies and disacions o oss s om side o side hisis he "piae oom" we need o "ene" fo he eencone wi he od o ake pace

Jess adds Sh yosel in" M 66 o cose doosand windows made o wood is easy b hee we aedeaing wih windows a ae mch moe sbe oewich we hae no cono

We hae no diicy disengaging osees om heexenal wod We need only climb a hi go ino hewoods o ene a soiay cape e dic ing nescapabe and necessay is someing else o deac o-sees fom and by deaching oseles dominaing hecompac and ben hode o eoies disacionswoies and peoccpaions a assai and desoy ineiony and sience

The spiia mases consany e s o he almosinincible dificlies ha accompanied hem fo many



years before achieving ha silen music he indisensable climae for he mea ha is enjoyed and loved.

Scattered and disacted

The roblem above a robems for hose who wish oener ino inimacy wih God is his: inerior disracion fwe can cross his rue Rubicon wihou drowning we willfind ourselves already wihin he sacred recincs ofrayer

Wha is interior distrctionWe go hrough life wih an enormous burden of hoes

and fears We fee shacked by such a weigh Worriesoverower us Anxieies disurb us Frusraions make usbier There are ambiious rojecs ahead ha disurb oureace. We carry feeings and resenmens ha are lierally

rooed in he soul Now his grea burden of life ends u bysowly desroying and disineaing our inner uniyWe go o ray and our head is a veriabe insane

asylum God is suffocaed in he mids of an infernaclamor of worries anxieies memories and ans. Weough o be one, as God is One so he encouner is a

meeing of wo unities Bu a he ime we see ourselves asan incoheren mass of ieces ha u us in one direcionand hen anoher: memories here fears here desires onhis side and lans on he oher All in a we are oalydivided and as a conseuence dominaed and conueredunable o be our own lords

Furhermore each one of us is a comlex web ofmoivaions imulses and insincs ha sink heir roosino he iaional subconscious The conscious is a smalligh in he darkness a iny island in he middle of heocean

In he comexiy of our word we as free conscious-ness) are buffeed ossed and disurbed by an army ofmoives and emoional imuses ha arise from he deeesregions of our ersonaliies wihou ever elling us why

6



hw, m whee they cme Snt Pul' decptn nthe ette t the Rmn (745) exqutey debted bythelgn nd pychlgt, de nt eem t l tnget me

JM Dechnet expee ml tught n bk

hristn Yoga

Pye peuppe pue ugt dmnn e temnd uch tt the ne py e t td mexte mpen el te ung te ubcn n de t cu t n metng ceneed n

xed pnt, ee t etble cnct wh te d pece nd enceBy denn mentl cy meng t butle

tht me c te lnd memy nd knledge nde t cee te cn de m eepng nducn nd deducn t plm tt lwy n e d ndeng yng getng tegl, lng el n e cluche cned nd ddeed ge en t te end t negn tend cnnue t be ted At te lgtet ntnt e t e d te ndee

Dtctn h the me cctec dpen, ctteng nd bth wd e n lm dentcmenng.

e humn mnd becue t dynmc ntue n

pepetul mtn, whe we eep nd, be ll, wle wee wke The mnd, dng n te cn umge, jump m memy t memy lke etebuttely At tme, lgc ce u ng the lnk nl chn Ote tme, n lgc ex, ethe ble tent nd uddenly we e uped b the mt hthught

Othe tme, the mnd ge n ppently uncntlled dectn; hwee, ltent ubcncu lgc

7



at work. I ay evet the mid daces i perpetua motio everywhere

To pray meas to retai attetio ad to keep itcetered ad focused o a hou

The more we practice meta cotro the more we

directy stregthe the mids abiity to cocetrate oGod Distractios the etera ightmare of those who praywi disappear the more we practice patiety ad withperseverace the exercises that wi be discussed ater

"ahweh is ot i the hurricae ( Kgs 9) woudsay moe exacty God is ot ecoutered i disorder. This

disorder may or may ot be extera; that is ot importatAyoe ca have a poweru ecouter th God i thebuste of a airport or i the oise of the street. But it isiterior disorder that puts siece i check

Whe we say iterior siece we mea the abiity toachieve ier emptiess with its resutig ordship i such

a way that we are subect ad ot obect capabe ofceterig a efforts at cocetratio o the Obect which isGod i compete quiet A iterior disorder is that whichimpedes the siece

This difity sometimes a impossibiity of achiev-ig uity ad siece carries with it tragic cosequeces for

those who have bee caed to a higher uio with GodThey have ot bee taught or have ot had the patiece forpracticig meta cotro.

As a cosequece they do ot achieve that "sietmusic" comig from the mystery They have ever arrivedat the meetig ad itegratio of the two mysteries Gods

ad their ow They have ever come to experiece howgood is the Lord" Ps ; 86; 00; 5) Ad withi they feea strage frustratio that they are ot sure how to expaior do they wat to. But the expaatio is this a isaeiterior distractio defeats ad destroys every good itetio ad every effort ad they remai o the edge of apoweru experiece of God.

Ad so they choose differet directios some competey abado a ife with God with serious repercussios

8



or her emooa sabl ad or he basc problem o hemeaning o her lves Ohers sece o her coscecesb her hgh aspraos, akg par a lle rgca orcomm praer (lke gvg a ew crmbs o a hgrperso) Ohers hrow hemseves o rac acv,

shog o he or wds ha he aposoae s praerI have me people who seem o be alergc o js he

word prayer he ee ad express a real hared or Adhe are alwas read o hrow posoed dars a aleao, escape, semeasm, wased me, chldshess,ad oher sch words dersad hem The have

aemped he ecoer a hosad es ad have alwasbee shpwrecked b he rshg rver o eror dsraco The assocae he word prayer wh a log ad parsrao.

EXERISES FOR AHIEVING INNER ALM

Here we are, he, rapped he web o or magao who beg abe o coro , cocerae, or praWha are we o do?

The Chrsa mscs had hgh spral expereces

ha he have gve o s he orm o heologcarelecos B he do o el s or do we owwheher he pracced hem o he pracca mehods orovercomg dsraco ad obag ha eror slece,he dspesable codo or reazg a rasormgo wh God

The lved a peacel soce o ah or, perhaps, hermages or loel moaseres, ar rom he rbleceo he word We, o he oher had, lve a soceharassed b coso, ose, ad speed I we do o akeprecaos, o o wl or call o o wh he ord bersraed, b we wl al or mos basc ad dameal des o be , eror, perso

wl ever re o repeag hose who eel ha God sworh he robe (ad, he ed He alone s worh he

9



roube and wihou Hi, nohing has eaning, hose whoseriousy desire o ake he road ha eads o a ransforing exerience wih he Faher, wi frequeny have oracice he foowing exercises Furherore, wihouhese or simiar racices, here wi noray be no ro

gress in rayer

Remks

A of he exercises ough o be done sowy and

eacey wi no ire of reeaing: when e fri of heexerse is no received, i is noray due o a ack ofsereniy

A of hese exercises ay be done wih he eyesoen or cosed If he exercise is done wih he eyes oen, iis beer o have he focused (no rigidy, bu in a reaxedfashion on soe fixed oin in he disance or nearbyWherever you ook, he ioran hing is o ook wihin

Physica inaciviy hes ena inaciviy and concenraion is very ioran ha during every exercise,ena aciviy be reduced o he iniu

4 If, in he course of a aricuar exercise, you begin ofee agiaed, whih ofen occurs a he beginning, so fora oen Ca yoursef for an insan and begin again fa any ie he agiaion is very owerf, ge u and sofor he day A a ies, avoid inerior vioence.

5 Kee in ind ha, in he beginning, he resus wibe few Don' be discouraged Reeber ha he firs sesin any huan aciviy are difficu You need aience inorder o acce he fac ha rogress wi be sow, and youwi need erseverance

Resus robaby be widey varied ere wi bedays which you wi easiy obain he desired resusOher es, everyhing wi be hard for you Acce hisdisariy wih eace, and ersevere

0



6 Amos ll o hese exercises produce drowsinesswhen relxon is chieved I is bes o prcice hemduring he hours you re mos wke

or hose who suer rom insomni i is bes o do nyo he rs hree exercises especilly he irs one upon

going o bed. Ten minues o his exercise will resul in hemos plesn sleep.

7 Aer rying ll o he exercises you my choose osy w he one or ew h re bes or you depending onhe benefi received You my lso inroduce modiicions

o ny o hese i you see h i will go beer or you.8 Aer serious oense disurbing inciden or

depressing hrdship go o your room Fieen minues oexercise will leve you prly or olly relieved

In order o orgive o ree yourse rom osessions ordepression use hese exercises In he beginning you wil

no ge ny resuls. er you will bove ll you mus leyoursel be wrpped in he presence o he Fher

9 Some o hese exercises plce he individul direclyin he orbi o quie union wh God Ohers re preprory exercises or pryer.

We cnno give ny cues s o how o combine hepreprory exercis wih he pryer isel s ong s heexercise proceeds rom preprion o pryer. Al o heexercises re experiences o lie nd pryer is even more soNow hen experience is ived in unique wy. Our dviceis he olowing: ry he dieren exercises see which remos beneicil see i cerin cominions yield beerresuls Tes everyhing nd keep wh is good.

Prepao

Every exercise should e preceded y preprion Siin chr or on couch Assume comorble posiion Ipossie do no res your bck gins nyhing. use he

12



weg of your body o fall along e sragened spnalcol Pu your ands on your knees, open, wi epalms up and fngers relaxed

Be calm Be a peace Feel a ease Wou akng oolong, become conscous of e soulders, neck, arms,

ands, somac, fee and feel em relaxObsee e movemen of your lungs Menally ac-

company e rym of your breang Dsngus be-ween nalng and exalng Breae deeply bu wousranng yourself

Calm yourself Le yourself go, lle by lle, frommemores, neror mpressons, noses and exeror vocesTake possesson of yourself Reman a peace

Ts preparaon sould las abou fve mnues, andsould never be omed from e begnnng of any exercse

You may, f you wan, do e followng exercses seaeon e floor, on a cuson, w your legs crosse (f sboers you, keep e legs ousreced, lgly supporngyour enre body (nclung your ead w e wall nsuc a way a you feel compleely relaxed

Tey may also be done lyng down on e ground or ona cape (s elps e back, or on a bed, face up, armsexended along e body, wou cuson, f possble

f some muscle or oer par of your body boers youdurng any one of ese exercses, cange your posonunil you fnd a comforable one

Some of ese can also be done n a capel, for nsance,wen you wan o pray and canno because you are ds-raced or agaed

Fst exercise interior emptiness

Wa s aemped n s exercse Tenson s a gen-ng of nerves, localzed n dfferen areas of e body. Temnd (e bran prodces em f we sop e moor (e



nd) then those loads o energy dsaear and we eelrested and at eae

Ths exerse then resuls n two thngs: relaxaton andmental ontrol

It may be rated n any o tese tree ways:

One the rearaton has been done then veryeaey sto all mental atvty "Feel as your headwere emty; exerene as tere were notng nohoughts mages emotons n your entre beng It wle you sotly reeat: nothng, nothng, nothng

Do ths or about try seonds Then rest a b Tenreea Do t ve mesAter some rate you wl eel at no only te head

bu your woe body s emy wtou nervous urrenswthout tensons You wl ee relaxed and alm

Ater te rearaton and e rs tme you do e

exerse lose your eyes and magne yoursel beore anmense wte sreen Holdng s mage kee yourmnd blank wtou ougts or ages or rty seondsor more Oen your eyes. Rest a bt

The seond tme lose your eyes and magne yourselbeore a dark sreen Reman at eae Your nd wl

rean n darkness wtout nkng or agnng anyng r ry seonds or ore Oen your eyes Res awe.

Te trd e magne beng beore a arge stone Tesone eels eavy senseless dead Mentay make as you were ts rok; eel" lke and say tere wout

ovng or a al mnue or more Oen your eyes RestTe ourt me agne beng ke some grea ree

"eel lke tat ree lvng bu wout eelng anytng.Oen your eyes You wl nd yourse resed and reaxed

Te rearaton done ake a lok n your andsRean sll gazng a

Very almy ous your eyes on e t o e seondand Folow w your eyes e reolutons o te seond



han for a minute without thinking or imagining any-thing o n is empty

Repeat this five times If istractions interfere ont be impatient Eiminate

them an camy continue

Camy say or or! Remain with your attentioncentere an fose on the or for fifteen seconsRepeat this a number of times

With great serenity in a soft voice say the wor peaceAn remain for some fifteen secons in compete interiorimmobiity ou wi fee inunate by peace

Direct contro wi escape you many times; your facuties wi be intent on recovering their inepenence; an

through a series of free associations images wi try toisturb the quiet Dont et this scare you an ont beimpatient

n this task in the preparation as in the prayer itsefthe resuts wi be highy varie an ifferent At tieswithout an efort after on a few minutes the sou wi

fin itsef in a quiet peace At other ties a haf hour wibe spent in a fruitess strugge without any resuts Wehave to accept this variabiity with peace

This rst exercise in any of its variations has as its goathat the one who practices it comes to fee ike a stone orpiece of woo This momentary state of the absence of anymenta activity brings as a resut the reaxation of nervesthe isappearance of anxieties an the perception of innertranquiity A of that repeat on conition that wepractice the momentary stopping of the min an breakourseves away from that mass of thoughts images anfeeings

Then we begin to experience the feeing of our realtywithin us We ca this percepton of nteror unty in whichthe consciousness is mae present to itsef

4



Aoug s sae ma o be aaed peec wepacce s mental suspenson we w sese a ou ousegows cam a e eaosp w e Lod becomes aa ease acv a ad pevous bee oug. Adwou eag we w d ouseves oduced o

a pooud eeaosp o coscousess o Co-scousess qe ad ecoeco

Second exercise reaxation

Ts eecse dec es o ea ad pac ou eebeg Idec mea coceao ad secoo aeobaed

We aso ga we s doe we e emaoo euoogca pobems ad e aevao o ogacpas

ow s pacced e s pace do e pepaa-o eecsesCose ou ees pace ouse (ou compee ae-

o "" e ba deg ouse w ou ceebamass W aeo ad sesv d e eac poa boes ou o s ese W a gea dea o peace ad

edeess we ou ae deed w a po beo sa mea o speakg so alm down be uet be atpeace epeag ese wods ma mes u wa boes ou dsappeas

Te go (w ou aeo o ou oa ad doe same g u ou ae eaed

ewads go o ou ea Debeae deouse w a obe musce as wee a dee"peso" s ecessa o ea w edeess becausewe oe msea Keep ouse mmobe ad peace- ad ede pa o ou ea alm down beatslowly ueter Repea ese wods ma mes u oueabea becomes oma

Te geaes easues e wod woud be ese wo:coo ove e md ad e ea ow muc uapp



ness culd be avided There wuld nt be as many tips tthe dctr, lie wuld be prlnged, and we wuld live inpeace With patience and perseverance, these treasures canbe had

Next, g t the large area the lungs and stmach

Remember where ear, anxiety, and anguish are elt: in thepit the stmach Remain mtinless; fnd the tensinsand bundes neres, and calm dwn with the samewrds as abve

I at ths tme yu eel sme bdly pain, g there andrelieve that pain with the abve wrds

With peace and calm reigning within, take a walkarund yur bdy Feel yur head and neck, n theutside, and see that they are relaxed "Feel" that yurarms, hands, back, abdmen, egs, and eet are all cmpletely relaxed

In rder t inish, experience deeply the wing

throughout my whole beng, a omplete alm regns supreme

Third exercise: concentration

What is the purpse ths exercse? Tw things the

aciity r cntrlling and drectng ur attentn and,secnd, uniing ur interirtyD the preparatry exercsesQuietly, calmly, with yur mental activty reduced t a

minimum, sense the rhythm yur breathing D ntthink, dn't imagine, d nt rce the rhythm, simpy sense

the mtn yur lungs r abt tw mnutes ObserveyurselAterwards, even mre immble and calm, reman

attentve and senstive t yur whe bdy, and nd yrpse in sme part yur bdy repeat in whatever part yur bdy When yu have und t (we are gng tsuppse that t s n the ngertps r smewhere ele, staythere," centered, attentve, mtness, r abut tw mnutes, listening

6



Final, we cme t the hghest mment cncent-tin the percepton o your personal dentty Hw is t accm-plished t is smething smple and pssessive Withtthinng, witht anazing, smpl peceive sel Ypeceive and, smltanes, ae peceived And e-

man intimatel wth sel, denied wih sel.n de t aive at this pecepn, which is the peak

cncentatn, it wi help t sa stl, man tmesSandS (mental sa name), I am Jhn De, amJane De, am m cnscsness

Fourth exercise: hearing

What s his al abt Cn and cncentatin.Hw is t pactced D the pepaat execisesRemain mtness, ling at sme xed pn; ake a

wd and epea it slwl, abt ive mintes Andwhen evethng has dsappeae m ntei, nthe wd wil emain, with s cntent

The wd cld be ne these peace calm nothng. n de t hep in pae, t cld be the phase

my od and my All

Fifth exercise seeing

What s the ppse ths execse Cncentatn andnicatn

Hw is i pactced D the pepaat execses.

Fist, take a picte ( exampe, Chist, Ma, sme andscape) n sht, sme tem that has geat emtinal pwe

lace the picte n hands, bee ees Wthgeat tanilit and peace, let gaze tavel ve thepcte a minte

Secnd, abt thee mintes, t t "discve" theeeings that the pcte evkes n ntmac, tendeness, stength, calm ..

7



hd, y o den youse wh ha mage, anabove a wh he eengs you have dscoveed End heexecse mpegnaed wh hose eengs

INTENSE MOMENTS

o sove he ev o hs age poound anxey ann o�e o nsue a e wh God, s no enough opacce, mehodcay and n an odey way, he vaousexecses o paccaon We need aeachng emedes

n my opnon, oday moe han eve beoe, sabsouey necessay o aeae ou poessona o aposoc acvy wh a oa eea o a cean peod o mehs means ha we mus ogane ou ves n suc a wayha hee ae nense peods o me avaabe o anexcusve eaonshp wh God

Afe havng gven many sessons wh vaous goupso egous men an women, have come o beeve hahe soluton o assung an eevaed e wh God s hesenense momens

A one me we sad, Le us make he Dvne Oceave e hs be he ood o ou e o ah Wh he bes

o nenons, e communy ed o make ave hougevey possbe means avaabe eveyhng was pepaew gea cae, hee was gea vaey evey day. Ae acoupe o monhs, monoony euned and vaey becameoune

The pobem s bngng paye ave. ay does nocome om ousde bu om whn When he hea sempy, he wods o he Psams and he Mass ae empyWhen he hea s ovefowng wh God, he wods ae,oo When hs s he case, even when he same psam sepeaed a hune mes, he as me may have moenewness han he s

Fo exampe, say, a peson ves nmaey wh Go bymeans o Psam 0 Lae, when hs same Psam s pa ohe Dvne Oce, he wods ae aeady ed wh deep

8



meaning fo that peson, and paye becomes a spiituabanquet o im. Inense moments ae, in my opinion, themost valuable instumen o enewing ouseves, fo ansfoming ou fai, and fo mainaining ouseves in fidelity

Howeve, intense moments ae no somehing new

They go back to the time o esus and the pophets, whenmen of God etied in complete solitude, geneally in thedeses o mounains, in ode o ain hemselves inenselyin the amiliaity wih God; hey wee healed fom ewounds sufeed in the bae of he spi, and tey e-tued to the fig, stong and heay.

Intense moments ae no only o gowt in ou ea-tionship wit God but aso o eoveing ou emoionalbaance, given the act hat today ou ineio stability isimpisoned and aacked lie neve befoe

Eich o, he noed psychoanalyst, obseves

Ou ue eads o an unonenaed and disedmode o ie ady aaeed anyee ese You domany ings a one you ead isen o e adio, asmoe, ea, dn You ae e onsume i e openmou eage and eady o sao eveyng piesiuo noedge Tis a o onenaon is eay

son in o diiuy in being aone wi ouseves Tosi s, wiou ang smong eadg, dnng isimossibe o mos e Tey beome nevous andfdgey and mus do someing wi ei mous o eiands. (moing is one o e symoms o is ak oonenaion i opies and mou, eye and nose

I is necessay o eie evey so often in ompeesoiude in ode o eove ou ineio unity If this is nopacticed oen, we wi be swep away by te cuen odisaction and wi be sipwecked in ou ca and eec-tion, as wel as in ou basic goal in ife.

Thoughout my life, I have me many peope who haveno appeaed to be persons To be a peson means o be lordo onese, and hey wee no Thown ino an unconoed



whirpoo o ativity (that they always label apostoli,even hough i s not always so), they ontinue interiorlydsinegrang theselves o the point o losing asteryover heselves, and at ies, even losing the eaning othei ives. They are exitable people, nervous

They are people who are inapable o stopping o anue and asking theselves, Who a ? What is thepriary goal o y e and what are the oitents thatkeep hs goal alive? Beause they do not wan to ae thesequesions, hey are always avoiding he ystery o theirbeing They are gtives ro theselves, and their so

aled aposoi ativity is their island o rege l daylong hey jup ro one ativity to another, ro grop togroup, jus so hey need not stop or i they stopped, thequesions about the ystery o their lie would soon ap-pear It sees as i it s better to lose heir eyes, to ontinueso as no to ae he hallenging eniga o thei ysey

Nauraly, his type o person has no rihness to gie to theworld, ony epty words

s absoutely neessary to stop and retreat eey sooten, o reover our integrity and lordship over ourseves

Inense oents I repeat are neessay in oder totransor us into people of od On the aes o people likehese, ohers noie and see a speial brilliane ro aarhey are hose who speak without speaking

e prophets o God are orged on the anvil o solitudethere, on the buing oals, they endure the gaze o Godwithout blinking, and when they desend to the pains,they ransit splendor, spirit, and lie In the silene o thedeser, hey saw and heard soething, and one againaong he peope, no one an silene their voies Theypereved soething, and there is no one n he world whoan destroy heir testiony, and nvariaby, hey are trans-ored no pets o he nvisibe hat annot be siened The asses know who o distingush between

one who s sen and a eddlerI s neessary to retreat to be people o God

0



Wat thee s o tme o these beas Thee is tmeo aythg that we eally wat

Tme s ot the toble The evl s somethg else Weseem to be le those who ae s ad aad avodgdotos ad Xays Dstato ad dveso eed s at

st bt we do ot wat to beome volved aythgthat volves sato ad estlessess bease the weeel aloe Fthemoe t osts a geat deal to beg agao le wth God As a added ote God s a ghtlhallege: t s mh ease to lve a om Hs e

"Dese"

What we all intense moments ae those agmets otme elatvely ologed ad exlsvely eseved o theeote wth God Fo examle the ogazato oo ow lves we ght set asde twety o thty mteseah day o the od

Whe o exale we set asde oe day a moth to bededated to God aloe ths s the te we all "deset"

vg o elebatg the "deset" has ela haatests t s vey sel almost eessa to sed a"deset day by leavg the daly tol whh we lvead gog to a soltay lae be t the ot theotas o a eteat hose

Fo mtal sot t s sel that ths gog ot tothe "deset" be doe gos o thee o o o exalebt oe they have aved at the lae whee they aegog to sed the day the go shold satte ad sedthe tme omlete soltde t s also sel to gve the"deset a etetal haate tes o ood

So that the deset does ot beoe a ghteg day( whh ase t wold ot be eeated a seod tme t seessay that we have at had soe gdeles by whhto sed a odtve day Kow beoehad what oghtto be tae alog eta sas bblal texts exeses

13



concenraon, a noeook fo ecodng pessons, vocalpaes, spual eadng, ec.

Hee ae soe suggesons. Once ou have aved ahe place whee ou ae gong o spend he da, s goodo egn pang wh soe psals n ode o une he

senses n fah and o ceae a suale neo clae ncase ou should fnd ouself n a sae of dsacon, oushould pacce soe of he eecses fo achevng cal,concenaon, o selfconol The os poan hngaou hs dese da s he pesonal dalogue wh heLod, a dalogue whch s he shang no of wods u of

neoes The geaes aoun of e should e dedcaed o esalshng hs cuen of dalogue eween andhou o e face o face wh he Lod Dung he da, heegh e spual eadngs, eflecons ove one's own lfe,ove pessng poles of he coun o soe ohepole. On hs da, we should accep hose hngs ha

noall we ejec wh he eecses of suende andfogveness, healng ouselves of he wounds of lfe n hesae wa ha he people o God coe down fo heounan copleel healed and song

We ough o ealze ha, houghou such a da oafenoon, we a pass hough he os vaed and even

conadco spual sages. Do no e afad And don'e oo pleased wh he consolaons o depessed a hees of ad paence s he os sule daughe ofhe ego Whee hee s peace, hee s God Reee, fou have peace, even n coplee ad, God s wh ou

Neve le ouself e caed awa lluson has a

face ve sla o ha of hope, u s que he opposeYes, ou have o lean o dsngush eween volence andsengh, eween lluson and hope Do no dea ofoanng poweful feelngs Because f ou do no gehe, ou ll ecoe paen paence wll geneaevolence, and ou wll o gan he desed feelng foce olence ll geneae fague, and fague degeneaes no fusaon would e a shae f we, nsead of



rerng srenghened from he "deser" o life reuedfrusraed

Once again he guardian angels of he "deser" areaience erseverance and hoe Do no forge ha Jesusmade many "desers" organe your life and se aside

cerain days each year for God alone and by doing so youwill be demonsraing ha God is imoran in your life

Wa have been exlained u o his oin are validmeans for aking he firs ses Furher on hese samemehods will be useless cruches Whe rayer has becomea habi and ives in our siri lacing ourseves in he saeof rayer ad "remaining" wih God wil be he same hinga soohing oinmen in imes of aridiy ad dryness

As we advance God is he one who akes he iniiaiveGods acion surges from he dehs of he sou and akesossession of he case he One unifies and he Cenerceers everyhing

A his oin here is no need for menal gymnasics orsychological sraegies he case is uncondiionally

"aken" and is armies surrender o he new Maser Bu allof his occurs ony afer a ong eriod of urificaion

3 POSTURES AND IRUMSTANES

Once more we mus remember ha each erson exeriences life in a uniue and unreeaable way here are nosicknesses bu only sick eole and he same rescriionaied o diferen sick eole roduces differen effecs ineach one

We are going o give some secific suggesions bueach erson mus ry each of he rescriions laer on avariey of combiaions may be made from hese ad



finally eac individual soud stay wit te best one forim or er

We are not angels. We often tin in tes of dicotoes or dualistic concepts. We spea of grace and te sou.Tere is no suc ting as te soul but only nare tat is

body nd soul Bot are integrated into a unity so indivisible tat tere is no scalpel in te world tat can separatete two

To pray we must tae te body into consideration. Acomfortable body posture can alleviate a state of dryness.Breating done slowly and deeply may cast away anxiety

A proper posture can mae distractions disappear Wenfor watever reason it is impossible to pray we canassume bodily positions of adoration for exampe prostrating ouselves on te ground worsipping witout anymental or vocal expression Tis could be an exceentprayer on certain occasions

Wen you find yoursef in extreme pain or sic in beddo not try to pray or say anyting Simply stretc out yourarms lie esus on te cross Surrender yourself lie a gift twill be an offering of your painful body.

y position tat as an external sign indicates receptivity openness or surrender elps te soul to ave te

same attitude.Naturally external postures are extrinsic to te prayeritself and as a consequence are of secondary importanceHowever at certain times tey may be of great ep in teencounter wit God

Many complain of teir almost invincibe difficultiesand distractions in placing temselves in te presence ofte Lord Does tis not appen many times becauseexteal factors are not taen into account? For examplewit rapid and sallow breating it wil be difficult for usto arrive at any profound encounter.



Positions for prayer

Standing. Le us no foge a e Jews and soJesus paed while sanding

Sand up You fee ma be moe o less poinedouwad he need no be ouching Howeve e eelsshould ouch in such a wa a he weigh of he bod fallsevenl along he spinal coumn esuling in muscle eaxa-ion and calmed neves The head sould be eld eec buno igid This posiion eguaes e beaing aids he

ciculaion and avoids musce faigueThe ans ma be in an numbe of posiions: open andoutstretched foad in an aiude of ecepivi open andraised upwards o expess an inense plea o an songfeeling be i gaude o exaaion open he elbows benand he ams and hands aised upwads palms up o

expess eadiness and wiingness ams o hands crossedove he ches o expess ecogniion o inimac handstogether and finges cossed on e ces o show ineiorizaion gaiude plea ams complee open in efom of a coss fo e pae of inecession lends aunivesal chaace o he pae

We should no foge how man imes he psalms efeo he as ouseched " call o ou Yahweh al da sech ou m hands o ou" (Ps 88; cf Ps 9)

The es ma be complee cosed Tis in isef signifies inimac n fac i eps a gea deal in ecolecingouselves Ohes wi ei ees closed find hemselvesassauled b eve kind of image Te ees ma be unedand focused on e ips of e oes he navel o some oefixed poin such ha e alwas look somehow "wihin"The ees ma be compleel open dieced upwad fo-wad lookng a a fixed poin o owad infini Teimmobili of he ees (and of e bod in geneal) helps inacheving inerio silence

Depending on he peson one ma look a a saueccix o somehing simila



Sttng f yo are seated on a benh or a hair, yorbak shod be spported by the bak of the hair in sh away that the weight fas eveny, reebering the generaes for the ars, hands, eyes.

Yo ight aso sit in the Careite position: kneeing,

sitting on the hees, th the tips of the toes ose togetherand the hees a bit separated. The ars oght to fa freeywith the hands (pas p or down) resting on the thighs.

For anone not astoed to this position, it ay besoewhat nofortabe at first. When the body beoesastoed to it, it beoes a ost rest and expressive

position indiating hiity, readiness, adission Toavoid disofort, any se piows in the foowing anner: one on their knees, they pae the piow nder theiregs, near the tips of the feet, oving the hees and kneesapart they sit (sowy and opetey) on the piow t is avery ofortabe position.

There are any other ways of sitting whie prang.

yng down ying on the grond is the position ofgreatest hiity, and it indiates and aids in the ostprofond worship Saint Franis was aght by srpriseany ties by his opanions whie he was in this posi

tion, on Mont Avea.rst way sowy knee down. Stay there for a few

oents Then, ean forward (again, sowy), rving thewhoe body nti yor forehead tohes the grond. Yorars and hands are paed on the grond near yor headThe weight of yor body fas on for points: the feet

knees, forehead, and hands. Maintain this position breath-ing deepy and regary, nti y fee opetey ofortabe At the end of the prayer, ret to a sitting orstanding position again doing so very sowy.

Second way: first knee down then, sowy, opeteyie down on the grond with yor ars strethed riforor aong the ength of yor body or with yor hands asspport for yor forehead.

6



In the begnnng, these wll have t be practced gradu-ally The frst few es yu wll n be able stay n anyne pstn fr very lng. Yu shuld avd thse pstns that are frced r uncfrable f yu feel cfr-able, t s a sgn that the psn s rght and hat yu have

adequately relaxed the nerves and usclesEach ndvdual has t experent wth the varus

pstns, n all f ther cbnatns, unl he fnds hsehat sut hs partcular naure

very attude f the bdy shuld crrespnd acertan nterr aude

ere to pray?

There are thse wh fnd t easer ener nt cuncatn wth the Lrd n a clsed church r a darkened

chapel.There are thse wh pray beer ut n a balcny, n hegarden, r n the cuntry n a dark ngh, beneah the sars,when the vces f the wrld are slent.

Others feel re a ne wh Gd lkng nenly at aflwer, r wth a lst stare, r cneplatng a beauful

panraa, r n he lnelness f a hll.There are thse wh have never felt he presence fGd as srngly as when hey were vsng sene llwth a repulsve dsease, r when hey wrk ang hepr

There are hse wh cann cener heselves f hey

are n he ddle f a grup thers need he suppr f agrup.

en to pray?

There are thse wh wake up n he ng refreshedand at peace. It s ther best te fr cncenratn andprayer



On e e and, ee ae hse wh have an nensesubcnscus lfe, and he fllwng happens hemwhle ey ae asleep, enjyng he absence f he guadcalled e cnscus, he uncnscus ases fm unknwndeps, assaulng and nvadng he ndvduals ne

lke a hef, acng u s evey whm dung he ngh. sa cnsequence f s nghme nvasn, hese peplewake up ed and n a bad md, me ed han whenhey wen bed, as f hey had spen he ene nghfgng wh sme unknwn enemy Owng hs phenmenn, I have knwn hse wh feel a deep avesn f

all paye, begnnng wh s name. Bu hey sn dscvee uncnscus asscan beween he bad md anddwsness n e ne hand, and paye n he he; bhhngs ad cme gehe evey mnng f s many yeas

e evenng, n geneal, s he bes me payAgan has been calmed The bgh lgh has se

seems a eveyhng ques dwn and ess he baleends I s he u f peace and nmacyhee ae se wh pefe pay a ngh. hee ae

ceanly hse wh, when ngh cmes, ae n gd fanyhng; ey can nly sleep Bu f hes, he nghmemg be e bes me f paye; cmmmens ae fn

sed; slence flls eveyhng; eveyhng s shang n henmacy f he d n bblcal adn, peple lkedfwad and used he ngh as he deal me f cmmuncan wh e d ha s wha Jesus dd

ompete spontaneity?

We lve n an age f spnaney Tday ee s annleance f anyhng ha s mpsed hee s an nsncve epugnance n he a f anyhng ha smells fauy, supey Fm he me f Bnheffe, amyh has been unnng aund ha dmnaes u envnmen and ha s acceped as an abslue : enn ha we have aved a he full mauy f e

8



hun rce nd lkese the mturt o the ndvdulTwo ths one tht do not stnd up to crelnlss

There re certn seledent nd coon xomsthose who eel tht the re dults do not dvertse the ct

Those·who shout to the our wnds tht the re dults cnbe sure tht the re not A mture ndvdul never eelstreted lke chld I we eel tht w t s sgn tht were rell ver chldsh

Do ou pr? d the respond n chorus: Alwsnd whenever I eel lke t Ths whch seems lke mturt

contns gret del o chldshness Wht we took t tots logcl concluson? Work? When I eel lke t Stud?When I eel lke t Wht would the world be lke with suchspontnet? Chldsh nrch lelled s dult mturty

In dlogues nd conerstons tht I he hd therere mn lmost mjort who coness tht when

the do not prtcpte n the prer o the communtthe never pr terwrds n prte nd the do notpr t set tme the do not pr ether n common or nprte

Tht whch ss tht hunty hs red t mtrts n empty mth It s enough to tke lttle look wthn

ourselves nd nother quck glnce rond us to see thtthere s n nblt to keep comtments nd tht wordsre wrtten n thn r

I he met mn people who proessonll re theeptome o ecenc nd orgnzton: cpble o ecentl hndlng colleges wth thousnds o students or

hosptl complexes In ther work the re true dultsthere s order punctult responsltThese sme people neertheless s the themseles

coness re completel rresponsle n terms o ther relgous commtments Who cn mke sense o ths contrdcton?

I thnk tht the dd not dedcte certn tmes tocommon prer set up b the communt the mghtesl ndon prer logeher It s necessr to est

39



lish pioiies, o ogaize o life aodig o wha isimpoa o us, givig o God ha whih is Gods, ad hahe ommuiy ome o he aid of huma faily by esablishg ommon imes of paye his does o mea haeah oe, spoaeously, ano se p his own ntense

moments fo payeWe ough o emembe, as have aleady said, ha

paye is o easy i demads effo, ad human isinadhees o he law of leas esisae Beause of hisinsin, we pefe ay ohe aiviy bease i is easie o he ieioizig aiviy of paye De o his isin,

we flee om paye, ad oly he do we beome ovied of is eessiy

May look fo psyhologial sppo i a ommiyLe me explai Thee ae pesos who look fo someoeelse o simulae hem i hei life wih God Shaig heiexpeienes, hey ae eoaged o oiue hei faihl

following of he Lod I know may sh people kowmany who, bease of his sppo, have maiaied aiese spiial life

Do we relae to Jesus or o God the Father?

is difil fo may people o plae hemselves ioa wih he asede God Neveheless, hesesame people apidly ad easily ee io dialogue wih heise and pese esus his ease is all he moe oablewhe hey elae wih Jess i he uhais

While a paye, hey sese ess as Someoe oeead vey nea, like a lose fied. hey adoe Him, paiseHim, ask Him fo fogiveess, sengh o osolaio wihHim ad i Him hey plae hei ommimens ad hadships hey ae fogive ad hey fogive ohes, ad so hewouds of life ae healed hee is o way o lassiy hispaye o eve defie i: figme of he imagiaio? Asimple visio of faih? Alhough he geaes eedom isganed eah individual, i is advisable, fo he fis seps, o

40



ve tis mlr reltionsp wt Jesus, n te simplito it

te oter nd, tere re tose wo, rom tebeginning, eel drk nd rresstible ttrtion to teInvisble, Etel, nd Omnipotent. No one knows weter

tis is prtiulr predisposton or spel greNow ten, wen te soul ventures into te deeper

ontempltive res, te sptul msters point out tt wetend to overome te mgnr nd orporl orms oJesus te Friend nd dvne to te dret enouner wtte simple nd totl God wo penertes us, envelops u,

sustins us, nd keeps us, n w slene s substtuted orwords, in pure i

Opposed to ts eng, generl greed upon b tespritul msters, nt eres o Avil ises up wt re-newed energ, ng tt n eve stge o te spiritulle we ve to ix our gze on te umnit o te isen

JesusBe tt s , we, n s s n eveng else,

suggest tt we let ourselves be rred b gre, n meek-ness nd surrender, beuse tere is derent pt ore individul, nd or e sme person, derent pts dierent times

FIRST STES

Beuse ll gre is il ovement towrd te

Fter, it is mportnt nd neess to ultivte ttsprtion n tngble wWe lws ple ourselves in one o two groups e

irst re tose wo re begnners n te tngs o God, ndwo wnt to re, or te irst tme, intim wt teLord Te seond group s mde up o tose wo velived tis riendsip or long time Lter, te bemereless: te trew so mu drt nd snd on it tt teextnguised te dvine me od, te eel te weg

4



o sads ad emptess, ad they wat to recover, atwatever cost, that ost treasre

Bot grops the oes who wat to acqre t or therst tme ad those who wat to recover what was ost eed to take begers steps O the path o e, the rst

steps are aways steady ad sre It does ot matterWe have to go throgh ths ad pay the prce o patecead perseverace

Voca prayer

Frst steps are aways take wth spport I or case,voca prayer s that spport

As has aready bee expaed, the hma md, byatre, s a restess bttery, waderg ke the wd Iteeds to move, orever yg, jmpg rom the past to the

tre, rom memores to deas, rom deas to pas Treadorato, o the other had, cossts masterg oratteto ad ceterg t o the Lord How do we do thatwth sch a crazy md?

We eed crtches order to wak The spport sverba prayer or, rather, wrtte prayer It s spposed that

the prayer s wrtte daoge orm How s t doe?We ocs or eyes o the wrtte prayer, ad the wordscaptre or atteto ad estabsh a te betwee orsevesad God I I read, or exampe, Yo are my God," ad tryto make those words my ow, detg my thoghtswth the cotet o that statemet, my md s aready

wth God The words are a brdge, a teBt the md dsegages ts atteto very rapdy romthe ceter ad scatters a thosad drectos We agaocs or eyes o the wrtte prayer ad aga the wrtteword sezes ad hods or atteto As or attetoremas xed, cetered o the cotet o the wrtte prayer as the cotet were God Hmse the md remaswth God Gve ts atre, the md aga gets oose ades away Aga, patety, or eyes are drected to the

142



wien wod and he wod decs ou mnd n ohewods he pned wod evokes and awakens God "o usTha s he wod akes he human mnd and deposs nhe goal ha s God

Ths s wen paye bu s above all vocal prayer.Why? ecause we begn by eadng he wen wod;eadng s vocalzed; vocalzng s nelecuazed; and n hs way we eman n paye hs hasnohng o do wh polonged paye Tha s ou aenonemans wh God o ony a ew nemen nsances uhose nsances may sech ou o hy mnues o so n

ha case we mgh say ha we have had hy mnues otrue paye

Today hee ae vauabe bookes wh selecons o hebes payes Thee ae aso some wh seeced psalsFuheoe hee ae psales whn he each o evey-one Take hem n hand wheneve you pay Take hem o

he deseHow do we pay wh hem?

Take a paye ha you lke u youse n a payngaude Ask o he asssance o he Hoy Sp Begn oead Ae eadng he wods make hem "yous" y odeny yousel wh he conen Thee wll be expessons ha l you om he sa Repea hem agan andagan unl hese wods and he "conen" compeeylood you whole beng

onnue eadng (payng) sowly vey sowly SopRepea hem agan om he begnnng Repea hem ouloud he suaon pes loudy o soly accodngo he ccumsances You may wan o ake some paculaposue ha will help you such as exendng you amse you neo you eengs and you decsons bempegnaed wh he esence ha emanaes o hosewods

I a any gven omen you eel as you coud walkwihou cches pu he wen paye asde and allowhe Holy Sp o speak whn you and o echo n you

4



mouth wth pontaneou expreon Conclude the prayerexperence with ome reoluton that w aect your e

For many people, the ollowng method o vocal prayerha excelent reult Take a prayng poton. Select one ortwo poweru expreon, or example, You earch me

and You know me; rom the begnnng and orever, Youare God; my God and my All; You are my Lord Ueone o thee or ome other one Begn to repeat t otly andout loud Say t very lowly, tryng to enter ly nto theubtance o the expreon wth erenty, wthout voence Say the word, each tme wth more o a paue

beeen repettonThere may come a tme when ence take over or the

word, and there only reman ence and Preence n thatcae, reman lent in th Preence Concude wth omereolution or your e

To thoe who want to take God erouly, would gve

th advce learn ome o the palm, vere o palmderent hort prayer, by meory Whle you are drvngalong or walking through the treet or dong houeholdchore and you eel the dere to ay oethng to God butnothng come out, untng youre to God by mean othee memorzed prayer can be an excelent prtua

benet.

Psams

n my opnon, there no vehce that carre u more

rapdly to the heart o God than the prayng o the PamThe Pam are carrer o a treendou aount oexpeence wth God They have been enrched by theervor o mllon o men and women, or a ong a threethouand year Wth thee ame word, eu the chld, theyouth, the adult, the evangelzer, the cced, communcated wth H Father They are, then, expreon that areaturated and charged wth an enormou prtua vtaltyacmulated over thrty centure



Aog he Psals here are passages of sperorqaly here are also hose ha say ohg o s Ohersha scadalze s a sgle psal we ay fd bealverses as well as verses ha ask for crses ad revege Weca skp over he laer ad focs o he frs verses

How do we pray them s be poed o ha we areo alkg abo he prayg of he Dve Offce b howo se he Psals as rag ools for acqrg he exper-ece of God for akg he frs seps he fo of vocalprayer

Take he Psals or verses ha os sas yo Repeahe expressos ha say he os o yo Whle repeaghese slowly le yorself be oched by he profodsregh ha he psalss prophes ad Jess fel Tha sry o experece wha hey expereced Le yorself bevaded by he lvg presece of God eveloped by hefeelgs of dread exalao prase coro acy

sweeess or oher feelgs ha fll hese wordsf a gve oe yo beg o feel a vs fro

God sop here repea he words; ad eve hogh yoay o do ayhg else for a hor b peerae exper-ece be frgheed of he rchess coaed ha verserea ad do o be woed abo cog Always

coclde wh soe resolve for yor lfe s re ha here are psals ll of aaheas ad

crses hese cases f we allow orselves o be freelycaed by spoaey we wll feel ha he Spr s each-g s o apply hose aaheas o he eey sglarad ple ha s or selfshess wh s coless

offsprg sch as prde vay ager resee sesal-y exploao abo rrably

always advse everyoe o ake a personal study ofhe Psals

Sce each oe of s s a qe ysery or aer ofexperecg ad kowg orselves s sglar adqe; so wha says a grea deal o oe ay say ohgo soeoe else Wha says a lo o aoher ay say lle o

4



me. Because of his, a persoa sudy is eeded. How do wego abou his?

Begi wih he irs salm. O a cerai day, reae ohe Lord wih he firs sa, durig a ime se aside orprayer ha is, speak wih God hrough hose words f i

he salm here is a verse, maybe a complee srophe or aseries of linked phrases, ha says somehig o you, aerrepeaig hem several imes, uderie hose words wih apecil

If here is a expressio a is pariculary ric, youmgh uderine i several ies, according o he egree o

ricess you fid here Make a mark i he argi aword, ha characerizes ha verse for you, such as condence, intimacy, praise, adoration

may happen ha he same salm will say ie orohig o you one day, and he ex day i ay say a gradeal I can happe ha he same perso may perceiv e

same hig i diere ways o diere occasios he sam says ohig o you, eave i umarkedAoher day, sudy e secod sam i sa

way. Do he same wih al 50 salms. A he ed o a yearor wo, you wi have a persoal kowledge o all ofhem When you wish o praise God, you will already

kow which psalm will help you Whe you wish omediae o he precariousess o lie, or you eed cosoaio, or you wish o adore Him, whe you are lookig forassurance or coidence, or eel he ed o eer ioiimacy, you wi already kow which psals will be oassisace

I his way, lile by lile, you wi learn by memory everses lade wih richess ha will serve as ourishm iay circumsace Cocude wih some resoluio or yourlife

The followig is a lis of he psalms accordig o heircorrespondig hemes. The ialic umbers idicae ha hegven hee is more iense Aso, his eumeraio ollows he Caholic version of he salms.

salms ha express condence, surrender, intimacy, nos

46



tlg nd desire or God 4 15, 6 7 4 26, 30, 5 841, 50, 55, 6 63, 69 70 83, 89 90, 0 117, 5 90 138, 4

Psalm that express awe before the contemplaton ofcreation with a sense of personal joy and glo n God: 8 18,

8 64, 88 9 103Psalms tat express prase ealtaton thanksgvng 3, 66,

9 134, 135, 144, 146, 148, 149, 150Psalms that express the shortness of lfe n te face of the

eternty o God: 8 89, 92, 101, 0 4 8

Spiria readig

Medtaton s an actvty n whch te mnd deals wthconcepts and mages, movng from premses to conclu-sons, dstingushng, deducng, explanng, applyng, com

bnng dfferent deas about a prevously selected topc,wth a number of purposes to clar a tt, to get toknow God better, to examne the lfe of esus and so be abeto mtate Hm, and fnaly, to make resolutons so as totransform our lves.

Medtaton enrches te soul wt the kowedge of

dvne lfe But, n my opnon, t s too complcated forbeginners n te reatonshp wth the Lord od It s keron, dependng only on oars and ones own strength,and today we have a hard tme arvng at the port that sod Hmsef because we lve n nutve tmes and notdscursve ones; we are ncned more towad the emotonal

tan te ratona Teresa of Avla hersef fet very lttesympathy for dscursve medtaton:

Retung, ten to tose wo an make use of therreasonng powers, I advse tem not to spend all terme dong so ter metod of praye s most mertoous,but et tem magne teeves, as ave suggested, nhe presene of st, and et tem reman n onversewh him, and degtng n m, tout earng ter

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ds r faiu eselves by cpsin speeces hi bu layin eir needs befre i

Neverheless ediain is an absluely necessaryspiriual aciviy if we are deepen urselves in he

yseries f Gd and grw in divine lifeNw en if ediain is as necessary as i is difficul

where d we nd e sluin? Priarily in spiriualreadin d a lesser deree in rup ediain

repea aain we need suppr in rder ake he firsseps acquire r receive e sense f Gd in ur lives

Many persns have a rue desire y e heihs fGd bu hey d n ye ave sufficien cnsisency andsrenh sail ver suc deep and unknwn waers heyfeel incapable f bein alne a e fee f e Maser frany lenh f ie hey need cruces walk heywuld like bu hey are n sure w speak jus like

children hey d n find einal currens carrye in a spiral ward e Cener ey need supprsAnd here is n suppr re elpful fr he han spiriual readin

Everyhin a ave said cncernin vcal prayerus be applied ere als: i is e wrien wrd a will

aser he ind and lead i aln e pah an rderlyand fiul reflecinSain eresa ives us is vin descripin in e

of Perfection " yself spen ver fureen years wih-u eve bein able ediae excep wile readin"

Spnaneusly and wiu any inibiin wasever

Sain eresa adis a if se ad n us received Cunin se never dared ener in prayer unless accpanied by a bk And if she ried pray wiu a bk iner hand se fel as if se were abu ener a ierce balewih a rea ary f se ad a bk in her and i aced asa shield a received e blws f disracin and she waslef caled and cnsled Se cnfesses ha dryness nevercaed h sle. Hwever wiu er bk se wuldfall in cplee pwerlessness Only when se pened

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he book woud her houghs beome ordery eading herdirey o he Lord Someimes she read ie oher imes agreat dea depending upon how he Spiri moved her

ow is it practiced?

n the firs pae he individua shoud have a wehosen book tha wi faiiae boh refeion and feeinga the same ime a book ha paes and mainains he souin he presene of our Lord and God However he besbook for spiriua reading is naturay he Bibe

ofen advise ha we make a persona sudy of hevarious opis found in he differen books of he Bibe isvery usefu for every one of us afer having done his"researh" o have a noebook in whih o reord ourfindings in suh a way ha if we wan to mediate forexampe on he ife of God hope eerna ife onsoationfaih fideiy e we wi know exay whih book of heBibe o hoose

Seond he spiritua reading isef shoud be done asfoows

Take a omforabe posiion. Ask for he igh of heLord Know exay wha subje you wish o mediaeupon or a eas on whih par of he Bibe you are goingo fous your aenion Le us suppose ha you havehosen one haper of he auine eers. Begin to read.Read sowy very sowy Afer reading a bi mediae Asmuh as you mediae read

Suppose some idea appears ineresing o you Sop; ifyour eyes from the book xpore he idea Coninue reading sowy As yo read oninue mediaing. Suppose hayou do no undersand a passage n ha ase go bakSkim and examine the onex of tha idea and from heonext you wi surey undersand he meaning of the

paragraph Coninue reading sowySppose ha suddeny a thogh arises ha makes a

49



powe impession on yo ift yor eyes and take a ofthe jce om that idea, appn it to life

f yo then fee ike convesin with the od, adorin,standin in awe of im, ivin thanks, askin foiveness,stenh do it camy f nothin spea comes abot,

contine with the readin, calm, concentratin, eaxed Wehave to emembe that the idea is that the eadin seize"s and pace affectionatey in the arms of the ord, inode, nay, to ansfom s into a ivin ikeness of ess,is wess in the wod

f thoh this spiita readin, a visit by the od

occs, do not even think of continin to row Pt the oasaside and et yorsef be caied by the nd of God,simpy ettin yorsef be with the ord

t is vey sefl, even necessary, that each spiitalreadin concde with some concrete resotion fo yolife, dependin on the fow of ideas din yor medita

tionThis method is not only helpfl for beinnes bt also

for those moe advanced in the mysteries of God, above alldrin times of dyness, aridity, testin, and dark nihts

Group meditatio

The second path, elatively easy and helpl for meditatin, is rop meditation

This involves a small rop of people who come to-ethe to eect on dieent themes of histian life

t beins with a eadin fom the Bible, or fom somebook that deas with the topic pon which the rop isoin to meditate n this way, the theme is iven sbstanceo ilmination t is also sel to pray in common, sinsome psam o invocation of the oy Spirit

Then, each person ofers a spontaneos efection infront of the othes, eatin what occrs to him o her abotthe topic o its application to life, aways dealin with the

150



central theme And so lkewse spontaneously and each ntu everyone takes part n the reflecton

that roup meditation may bear fruit it is absolutelynecessary that within the roup there be peace sncerityand mutual trust Otherwise spontanety is blocked and so

s the action of the Sprt t s also necessary to avodegotm at all costs; that s the eaerness to shne to saysomethin oriinal or to appear more brllant than theothers

t is important that each member of the roup besdesenrchin hmself mentally deal with practcal concerns

makin decisions n common for the communty or pas-toral lfe toether n this way oup meditaton is transfoed nto a school of life and love

have kno many people who let the Gospel fallfrom ther hands because t dd not say anythin to themBut once a part of a medtatn roup these people

discovered unsuspected rches and t s a strane thn pulled by the community spirt they have taken from therinteriorty and shared with the others a reat nness aboutesus dscoverin thins that they had missed wthnthemselves f ths process establshes an emotonal currentwith the Lord on a personal and roup level then there will

be beautiul community prayer

ommuni prayer

By communty prayer mean the act of a number ofpeople comn toether to pray spontaneously and outloud one after another

Fo communty prayer to be authentc t s necessarythat those who particpate have previously lved ther faithand have been traned in the personal relatonship wththe Lord Otherse they wll ive the impresson thatwords sometmes beautiful words are spoken but n thewords of dramatist une onesco the words will be

5



ncapable o standng on ther own because they lackcontent

t s necessary also that there be no emotonal shortcrcuts among those who are prang Athough the nd-vduals may be personally led wth ervor a curous

phenomenon occurs the conlctng states o members othe goup hardens the personal evor and blocks thendvdua n hs or her relatonshp wth God; n short thedstance between ndvduals s converted nto dstancebetween the sou and God

hs need not be the case here does not have to be a

geat deal o tust among the partcpants here have beenman cases o beautful results among partcpants n communty prayer who dd not even know one another hemportant thng s that there be no conflcts among them

Some ndvduals because o ther shy nature eel lostwhen aced wth these stuatons It s good to nvte even

these people to speak but wthout dong voence to therreserved naturehere also s a genera aw o psychoogy that states

that ntmacy requres reserve and the greater the ntmacythe greater the reserve ust as lovers n ths world eave alhuman presence and sght so also do the great contempla-

tves such as Moses Eljah and Jesus look or completesotude or ther encounters wth God Francs o Asss notony went to the hgh mountans or hs conversatons wththe Lord but even there he hd hmsel n dark and loneycaves

n spte o all ths true contact wth God s made n agroup at prayer that group s transormed nto a newcenacle and that communty prayer wll embody the orceand the rchness o entecost Yet n order to place themselves beore God and beore one another t s necessarythat those who are prang come rom the "desert" adenwth ath and love

5



Liturgica prayer

Liturgia prayer, in the present ase in whih we areookng for a diret means for aquiring or reovering the

sense of God, foows the same ine as voa prayer tertainy has a partiuar dignity and effiay by virtue ofits being the offiia prayer of the hurh On the otherhand, its rites ontain an exeptiona beauty, offer the finesttexts from the ord of God, and in every moment presentsan eevated sense of ommunity A of whih makesiurgia prayer the Great rayer of the eope of theovenant

However, that iturgia prayer, whih is the nourishment for the masses and the soemn homage of a eope totheir God, is in need of persona interiority and devotion tobeome te worship in spirit and tth" n 44) araphrasing oneso, words are ike oats empty, they fawhat keeps them on their feet is whats in them

This means that if we are trained in the reationshipto God, "aden with God, then iturgia prayer wi be ikea gourmet dish, a superb banquet that wi not ony nourishus but, beause of ommunity ontat, wi stimuate themasses, transforming them into a peope of worshippers

But if we ome empty, or do not pay fu attention tothe eremony, it an happen that iturgia prayer does notbeome an encounter with God or with others, ufiingthose words: This peope honors me ony with ipservie, whie their hearts are far from me" (s 9)

hismatic prayer

n the ast few years, a movement of prayer has arsena over the word t has been given different names:chartc prayer (owing to the appearane of gifts [orharisms] of the Hoy Spirit), pentecostal prayer Theireffets are ike those of enteost morning drunkenness

5



wio wne own conversaons and an rressbeoodn b e Ho Spr Man books ave appeared one sbjec

n m opnon s one of e more effecve was ofvn fe o fa for experencn e capvan cose

ness of God and for eavn peope marked perapsforever b e vn fame of God Furermore ere se advanae a a of s akes pace on a comuneve

ese praer meens come abou w an adrabeand rsk sponane wou an preparaon no one

worres abo wa e are o sa or do or wo s on ospeak ere s no aenda or scedue no pannn A ofs s e n e "ands" of e Ho Spr

ose wo pra s wa come w a apy srraea and conous e ben w a son w areadn or a so of prase dependn on e dcae o

e Spr Everone pras ou oud and a e sae meand e camor of praer rses and as ke waves on esea

e mos compee sponane rens supreme ecres pran son a prodce an ndescrbabe app-ness ro a rea openn up before God and n fron of

e oers presen especa a e me of esmon esous are of prase sppcaon jo and srua exaaon A of s praer s enera dreced oward esus

A mes ose pran do non bu repea over andover aan a sne excamaon ere are ose wo sanon more an wo or ree senences Oers on e

oer and are cared b a wave o nspraon and verse o expressons a canno be uman expanedA of s becomes a rea um so man peope

akn (pran) a e same me Bu paradoxca ereappears o be rea order or concer n a e rumbe ofose pran rses and fas n an ebb and ow ke wavesa come n and o o aan me passes and e no onefees red

Soon someone es speaks sponaneos nder



the iuece o the oy Spirit and the words are accompaned by the accamations o the hearers wth shouts opraise Sometimes peope say things so subime that eventheoogas do ot uderstand what is said

A aica sicerity donat the scee an hoesty that

opes a o the wndows o the sou individuas makepubic coessios with repentant humiity yet withouteeig humiated ey make promises great pans orcoversion

he participats are et with the eeing o wanting topray more to go out into the streets and do good to others

treatig them ike brothers and sisters to orgive to serveto ove

kow that not a is pure god n a o this there issome degree (Who coud measure its extent?) o groupdynamics n some groups there is an exaggerated preoccupatio with the gi of tongues heaing baptism in the oy

Spirit n spite o the reservations though I consider this to be

the idea method or arriving covering a ot o ground atthe experience o God I consider it a providentia move-met or the Church which was so rituaistic in the pastand has become so acking in aith on the part o many

peope o our day I have the impression that a great age othe Spirit is beginning or the Church o God

DEVOTION AND ONSOLATION

Devotio

Devotion is easiy conused with emotion or someother sensitive eement Devotion certainy does containsome emotiona eements but in essence it is atogethersomething ese

It is a specia git o the Hoy Spirit that enabes and

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reade u f gd wk A me t te eut f a by d a ae ut f prayer and upprt u

Den make u trng enug ercme ard-p eat wat ukewarm fng u wt genetyand curage cearng te mnd matung e enuamfr d queng te wrdy pan ercmng tempatn w eae and appne and nay pacng readne decn and y n te eat

Te eence f detn ten nt entmen buteadne Jeu fet n etemane; weer He ad tefa detn fuf e w f te Fater

eeree detn de cntan a certan amuntf emtn a metme depend n ur temperament;but t knd f emn n neceary n pprtn autentc e te eac ermmeer f wc tewngne cmpy wt te w f d

n er of erfecton Teea f Aa wrte:

Te bdy epeence te geae deg and te u cncu f a deep afacn. S gad t merey tfnd tef nea te funan a een befre t a begun dnk a ad f Tee e be ntng eff dee e faue ae ed e w a n capy nw.. .

T a upenaa ae and wee ad we rywe cann eac t f uee f a tate n wce u ene n peace ae n wc e dge peace ug peence n ae a efacue ae ed

e u... eae a nw ey ce d and

a f wee bu a e ce wud becme ne w ug unn

By t wn naue e away a burnng frce; andn te meaure n wc t gw n dept t becme meente T e netaby fet a muc n te y funn a n te panfu emptne f abence n certanpuae uc a te Fanccan te ente apecttand ut becaue f ter nteny A jyu detn tat

6



eads to the ovecomng of oneself though selfdenal sgood oeve, t also contans subtle danges of nacsssm, sptual gutton, and aenatng sefshness Wemght seach fo God fo the peace and comfot that spesence bngs, and not fo God mself We mght seach

fo te seetness of God nstead of the God of seetness,etadng o defntvel avodng the tansfomng unon

oeve, the "vst" ("fet" pesence of God) aaspoduces "gentleness" and "delght (Ps ; 6 00; 5 Inthe same a, eatng and dnkng bng a cetan satsfacton and delght, fo each facut s desgned fo a cetan

objecve and the achevng of the objectve poduces asensation of ulfllment o satsfacton umant as ceated n the mage and lkeness of God (ke an ao shottoad a dvne taget); t s nevtabe that hen e each,to a cetan degee, ou Objectve, e ll feel an emotonajo (devotion)

Nevetheless, n ode that e mght avod subtlookng fo ouseves th ths emotona devoton, Godsometmes tsts the natual ule n spte of the fact thate have eached God on a fa hgh eve, God sometmeseaves us empt, anous Ths s the eason fo thepeods of dness and pufng nghts.

It shoud be undestood that fo us ho come fom thehad batte of fe, the beatng of God thn us s efeshng; e need emotonal devoton as much as e need tobeathe f thee ee no emotona jos fo us, t oud belke ong ith no oas

Consolation

n soo, n lness, n mounng, n pesecuton, eae n need of consolaton Ou elatves and fends t toconsole us hen al othes have abandoned us But theods ae onl a slght eef We eman alone n ou panIn an decsve moment, e ae alone

In the Bble, the tcal case, the smbo of a desola

57



on s e oal abandonmen of Jerusalem desroedsacked bued depored no exle and forgoen b od:"Yawe as abandoned me he Lord has forgoen me" (s494) Bu bo e prophe Jeremah and e propesaa offer e "book of consolaons" od s presened

ere as a lovng Faer wo sas " dd forsake ou for abref momen bu n grea compasson sall ake ouback" (s 547)

Tere are ceran mes when nohng or no one scapable of consolng us Desolaon reaches levels ha aremuc oo deep rends relaves lovers are no abe o

reac a level No one knows wheer s lonenessfrusaon nosalga empness or everyhng pu ogeher Onl od can reach he boom of ha abss

Tere s no one who has no experenced havng foundmself n such a sae sudden and whou knownghow a profound comfor as f some soohng onmen had

been poured on he wounds od descends upon ewouded soul lke a pure swee nursemad

Oer mes we begn o fee ke a hepless chldreproaces a serous lness a rea faure he closeness ofdea The desoaon s oo serous unable o be measured Wo s abe o console us? Frend? Spouse? "As a

moer comfors a chld so sha comfor ou" (s 66)od's consolaon s lke cool onmen poured ou unl reaches e wounds of desolaon

And f e desoaon s due o he absence of od hena "vs" rom od s capabe of changng he darkness olg; waer wll sprng forh and he mounans wl be adlow and e desers changed no gardens (cf s 47)

l absence produces sadness. Jesus wl be absen. Hsown ll feel lke orphans n praer somehng smarhappens e sensaon of darkness he sense of dsanceabsence or slence of od eaves us wh a feelng ke haof beng orpaned sad or dsraugh n boh cases esussas "Do no worry" wll send Someone who b naures e omforer "n hose das he earl hrsan groups

8



aance n he oe of Go an connue o go,encouage by he Hoy Sp (cf c 9)

San Pau coee ha conoaon png fomeoaon He ha e hough a pan affcon, o hepon of feeng he ca of eah n h feh n ha, a

poe ha he Go of a conoaon comfo beyon ameaue H Secon Lee o he Conhan he MagnaCaa of bbca conoaon The noucon o he fchape aenae beeen conoaon an eoaon Ige he mpeon ha boh ae mean o be uffee na fegng manne

Bssd b the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,the merciul Father and the God who gives every possibleencouragement; he supports us in every hardship, so thatwe are able to come to the support of others, in everyhardship of theirs because of the encouragement we ou-

selves ece from God. For just as the sufferings ofChst overflow into o lives, so too does the encouagment we receive through Christ S if we have hardshipsto udergo, ths w contribute to your encouragementand your salvation; if we receive encouragement, this is toga for you the encouragement which enables you tobear with perseverance the same suerings as we do. So

ou hope for you is sere in the knowledge that youshare the encouagement we recive, no less than thesuffengs we bear (2 Cor 13

n n he eenh chape, e ee Pau cuhe bohne an ou, baee by ugge an fea Bu, agan,

e ee ho fom he woun of acon bon he lameof conoaon

Even after we had come to Macedonia, there was no restfor this body of ours Far from it; we were beset byhardship on all sides, there were quaels all around usand misgivings within us But God, who encourages allthose who are distressed, encouraged us through theaval of Titus; and not simply by his ival only, but

59



lso by mens o the encourgement tht you hd enhm s he told us o your desre to see us how sorry youwee nd how conceed or us; so tht ws l the morejoyl (2 Cor 5-)

TENDENCIES

pryer is the concentrtion o the cuties distrction is te scttering o the mind in thousnd drectionsmomentrily oiding the control o the will nd con

science. n speking o nteror slence we he explinedthe nture o distrction nd he pointed out wys ooercoming it.

Dness

en distrction is not temporry phenomenon but tot nbility to center ourseles in the Lord nd thisbecomes hbitul or time it is ced dness Dryess isccompnied t times by eeling o depressing hepless-ness nd certin unnering o the senses The pessimist

tends to think tht he or she ws not born or pryer or ttll hs been lost.Dryess n some people my produce sdness nd

een desoltion becuse o complete inbility though itmy be ony temporry to relte with the Lord. n somecses this dryess my come dngerously close to the

borders o ridty.Altough they re dierent words they re mutulyconditioned in such wy tht it is dicult to tell wherethe boundries o dryness distrction nd ridty beginnd end.

Te spiritul msters describing their experiencesbound n extrordnrly d descriptions o the drynessthrough which they hd to pss Reding them we recught somewhere between er nd dmirtion Sint

60



ees ssues us tht mny tmes she went to the well ndmny tmes dew the bucket wthout obtnng sngledop of wte

t equently hppens contnues the snt tht thesoul does not even hve the stength to ft ts ms to dw

out the bucket; n those moments the ndvdul cnnotfom sngle thought Dyness demnds hgh pcenyone who hs gone though ths knows tht pce emembe mny tmes dds the snt how hppy ws tohve obtned tht sngle dop of wte om tht blessedwell consdeng t to be specl pvlege fom the od

o emn fm n these peods of dess moecoge s needed thn fo ny othe tsk the wod Fony yes ees confesses ws moe woed boutthe clock n cho thn bout pye tself countnghow mny mnutes wee eft nd wshng tht pyewould end soon nd mny tmes hve been edy to

submt to ny hsh pennce befoe begnnng to ecollectmyself fo pye do not know f t ws the devl o myown ntue but the fct s tht just thnkng tht hd to goto pye fled me wth lzness. nd enteng the otoymy soul fell to my feet nd ws beset by get sdnessnd hd to foce mysef to chee up Fnly concludes

ees those tmes wee ended by the gce of Godht s why thousnds of people bndon most lpye hey mde supehumn effots nd wee not beto dw out snge dop of wte fom tht bessed welLte they felt unneved by the dspopoton betweenthe effots nd the esuts nd ended up thnkng tht tws not woth the toube

Nevetheless they e edy to begn gn becusepye s mtte of lfe o deth n tems of the menng ofthe lves

he uses of dyness hve vous chctestcs:

n uncontolled ctvty tht destoys nne unty

he ntue of the pye tsef the slence of God thedkns of fth the tendency of the humn mnd towd

6



varey and dversfaton the nfuene of the senses overthe nteror fautes

Pathooga tendenes of a types that esape dagnoss body haratersts straned and unomfortabe

postons Wthout havng an atua ness we an fee badn a bad mood moments of depresson poweru nstabty meanhoy or somethng ese Certan heredtary defets appear that n the nora ourse of fe pass unno-ted espeay n terms of dryness and versatty

4 Wedone prayer s a ompex atvty one n whh

there s nteea work but moreover one n whh theres emotona abor that affets emotona energy A basemotona baane s needed

5 Perods of dryness may be tests sent expressy by theLord n the Bbe there s a defnte e that the fath of one

to whom t has been gven s put to the testAs eresa of Ava sad n her Autobography

beeve ysef that often n te eary stages and aganater t s the Lord's w to gve us tese torres andmany other toents whh present teseves n orderto test hs overs and dsover f tey an drnk of teae and e to ear te oss efore e stshem wt s eat easres.

at e we to do?

When tmes of dryness our the temptaton for begnners s to exert poweru efforts to overome the dryness Avan attempt Dryness s not onqered wth arms and oarsThe more we try to fore t at tmes ke these the worse tgets and the onger the troube asts says St Teresa

have known persons who have been eft exhaustedand weakened by a great outpourng of energy n thsregard Afterwards anxety and angush overpower them

6



A o his insead o solving he oube wosen hedyness Suck in his spir, hee ae many who inprcice op o abandoning pyer as i hey hd iedmeraby

nce agin, hee nge wi acompny u hroughhe dese ha we migh no be hown and conqueed byhe nigh o discouagemen; hey e paience peever-ance and hope

Patience peaceuy acceps a dipoiio which imius nd akes he deire o coninue away om u Nohingis gained by resising buning a gre de o enegy inode o end his dyness We e no o raie up an amy inorde o coquer his enemy, bu, pradoicay, we re oconque i by submiing, surendering ouseve o i Inohe wods by acceping i

Counseing he Cameie sises, ee o Avi gives

his advice

She mu o worry or h oy e er worenor mu he wery here y ryi o pu ee ioomehi ey her id whih or he o iwihou ny. She hod pry e h idd he

need no pry u y ry o re her piri houh he were i d uy here wih oe oherviuou cio

he poor o u o e ed . They mu edurehi eie we hey c or ou whih ove odhs oen he eeedig iorue o reie h i ive inhi e o miery . .

Hope es us ha eveyhing is paing ha nohing isoreve ope es u know ha he pimay aws o heunivese are no hoe o pemanence and sbiiy Evey-hing is in pepeua moion. Nohing is saic I eveyhingis passing and nohing emains he ame omoow wi bebeer he dyness wi ps, bee imes ie head Weough o be conciou o his, nd hi one wi be enough

6



for abado resstane aeptn dryess and n a-ep oqern t

I the rossn of this open plan perseverane aopaes s as a speal help dahter of hope

We st realze that all of the reat onquests of

hsory have been aned wth a enaos perseveraneAd hs perseverane s pt to the test presely n diffilttes To ontue when reslts appear o be worthless torean standn when the winds blow and darkness sur-rods s to advane when fo akes it possble to seetwo feet ahead: ths s what we do when we persevere

To ontie n searh of the liht when we fnd our-selves the dst of a dark nh to shine endlessly likethe eteal stars while others ask Why do they shine? toontne ishn wth nets set ot when not a sinle fishfalls into he o drop a buket in the well n spite of notdrawin out a sinle drop of waer that is to persevere

The ran of wheat sattered on the rond perseveresonfronted by lfe defendin itself aains frost and heatThe hld who learns to walk fals and ets p falls aainand aain ets p with stbborn perseverane ntil after alon tie it reains standin runs and ps n thesae way nvenors sientists the wise artiss persevere

all that s reat on earth has been ained with ardenperseveraneOur eneration has speia diffiuly in perseverin in

that we are astoed to speed produtivity and effi-ieny harateristis of a tehnoloial soiety We wanttanible results we alost auoatially deand the

he life of prayer

the oher hand presents totalyopposite harateristis: results are always ipereptiblerowth s not always at the sae pae Gods ativity isdistrbn bease t s free and our response is variablelike or nature And so depression iediately appears

The result? Perseverane is uh ore diffilt in thisarea The portant hin for us is not to abandon theenerprise but to ontinue

Faith and hope nie the flae of perseverane and



peseence s the gntee o eent nd n sccessn ode to obtn stength om zness nd to get hopeom peseence we need to be sppoted by thwhch conssts not n feelng bt n nowng knowng thtn spte o the ct tht pogess s not peceed gce s

mong we moe becse gce s e nd e s moement do not ee the moement o my e kdneysntestnes Neetheess now he the cetnty tht o these e n pepet moton t s the cetnty oth

th tkes s nd ces s to sende sende

nto the hnds o dyness dkness nbty to py; notesstng nythng owng osees to be ced pece-y by the cent o nonsens n pthy Bette ysw come

Spal aophy

The spt mstes he ony spoken o thee ten-dences dstcton yness nd dty Howee obse-ton o e hs boght me to scoe" nothe ten-dency possby wose thn the edy mentoned ones

ond ey oten n o y: spt tophyThe oowng hppens to the msces: when they enot sed they ose the teno n estcty They o notde bt they ose the tty They e no onge be todeeop stength t weghts n They become tophedt s not deth bt the deths ont poch.

mmobty s sgn o deth n cses t e stopsbeng moton t ceses to be e: the tendons hen ne oecome wth gdty A pnt not wteed oetzed es ot oses stength nd sowy s de tots mpendng deth

e sme thng hppens to mny peope o yesthey dd not mke ny oey methodc ptent npeseeng eots to ente nto eqent nd poondcommncton wth th Lo Fo ong tm thy m

65



sporadc and sperfcal attepts at prayer They inventeda thosand rationalations to jst this sitation: the onewho works is already praying God is to be fond aongthe people In this way, they appeased their consciences,at least to a certain degree They sbstitted reflection for

prayer, and shared conversation for editation ittle bylittle, they were losing the sense of God and the desire forprayer Within, what happened those energi whchthe ystics call potentials or faclties, not being sed, wereslowly losing elasticity osing their strength, they weresed less and less Not being sed, they were entering a

conterprodctive corse leading to extinctionThese persons, at least, are restless, and they have the

desire to begin again and to se the ethods Bt there areothers who have parked theseves in spirita ediocrtyand have no desire to leave that spot They do not sffer bybeing in that state They are satisied with their sccess The

apostoate and other proessiona activities give the a-ple copensation They feel copete and do nothingore ife with God is no conce o theirs t is enogh forthe to have a wellfored personaity to baance the psand downs of life And their lie is arranged as i God didnot exist

There is no discernible soltion or sch as these Theirown selfsatisfaction is the ata danger However, there s"salvation for the others, for the restess What are they todo?

The orientations that have oered in varios parts othis book on patience, perseverance, and hope wil have tobe taken into consideration, as well as those on the natreof the life of grace and its growth They wi have to takethe frst steps, like soeone releaing to wak They willhave to spport theselves with voca prayer, the psals,spirital reading, etc And, with ininite patience and stb-bo fidelity, they will have to contine clibing andcibing The practical otlines present here on drynessand aridity wi also be o great hep to the

66



idi

Ai is a time of heplessess ad disiterest iapplyi ourelve to the relatioship with God a thithat at other times caused such joy ad devotio Geerally it befalls those who have beu their ascet to God

my opiio aridity as we are oi to decribe ithere is comparable to the ihts of the sou of Joh of theCross

t has to do with te deoatio People foud i thistate speak like thi feel othi Everythi bores me tothe poit of ma me ill Jut like Jesus i Gethemae am disuted t i a toet to pray There were suchhappy times with God i the pat. I have bee i this tateof aridity for two moth ad I fee like a stoe God idistat abset do ot eve kow if He exists If I kewthat after a year of thi aridity the Face of God would

shie aai But who kows if the Lord wil ever retur?No iht ca compare with this darkess The idivid

ua come to the poit of ayi I wih that had evermet God! these momet that perso coud repeat thewords of Jesu am dyi of ade

Joh of the Cro decbe thi a follows

The firt puao o ht btte ad teble to theee ut othi a be opad to the eod o t horble ad fhtl to the pt.

These tests are ive to advaced people ad if they

did ot have the memory of oyfu ecouters with God ithe past they woud tr their backs forever o the ifewith God Ad if they have vividy experieced th relatioship with God the test of aridity miht appear to behel itself

the words of Joh of the Cros

Thee ae the oe who o dow ito he ave eher pato o eath a to that o puratoy o

67



ts pan s at c ld av t b ndrntr

T my undrstandn bcas drynss and dstractnar pnmna tat ccur n t rst stas and ar nr-

ally xplcabl n ts f psycsmatc prncpls adtys a al snt xprssly by Gd t s prfundly prynand s vn nly t ts accustm t rat famlartyt t Lrd Tr ar many prsns suprfcaly nvlvd n prayr abandn prayr nc and fr alln dynss cms n t scn; ncludd amn ts

ar ppl f bst by a crss n ts tm f aknssabandn t rlgus r prstly nsttutn On t cntrary anyn nvlvd n t trmnt f ardty atu suffrs fr a ftully ln prd f tm ds ntabandn prayr

Adty s ndamntaly a fln f absnc f a

prsn ds nt kn r s ndffrnt t antr and tstr s absnt t rst rmans unaffctd But f r slvs t tr ntnsly t absnc f t tr lavs trst sad and dsatd And t ratr t lv tgatr t dslatn

T piitual Cantile f Jn f t rss rcrds tsvrss

xtns ts msrs,Snc n n ls can samp tm td may my ys bld Bcaus ar tr ltAnd I ld pn tm t aln

Rval r prsncd may t vsn f r baty b my datFr t scknss f lvs nt crdxcpt by v prsc ad ma

T trac tn abt ardty s tat sffr sucntrr dsrdr tat d nt undrstand tat absnc f Gd s t caus f t all Bttr yt av t



mpreon tat everytng a le, or tat everytng appenng becae o rraonal ae, or tat God notngPycologcaly peakng, e enaton o ardty probaby comparable to wat te Faer caled te "ted ole," altog mc more ntene

Generally, tee pryng torment are accompanedby ocal mndertandng, lander, nj accaon,deerton by rend, all wrapped n darkne and myeryGod brng togeter derent cae n order to ne rom te toand o etter a keep on te grond.No one ree rom tee prng tra

n er nteio Castle, Terea o Avla adve er commty

S do no ppe, ter, yo ever nd yoreve n conon, a peope are wealy, or ree o do atey lke, ave any better reedy or c me o, no;

to oer em early conolaon wold be lke engcrnal condemned o dea abo all e oy a tereare n e world; no only wod al o comort e wod nceae er oren; coor coe oem om above, or eary ng are o no vae otem anyore.

It tre tat n e area o pycoogy tere can bepenomena mlar o tat o ardty, c a loatng andte deatw For toe advanced n te myery o God,a temperament o knd cold cae ardty to grow toe pont o exaperaon I mpoble to dcern precey were God nlencng and were e peronatyo e ndvda e nlence. Bt et no orge ac nng peronale a Franc o A and SantTerea o Avla ave actely ered te bealne oardty and darkne

So ten, wtot gnong te pobe nlence o teperonalty adty a ral o God to pry, lberate,ea, b away, tranor, and nte Te myery operate very deeply, ndeeat all appearance, and pyco

69



analysis is not abe to oe ose to the botto of thisystey in any ay

In ode to ofot those ho have passed though oho ay pass though siia situations I offe this beau-tifu paagaph by Saint Teesa fo e nteior Castle

o hat ll a oo eate lke that do f suh athing goes on fo a vey ong te? If she pays she ightas ell not be doing so at al I ean fo al the ofott ll bng he fo inteoly she s napabe of eevngany ofot no even hen he paye is voal an she

ndestand hat she s saying hle ental poe atsuh a e is etainy possbe he faues ae notapable of t. Solitde is sil ose fo he though t salso a tote fo he to be n anyones opany o to bespoken to and so despte al he eots to oneal the fatshe beoes outadly upset and despondent to a veynoeabe extent Is t edble that she l be abe to say

hat s the atte th he? e thing s inexpessble fothis distess and oppesson ae spta oubles andannot be given a nae

Aidity is the ontinuation of the daa of Gethseane In the Gaden of Olives on a ea night in the

onth of Nisan a dak nght ovepoeed Jesus His souas touhed to the depths by aidity Those ho haveexpeiened it in high gea use expessions vey siia tothose of Jesus on that night (Mt 6046; Lk 945; Mk454) All ho have patiipated in the obat of theaid night aso patiipate in that aute depession of Jesus.

hat ae e to do?Reain standing keep ath next to Jesus ith Jesusdespite the fat that ou sou is ashaed and hubledFaith and hope ust iunate lke a sall andle thenight in the Gaden of Olives that faith and hope hih tellus that beyond the night is a dan. Yes tooo the sunil ise

hat then? Do not let yousef be oveoe by ds-ouageent Hope against all hope Resist the dakness by

70



acceping i Ovecme he cnfsin wih hmbe sende n capse if he nigh shd cnine Keepwach wh seeping hgh he nigh nex Jess accmpanng im wih ve wih hpe h en-deness

A "queen" of the "nights"

O aenin is da he sbe descipins madeb Jhn f he Css egading hese pifing nighs We

have seen he feminine cnceeness wih which SainTeesa descibes hem.

B wih a db he mde and qen f he aidnighs is he ie sain f isiex �se f he ChidJess n n becase f he cai wih which sheexpesses hesef becase f he simpe and damaic

fce f he descipins b abve a becase f hewheness wih which she ived hem wih an aide fsende Becase hee ae s man pepe in his pga f aidi (he pbab imain hmvs b inhe de he aci f he absence f hei Beved)f hei cmf I am ging shae sme f he mving

esimnies f Th�se.Befe aking he habi having js ef he wd she

wies a nn in Jana 9

ness and dwsiness sch s he sae f m s .. .

Caing hesef ie amb she cnves he agicsience f Gd wih a chidike angage in anhe ee fhe same ea

Yr e lamb as ve ca me.. I ca speak d and he s sen .

7



n he sae ear aid ine ironies and sboisuniig sipicit o expression with pahetic grandeurshe sas

he ab oos herse beieving that esus to is not in

darkness she is suk it ven so the ab is rght sdarkness nous but neverteess it is daress .

Eigheen onhs have passed She is going to proiseherse o God with he covenant o proession She prepares herse or he taking o he vows with the ervor we

have a experienced in these oents but she ees ike adriedup ountain in the idde o the desert Do outhink she wries o a sister ha do no hink oanthing In a word I a in a dark underground passage

None o her spiriua direcors is capabe o exorcisingher ardit God is or her the Sient One but she

coninues in peace absoute surrendering; and ahoughshe sees nothing ees nohing beneath a appearancesshines he presence o her Beoved who inspires and ediies:

eov inscts sou he seaks to t in the

idde o the sience in the darknessShe is sti in her outh aving jus reached nineeen

ears o age e we see in her a aturit disproporionaeto her age She is a ragie woan but she deonstrates aature wisdo here is in her ie a ster that isdisurbing: she possesses a privieged ineigence and etdoes no undersand hat she reads:

Do not think she wries o a sister that swi inhe ids o consoations Oh no consoation is not toave it on earth Without showing hise without akinge hear his voice interior Jesus teaches e in secret; notb eans o books because I do not undersand what Iread.

She is a woan o unique srength ere are no



xraordnar vns n hr f Th on xraordarhng s h dns and h prssc of h snc ofGod hrougho hr f Bu sh vs pac Sh fsh s and povrt of a chd Sh s hrsf b carrd.Sh oud no vn compan of h darknss or of h

ard Sh accps hm amos h jo Wh hadspn-ng spd sh covrd h dsac o sanc; hsmp surrdr sh brns sag afr sag n h vomb vrnd homas aor magng hrsf o b aanc sh dsbs hr pah hs a:

Bfor sarg m ovd askd m ha ad Ishd o av ad ha ro I shd o ak I odhm ha I had o o dsr ha of rachg hsmm of h moa of ov rpo roads nmrab sprad bfor m ga

d Or ord ook m h had ad d m oghan undrgrod passag hr s hr ho or codhr h s dos o sh ad hr hr d orra ca r a pac hr I s ohg b ahafvd gh h gh ha gams fm h docass of h ac of Jss I cao s ha aradvag oards or os goa sc avndrgrond; ad ho kog ho ss o

m ha ar ag h smm of h moa.

hs s h mod and h codc for congdsp ard: No o orsvs b domad bdprsso o bv and o hop agans a apparancsW ak undgroud ar scang h pak Ho?

do no kno; bu H kos. God s s B kno hahou aon prcvng Hm h ord srcs m so h mdd of h sc. osoaos? Prhaps hr b no u h da of . Th consoaon shop o surrndr o hop ad o ach h Jsusdurng h ong gh of ardt ha s h aud d

7





Chapter 4

ADORE AND CONTEMPLATE

e ranul nA e me o e rsn dawnSlen muscSoundn soludee suer a reeses, and deeens loe

o of h ro

On brnng afrnoon, , ovrd h ha anddt, rod th provn of Samara by way of th wdpa that btwn Mont Eba and Mont Garzm On

top of th lattr, th hmat of Ira, h Samaran,had rd a rlavy modt tmp, a fathl rpa ofth Tmpl n ralm And hr on th montan, hrlgo f of h Samaran pop dvopd. Th r-vary btwn th w and h Samartan had bn gongon n th day of h rrn from Babylonan apvy

Comng ot of th pa, nrd th vally b-wn Mon Ebal and Mon Garzm A th nran toh valy ood th y of Syhar, a y bond p ngnd from h day of aob Nar th y wa a wabo hry mr dp Trd, a down nxt to hwl

And a trang thng happnd Wh a bkt on hrhad, a woman am rom th ty, a woman of many yarand mh htory. akd hr for m war o rv

75



His thist She foud this to be a stage equest Vey soohoweve the two eteed io a highflyig covesatioAd at a cetai poi i he discussio i this uiqueexpeiece a wod with the weight of eteity souded:adoe

I see you ae a pophe si, said the woa. Oufathes woshipped o his otai hough you say thatJesal is he pace whee oe ough o wosp Jesssaid, elieve e woa he hou is coig whe yowil wosp he Fae eihe o his ouai o i

Jersae . t he ho is cog ideed is aleadyhee whe e woshippes will wosp the Fathe ispiri ad th: ha is he kid of woshippe he Fahess. od is spi ad hose who woship us woshipi spiit ad h 41924)

Toward the nteror

Thee is a oietal poe which says

I said to he alod r ohe, speak to e of od.

Ad the aod ee lossoed

Howeve he Face of od wi o bosso ha easiy.That blessed Face is coveed by dese clouds, alwaysdista beyod he sea of ie We eed o place oseveso wach ad ow aid he hostie waves of disacio,

dyess advacig eve he io silece with the helpof psychoogical ehods i ode to each the ee thacocetaes ad quiets al of he feas of the heat

Glipses of ceatio coo efecio ad vocalpayes ca ake us peset to the Lod, but i a scatteedad idiect way The deep ad livig foutai is fa away.We ay quech o his i the uig wates of aushig stea, bu the souce of tha wate is hig above,i a glacie of eteal sow

76



he moe we expeene od, the moe we long fo theFountan tself fo the ae tself As ohn of the osswote n hs piitual Canticle

o not send me

An moe messenges,he annot tel me what mst heaSne she s onsos that nothng an e he gef othehan he eloveds pesene and he sght of hm, she asshm ths stana, dssng an othe emed, to s-ende hs pesene that she ma possess hm

Beond glmpses gfts and gaes we seah testngnot onl the wate but the Fountan tsef We seah fothat quet, dentfabe and neffabe elatonshp of theIhou We seah how an we sa t? fo that po-found ommunaton of pesene to Pesene, that ntea-

ton and nteelaton of onsousness to onsousnessut one agan, though the shadows, od begns tomanfest Hmsef to us, bt n a wa smla to that of thesun whh pous out ts sunght thogh a mass of tees na dense foest t s the sun bt not the sun t s bts ofsunlght though the denst John of the oss desbes t

thus

spngle stalf on, on o sveedove fae,o wod sdde foThe ees I have desd,i I bea sethed dp whn m heat

We must ndestand that ths pesene s alwas ob-sue but b emanng obsue t beomes moe ave Imean that when fath and love ntensf, then the featuesof od ae not peeved moe lea bt athe ae moealve he at does not efe to the fom beause odhas no fom exept n the denst and sueness of Hspesene an be on some da nght wth anothe



prson atoug w do not s ac otr, altou w donot touc ac otr and w ar compltly slnt, lookingat t stars, can vvdy "sns" t otr's prsnc, "kow" tat t otr s tr

Wn w try to ntr nto communcaton wt t

Lord, t rst tng tat w av to do s to gv lf to tprsnc of t Lord, aftr controng and cntrng tfacults

W av to b vry sur tat God s objctvy prsntn ou ntr bng, suc tat H communcats and sus-tans Hs xstnc and consstncy wtn us

W av to rmmbr tat God sustans us t s not tcas of a otr wo carrs r offsprng n r womb but,ratr, n our cas, tat God pntrats, nvlops, andsustans us

H s urtr and closr tan tm and spac; H saround m and wtn m; and wt Hs actv prsnc,

H s n t most dstant and dpst aras of my nt-rorty God s t sou of my sou, t lf of my f; H st a and alncompassng ralty wtn wc w arsubmrgd; wt Hs fgvng strngt H pntrats alw av and al w ar

n spt of suc ntmacy, tr s no dntfcaton or

mxtur but an actv prsnc, cratv and fgvngTs tmat raty of umanty s xprssd by tpsalmst wt an ncomparaby potc xprsson: "l fndtr om n you" (Ps 87) T slow rctaton of som oft psalms at t bgnnn of prayr can srv to mak us"prsnt" to t Lord

t s ncssary to vntur nto t ntror bcaus onyour ntror prcvs God Spakng of t Dark Ngt oft Soul, on of t ross tlls us:

178

T wsdom of ts contplaton s t lanua ofod to t so of r Spt to t sprt alon s



wsdm s see e senses ey ave nee eknwedge n aby seak f , n d ey evendese d s becase s beynd wds

Pepe w mve n e wd f e senses and ae

dmnaed by em w n be capabe f egus expeence, a eas we ey ae unde a dmnatin.

e Mysca Dc seaks f an edge f e s,wc e magnes be ke e nsy sububs wud bee senses and fanasy, a wd wi s byness amedes e vsn f e me ne passages And,

venung e win, e san pns u e egn fe spi a s a dee and vas wdeness . an mmense,unbded dese"

s s wa we ca e soul a bunded egn beeenus and Gd, smuaneusy uman eay and a eae fdvne acvy, a vey ea nvese ke e wa we uc

bu wse genea pecen escaes us because we ven e usks; se n c w e ne dsngus and peceve aug ey ae unabe ansae n wds In s Lng ae of Loe n fe Css descbes s san n ese wds:

e ss cene s d. en as eaced d wa e caay f s beng and e seng f s eatin and ncnan, w ave aaned s fna anddes cene n d, w knw ve and eny dwt a s mg

Hw e su s e bdeed egn beween Gd andus s expaned by e San n e fwing way amuns sayng a e dep f e su s ppna e de f ve Lve s e weg a s e baancewad Gd because ve unes e s w Gd, and egeae e amun f ve, e me deey s e suceneed n Gd F e su be a s cene (wc sGd) s enug a ave an amn f ve And egeae e amns f ve we ave, n s same pp

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ion ll we oninue o ene and onenae ousevesin od d i we aive a he uimae evel o divine ovewe will have opened ouseves o he ulimae and mospoound ene o he soul

may happen hen ha suessive eves o he soul

ae peneaed nd a eah level he Fae o od shinesmoe His pesene is moe paen he ansoming seadeepe and he oy moe inense Undesand his well mus neessaily speak in meaphos When I speak openeaing new levels mean peeng dsngushngThe soul (as well as od) is unaeable n he way ha

aih love and ineioiy go on iving hey poin ou newaeas

Sain Teesa symboies his gandiose eaiy by hemansions o a ase eah o hem deepe wihin he ase

Beause o his esus says nyone who loves me wilkeep my wod and my Fahe wi ove him and we sha

ome o him and make a home in him n 4 nd hegeae he love he moe ineio and inimae he homeIn hose poound egions wihin eah one o us weexpeiene he aive and ansong pesene o od.

1. HE ECOUERIneessoy paye as we as ha o paise is popu-

aed wih pesons we pay o he sik he mssionaieso he Holy Fahe In adoaion he whoe wod disappeas an we ae le aone He and I d i we do no ge

o he poin o being aone us He and I hen hee is noue enoue I ould be a a paye meeing amid ivehousand people whee eveyone is paying and aking I in my own plae and ime do no emain aone wih myod as i no one ese beahed in he wod hee is no eaenoune wih he Lod

We began by saying ha beoe all else evey enoun-e is inimay and all inimay is a osed oom Eveyhing ha is viay impoan is soliay The bigges dei

0



sons are made alone; e de alone, e suer alone; theeght o resonsbl s the eght o soltude Theenounter th the ord haens alone, even n ommunalraer

he enoter, then, s the meeng o to "soltudes"

Ths s the great roblem or ahevng the enouner oadorato ho do arrve, through slene, a my onsolitude and the "solude o od And, ahevng ths, hodo quet (solate, unte myse rom) the outsde amor,nervouness, tenson, as e as nteal turbulene, so that ereve, n omlete slene, my o myser? And,

seond, ho do overome the orest o mages, deas, andonetons o od and reman wth od Hmse, th theMster, n the total urt o ath?

Beyond he senses

On a late aternoon, I hear beauul mus The me-ody, n ths momen o ah, arrs me to h lvng odBut , ousng a o my aenton, ry o reman whthe ord Hself, the mus ades away, athough an sbe heard The Lord od s beyond he senses Beer yet,

untng ms th the One ho s Sensed, the sensatondsaears Ho do une myse th the ure soltudeo my od?

n the mornng, w mmerse ourseves n the heart onature Ths mxure o oor, shaes and sounds, hsnebratng varey o harmon and e, aakens n me he

lvng and ovng resene o my od and Father Bu , nure ath and onntratng a o my energy, I esabsh annenona nk wh my od, remanng aone wth Hm,he mounans, oers, and rvers dsaear, ahough thesun onnues o shne od s beyond, hh does nomean tha He s dsant, bu ha H s somehng derenrom the mage e have o Hm Te One ho s Sensedaears, and he snsaon dsaears

On ths serene ngh, e go ou n he ounry e

8



conempae he sk or a ong me n sence and we saTha sarr rmamen ghears beond and arher hanmeasurabe dsance evokes n me he pusng mser om God eea and nne Bu n pure ah enerno a curren o persona communcaon wh ha same

Eerna he sars ade awa as b magc Here s heprobem How o arrve a he soude o God and remanwh Hm aone n smpe and oa presence? How oesabsh he reaonshp o mser o Mser?

Owng o Hs ranscenden nature and our cognveprocesses we dress God wh conceptua mages and

orms Bu He repea s dsnc rom our represenaonso Hm o adore Hm spr and ruh we have o dveshe Lord o a ha cohng whch no oa ase s aeas mperec or ambguous. e have o sence God

I ma be good o suppor ourseves wh nature norder o pra and or some mgh be mos eecve or

adoraon I s aso good o aend heoogca casseswhere he mser o God s presened conceptua Buhe prophes came rom he desers here where he Lordemerges n he boundess epanse o monoon n Hsaoneness n Hs nescapabe Essence as Hmse In agarden or n he counr a housand reecons are ds

ractng and he sou resgns se o gmpses o Godamong he creaures bu n he deser n pure ah andnaked nature God shnes orh n pure gh

e do no mean b hs ha o adore we shoud ookor he bung sands o a deser e are speakng gurave e need es ceran eemens o wha s mean bdeser: he nud o ah sence and soude And hs no ever da a eas or he encouners o nensemomens

God is aone we are aone e advance oward hemeeng o hese wo aonenesses

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O ne sancm

T eel ney s t eel ane t s smethng negatve.But t pecee mysel as ane s t becme cnscus that

as mysel thee s n n wl thee be any the n thewd onl e and onl once my mystey! Smethngneable sngua new By slencng the ute nse andabve all the nne camng we ave at the peceptn wn solude ntety dentty) What mpedesthen the peceptin pssessn) u dentty s thente scatteng by whch we ae splt by memessensatns pans and peccupatns that dsntegate usn such a way that we end up eeng ke a bunch peces useves. we ae nt d nt ee useves t be)unty we cannt pssess u mystey. n ths case theencunte wth Gd whch s aways ne unty wthUnty s mpssbe

Human bengs ae nt cmpeted bengs but athebengs n pcess" by the use the eedm Gaudu e

pes 7).A stne a tee s a cmpetely eazed beng wthnthe bundaes mts ts essence mean t say that tcannt gve me than t gves t cannt be me peectthan t s The same a cat dg. They ae bndedbengs nshed peect" wthn the pssbtes.

We ae nt We essentay ae abetbe. We ae theny bengs n ceatn wh can ee unulled unsats-ed ustated And because ths amng ceated bengswe ae the nly nes wh have the abty t vecme thebaes u lmtatns On the the hand we ae alsthe nly nes capabe ntspectn tanscendence andeedm n a wd we ae pen bengs capabe apesnal encunte wth Gd a dague wth ueat

83



The Second Vaican ouncil presents us as magncentbeings center and crown of all things audiu et pe,12), who carr withn ourselves the image of od carriersof couless seeds for improvement and above all wththe capat to know and love our reator We are particu-

larl distct from other beings in that we have an interiorzone of soliude which is the site of the encounter with thetranscendent and absolute

or b hs neo he otsps he whole s of meres e attains to these inard dephs whenever he

enters into s own heart od ho probes he heartawts hm there ere he disces his proer desbeneath he ees of od (a e pe 14)

This deals then with a secret and interior area towhich we ought to descend if we want the facetoface

encounter with od a place on the other hand where noone else ma enter . the most secret core and sanctuar ofa man There he is alone with od whose voice echoes inhis depths" (audu e pe 6)

With this the oucil appears to be pointing out thatif that zone of solitude is not inhabited b od we will feel

uninhabited and empt And it is then that the wordolitude acquires a tragic meaning and becomes the num-berone enem of all humanit

It is in this space of aloneness" where od awaits usfor the dialogue in order to become part of our life and tofulfill and channel the high energies of is creatures.

This also means alwas accordin to the ouncil that the greatest value within our pschic makeup is theod who invites us to dialogue Our life forces lean towardthis greatest value when we look for the silence necessarfor contemplation audiu e pe 8) All of this leads usto wisdom which is the final result of the filling of isspace of aloneness" "Steeped in wisdom man passesthrough visible realities to those which are unseen"(audu e pe 15), that is to sa to the Absolute

1



I am going to peet thee idea with othe wodWhen we get hold o ouelve expeientially, we ealizethat we ae vaiou deep o nteio level, a the

dieent level wee the vaiou oo o a highe buld-ng

Among thoe level and beyond them, we ealize thatwthin u thee i an inne sancu whih no one an enteave he who i not aeted by pae, peiely beaue thatoom i not a plae but, athe, soehing When holat

theology wa being developed and eveyone wa lookingo a deinition o peon, un Sotu (1270308) ad thata peon i the ulie soliude of being

In ou mot impotant moment, we ee ouelve asolia beings; ou ow unique identty emege, o exam-ple, in ueing. At that time, we may be uounded, o

example, by ou loet loved one who, with thei pe-ene, wod, and aetion, ty to be with" u, aompany-ng u n th deiive tme The tendee and wod donot get beyond ou ki o ea. In ou "ine antum,thee whee we ae ouseles and deent om all ele,whee we ae ompletely alone, and whee thee ae no

wod, aetion, o peene that an eah "thee, eveythng emain on the uae Othe may be next to uHoweve, n ou ultmate and deintve peonhood, noone an even ome loe to u

Thee i, then, n the onttuton o eah peon,omethng that make that peon unque, deent om

othe, and whih, like a blanket o lght, oe andoupe the whole o h peonalty, gantng hm ownehp, uniquene, and dentiation Thi olitude (beingoneel) i peeived, we epeat, when ou whole being ilened: ou mental, phyial, and emotional wold hou in uh a way that, expeiening it, two expeion oltude and ilene ae onued and identiied wtheah othe he peeption o oneel (olitude) i the eulto omplete lening

185



Te possessve perepon o our mysery s e "pae"o worsp I s n s "emple" were we worsp n sprand as esus asked and were we arrve a emeeng o wo myseres

Enter and cose the door

On e Mou esus rased on a rok n ron o awatng rowd ad prolamed e plan o e kngdom

He was sang a n order o worsp many words andlong la_nes were no neessary; nor were slver rumpesI s enoug o ener ones own room ose e door meee Faer wo s n sere and reman w Hm M6:6)

wan o pu ese words n anoer language broad-

enng er meanng er all ey ave nong o do we meeng o persons o les and blood wo sakeands o gree one anoer and wo s n armars o ak.I s easy o lose doors made o wood and o su glasswndows Bu n our ase we are dealng w somengmu less palpable Ta eror room s anoer "roomose doors are oer doors" and a enerng s anoerenerng

I wll never re o repeang or od o "appear orHs presene n a o be made rea open and pureaenon pured o all surroundng desres s neessary.Te more reatures and mages are slened e moreavalable we are e purer and deeper e enouner wlbe

ordng o my undersandng e majory o usreman ousde o e poweru eperenes o od beausewe ave no done s dul and essenal work pror oe enouner undersand a or us poor moraswearng ourselves ou n e sorm o le s no easy omake ea day a proound enouner w e Lord odbu s possbe o do durng e nense oens Te

186



moe fequent thee ntene tme ae the eae t l be tolve n the peanent peence of God

The tak ha to de to t silencing and the perceptionof our own ste We ought to buy oueve ft ththe lencng We have aleady put togethe n the pevouchapte a ee of exece fo lencng eveythng Not-thtandng am gong to add hee ome ote pactcaladvce

We have to lence thee vey dfeent aea

e exterior world A goup of exteo phenomenaevent and thng ae o become dffeent tmul thataccodng to the entvty of each ndvdua dtub thatquet excte and dntegate u and make u loe ou

ene of unty To ave ouelve fom thee detuctveave e mut alienate absent detach (thee od and onemeanng) ouelve fom eveythng n uch a ay that ouuoundng do not ob u of peace no dtub ouconcentaton.

The bodil world T ha to do t tenon o neou

ne that caue muce camp n vaou pat of thebody Th ueley ate exceve amount of enegyand cau depeve fatgue a el a a genea tate ofetene n th cae encng called relaxing

The ental world Th a ma of mental actvty n

hch t mpoble to dtnguh beteen hat thought and hat emoton Eveytng ntemxed:memoe mage pan pecepton feelng eent-ment thought ctea dee obeon anxete .. All of th ha to be coveed th the coak of ence.Slencng called hee dnteet o detachment.

We ae deang th tota pufcaton. When te dutette peace a that eman and my mytey appea nal t puty And puttng oueve n the obt of fath

187



he mysey emeges hee ad ow, ad he ecoe omysey wih Mysey is cosmaed, achievg he e-coe i spii ad h

We ms begi by silencing the exteio wold We seaize ha he bds wll coie o sig, moos h,

ad peope sho b we ms deach o aeo oall o ha i sch a way ha we hea eveyhg b lseo ohig To silece meas, hs case, o ake aeoaway om all ha bsles so ha we ema abse oaieaed om eveyhig, as dd o exs.

Do i vey calmy. To ssped aeo, he eases

hig is o ssped meal acivy o o ceae eoepess, as was agh i he pecedg chape

Seaed i a comoabe posio, beahg deepy adpeacelly, pacice deachme. Do o le coso hookyo do o allow exea leces, whch oalyassa he seses, disb yo o have ay mpac o yo

Take advaage o evey ccsace o pacce hspocess o lbeaio

Secod, elax all tensions The key idea is o lt g L goo ha which ies, o ha whch yo have gabbed o hawhich has gabbed yo To le go o he sces ad evsis o elax, ad o elax s o slece.

Si dow comoably, wh he body eec Beahedeepy ad calmly. Lke he mase who goes abo checkig he gods o he esae, go ove yo whole body,iposig aqiliy po

Qie, coceaig ad a peace, beg by ooseghe mscles o yo oehead (by mscles, we ea he

eves ha coo he scles), i he oehead seaxed ad smooh

Loose he scles o he head, hose ha sodhe skl

Loose he msces (ad eves) o he ace, aw Loose he mscles o he shodes ad eck

hey eel elaxed.Loose he ams, oeams, hads

188



Loose the musces o the chest ad stomach, egs adeet

d ow as a whoe experiece how you body isca a reaxed

mediatey you shou begi to et go or oose theiterior eves ad usces Do it irst with the brai Thewith the throat Cotiue with the heart ad ugs adstomach especiay wth the soar pexus iish with thedigesve orgas the itesies ad the ike Upo competio o the exercise, you shoud vividy experiece a prooud ad simutaeous sesatio i the whoe o your

physica beig compete siece reigsiay, we have to slene he enal wold t is the most

diicut ad most importat task Oce agai we have touse the wor le go or loosen ou wi otice that memoriesor desires have a hod o you, tie you dow Let go o themad et them disappear ito the ad o the orgotte Do it

ike someoe erasig a backboard i a istat Seated,assume a comortabe positio Breathe deepy Begi withyour past ie

With a sige stroke, put out o your mid a memories those that brig oy, those that brig sorrow, those towhich you are idieret etai othig rom your past

persos, coicts.. Leave everythig empty, ike someoewho turs out a ight i a room, eaig eerythig idarkess Cover the whoe boiig caudro o the ucoscious with the mate o obivio, this iig cemetery oa the remembraces o a ietime memories come tomid et the go oe by oe.

Let go o everythig: pas hopes, ears, ideas, desires Thee s nohng ousde o hs oen et go o a

probems, re ad imagied.

Thee s nohng ousde o hs plae Let go o absetpersos, your pace o work, your amy .

verg sieed oy e reais:

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a concioune of myelfere and now

a myelf a ercetion of myelfa ubect and obect of y exerience. am te one wo erceie am te one erceied.

To t wat tk To know wat know. a one and uuedferent om oter

am alone and ony onceunty alonene m

mytery

We ae aid tat ori i te eetin of twopesents tat coe toeter a only one pesence

Two reence utually oen and accetingin dynamc etin et moement

Two reent oing utualy toward one anotermoing inward toward interubecity

Ti iin te pesen doe not mean diinere in teret t i not caouflaed elfcenteredne On te contrary ti pesen encirce a eat exoie care of

radiation it dynamcally extend itelf from one orion ofife to te oter te at i ade reent te future i adereent ere and no and like te nuceu of an atom inti reent are incuded a of te oibiiie for tranforation and loe

t t be aid Prayer i a colicated in. We

ko el tat all rayer i a ift om God and ore o ite ift of conemlation ow ey well tat te LordGod itout any rearation i abe to occuy eeryroo of a ou. But it uually doe not aen tat ay

On te conrary tere are many wo becaue of a lackof yteatic rearaion are lef uck in mediocriyToe wo lie on te urface of rayer do o becaue teydo not reare temele and tey do no reare teele due to a ack of ineret. We cannot cro our ar

190



l ur eyes, and wa r he ran Usng he means a urdspsal, we are shwng ur wgness and we demnsrae ha, n ruh, we are seekng he ae he Lrd Weprepare he grund he Lrd wl send he ran andgrwh

Remaining with the Fathe

arrved a and enered he deepes sude f mybeng ned n he lgh ah and, and behd! Tha

sude was uped by an nhaban, he aher he aher and nd urseves n a sed rm,

wha d we d nw? Wha d we say? esus gves heanswer be areul h many wrds! w ha he ahers here n he ms sere pae, reman wth Hm (M 66)

Remanng wth the ather means esabshng an aen

ve and aeve urren wh Hm, a mena penng up nah and lve My mena energes (wha am as nsusness, as a persn) eave me, are preed n Hm, andreman wh Hm My whle beng remans que, nenraed, peneraed, paralyed n Hm, wh Hm.

Bu hs des n ny deal wh my gng u Hm,

wh my penng up. A he same me, s peasanbeause here s anher reahng u n ve by Hmwards me f He reahes u r me and ward Hm, He aeps my reahng u and aep Hs, he enunerbemes a rssng and rysaan w reahngsuand w aepanes. n hs way, a prund and rans

rmng unn s prdued, n whh he srnger assumesand assmaes he weaker, whu eher f he w snghs deny

And s, frm he sar, he ransrmng press begnsThe deeper he enuner, he mre he presene begns make se presen, make an mpa, umne and nspre us n ur deepes reales, beause hey are he vaener he unnsus, he mpuses, he refees,hughs, rera The mre ave and prfund he en

191



counter is, repeat, in this same proportion will the Presence touch, penetrate, and bring to light our most intimateand most important threads

We begin to walk in the Presence of the Lord (thePresence is lit up in the consciousness) The impulses andreexes, reaching out reach out according to God And so,our general behavior (our lifestyle) appears to the world tobe the figure of God His being is made visibe throughmy being and we are transformed into a relection of GodHimsef n this way, the Lord continues to advance in teconquest of new lands, and like everwidening concentric

circles, the divination of humanity continues But, everything begins with the nuceus of intimacy There, al possi-bilities are contained

This eaining wih he ahe is the same as speaingwih God

To talk with God is different than to tink about Him.Whenever we think about someone, tat person is asent.To think about someone is to make present (represent) that

someone who is absent by means of a combination ofmemories and images which have of him or her.

But if that someone is suddenly present before me, noonger think aout him or her, but rather a diaogue isestablished with the person, though not necessariy one ofwords but one of intimacy

When two known and loved presences are together,nothing more than a stream of giving and receiving, oloving and being loved, is estabished.

t is a iving cyce of dynaic motion which, owevertakes place in utmost quiet n tis type of dialogue, wordsneed not cross (neither vocal nor mental ones) ut raterconsciousnesses cross in an intersubjective exchange, in aprojection never identifying yet aways unifying

92



All of what has been said can be summed up in thesewords You ae wth e

Darkness does not hide You distances do not separateYou here is no interference in the word that can keep mefrom You You are with me I go ou on the street and You

wak with me I go to work and You are at m side While Isleep You watch over m dreams You are not a detectivewho spies; You are a Father who takes care of me At timesI feel ike shouting I am a child lost in the forest amaone no one oves me Soon I hear Your response: I amwith ou be not afraid

n You m roots are fed wrap mself in Your armsYou are with me. With the palm of Your right hand Youcover m head With the igh of Your ees You penetraem depths I am a chid who is cold and You warm me withYour breath. You know perfectl well when am at restand when I begin to walk M wanderings and path are

more familiar to You than the are to me I almost cannotbelieve it but wherever I go You are with me

eaonshp of frendshp

Saint eresa has eft us a famous definition of praerIt is nothing else but to reate as a friend often beingalone with the One we ow oves us.

To elate in this contet presupposes means andcontains within it an interior state awas interpersonal affectionate in a reciprocal movement swinging back and

forth between giving and receiving.t is on the verb to elate that we must place theemphasis Wherever there is relationship with God there ispraer; for there to be praer there must be friendship andthis in whatever tpe of praer from the recitation of apraer leaed b memor to the highest peaks of contempation

Following Teresa of Avia we wi sa a the encounter is a communication once again inercommunication

193



somethng ke busness trnscton n whch the merchnse s ove tht whch Go offers to n whch weso gve bck n return t mens n ffectonte nterchnge n whch we know tht e oves us n tht weove m To be to rete to ook to fee recprocy

present wou be some of the wors tht mght come coseto expressng the essence of pryer We cou so spek ofn nterchnge of gzes Snt Teres s much more emo-ton thn she s scursve

Go s Love e hs crete us out of ove hsrevee msef to us through ove n the fn go of

s nterventons cn be nothng but to trnsform us nove ove s ynmc cton; Go who s ove s wysn cton nvtng us soctng us offerng msef to usn gvng "movement" to the nteror ftes The movement s the -Thou retonshp projecton n nterc-ton of the n the Thou, n the ou n the

n the encounte, most of when t s on the rotowr the eepenng of contemptve pryer ntersubjectve ntmcy tkes the whoe person wthout excungthe physc strengths n weknesses up to certnpont n somewht profoun encounter the retonshpof frenshp s jonng of the tot person toty n Go.

t w be better to nvert the e Go toty nves usn the more freeom we grnt to Go n our terrtory themore res Go embrces the more regons e conuers

Wth French crty n her femnne concretenessThrse of Lseux escbes the encounter for us n thesewors

194

or me ye s n ufng of the hert gneow heven y of ue n of ove es ofsoow s wel s of oy s soethng noe somehngsue whh ens he sou n ues oGo



Inta

he mos sgncan human wod or makng us un-dersand he sensaon o he encouner s na In-

macy s a he roo and a he same me he resu o hecrossng o wo eroresEach one o us each "" s always a closed cce by

naure Ineory s he resu o organzng ourseves andlvng whn n a perpeual nclnaon and meeng a oucener nerory has nohng o do wh selshness oregosm alhough hey are smlar n some respecs

Now hen wo erores ha reach ou and muuallypojec hemselves resul n a hrd zone whch we callnmacy a eay psycologcaly pecepble bu nexp-cable anoher area dsnc om he wo nerores omhe wo persons somehng ke a hrd peson" bo ouo he wo neroes

I s he ulness o anscendence. o ranscend s oreach ou o onesel o ranscend s o ove Love s awaysruul always engendes

Now hen wo ceneed neores ha have eachedou and have muualy projeced hemseves "engende"ha encouner nmacy Wh psychoogca conceps wecan conclude ha prayer s an encoune and he encoun-er s an nmacy hen prayer s an na wh God

Far rom emanng n s essence od overlows snerory and opens mse o us n many deen ways

od s "n msel and "hough msel; neverhe-less e "wen beyond" hose bordes and poured mselou on s creaures he verse s hen an "overow" ood

Furhemore n an admable reacon o love edscovered Hmsel or us declared msel o us andreely "oered" Hmsel o us n ode o orm a commu-ny o le and ove wh us. od wans o orm a amly asocey n ha one regon where he onng o od and heperson akes pace he regon o he spr.

195



f we respond affirmatively to Gods invitation, tenwe are already formng a counity of le, as companionsin life Te encounter presupposes a omelie atmospeeTe Scriptures explain tis atmospere wit expessionssuc as lived among us n 4) and we sall mae a

ome in im n 43) vey omey expressions wicevoe certain feelings of warmt, oy, confidence, tendeness, sometng sar to wat one feels in a true ome

n ts atmospere, intersubectivity is bo and gostat is to say, te proection of a subect towad anote ina mual interaction

n a word te encounter is a living and unendingdeepenng of terpersonal relations, in an intimate andaffectionate cmate, a turning of te to te "ou,between God and us

Diversi

Owing to te fact tat eac of us is distinct in ou ownbeings, in our feelings, and in ou considerations, terelationsip of friendsip continues to acquie nuancesand unique sades depending on te moods, difeence ofage, rym of growt, psycosomatic dispositions, etc, ineac individual

Te encounte wth God as an integal pat of life, willcontinue to adapt itself to te canging dispositions of tepeson. Worries, sicness, depession, eupoia, simplefatigue may mae a certain type of encounter wit Goddifficult or impossible, or may even favor it

Just as to elate to someone is to live, and to live is toadapt oneself, te elatonshp of endshp wit God willcontinue to adapt itself wit vitality and flexibility to eacperson and teir circumstances, alternately utilizing elpsor obstacles, entsiasm or aidity, intelligence o imagination, devotion or dry fait, giving rise to new o unexpected fos in eac one of us

96



PRATAL EXERSES

Reching ou d projection exercises

Claiations

1 n this fist exeise in its thee vesions thee is aeahing out and a pojetion My attention hih is theintegated unity of all my spiitual eneges in othe

ods my soul eahes out suppoted by a od. Thatod is like a vehile that aies my attention and plaes itin God Said anothe ay identifying myself ith theontent o substane of the od (making the od ine) yself am left in God Hiself identified and penetated byim.

2 This is then an exeise of quiet and immobility Ase said my attention goes out of myself is dieted toadanothe is onentated and foused on im and is simplyleft "thee It is a stati adoation Thee is a simple Thou am not even thee beause in this exeise the disappeas leaving only the Thou

Contemplating God fom the pespetive of eaod e should not oy about analyzing it; e do notave to undestand the statement That ould be meditation No e ae adoing So ten my attention is enteedon God not analytially but ontemplatively as John of the

Coss ould say ongy4. An objet depending on te pespetive fom hi

it is vieed appeas diffeently but it is alays the sameobjet In these exeises God appeas as Etenity asmmensity as Stengt as Rest We should not oy einsist about undestanding how God is etenal immensebut only gaze at im and passively admie im fist asetenal next as immense late· as stength Gaze at im

97



and adre H o te innte nber o perspectvestat te Lord as

5 wt an o tese ollowg expressions ousould eel tat ou are copletel at rest (ow does one

sa t?) tat te stateent evokes deep realities awakensunsuspected rces and ills ou entirel reain terewiout gong on to te ollowng one te possession istotal let go o t and connue to worsip n slenceHowever ou eel te desire to sa soeting give a reerein to te spontanet o te Spirit

6 Eac exercse varaton ougt to last ort nutesand can be extended as long as is desred

How to pactice the execises

Beore eac exercise o e ollowing reparationwitout orgetting te various was o silencing oun inte prevous capter

Take a paefu pooNotng in or past let go of memoe etc .

Nog in o future ue ouef omworres plans Notng outside o ourse let go o noises

people voices Nothg oute of t momet.

Everng let in senceTere o reains a r am peet to m, hee ow.

I am left poo empt ppe fee pue cocoue

No in ait present oursel to Hi in wo weexist ove and are to Hi wo enetrates and sstainsall tings

Begn to sa te words sol tring to lie te contento eac stateent (wic s Go Hisel) tr to eel wat

198



he semen sys un your enon s mregned bys Essence

Ae sying he words remn n sence or eenseconds o more ssve mue ke someone who hers sound h yzes hm enered dened "wh

Hhe sme semen my be reeed mny mes or

connuousy cern semen sys e o you go ono he nex one

Goden e no voence wys cm nd sereny

I s useu o end ech exercse wh a decson or heture

st aton

Genery hs vron does no roduce ovngcurren I s he conemon doron) o Bngntslfhe Absoue he rnscenden ven s nure gzngnd dmrng re s comonens here s we ke some-one wed by word o unexeced grndeur

ou ar y God.ou re God forvr om t bgng.Lord y od ou ar ure ncou a wtout contour wtout maur

wtout boundar.

ou ar t groundng Grod of rey

y God ou ar a and al-ncompang ralt.ou a rooundy and nncbord ou re mmutabl tt.y God ou ar nft mmnt.

Presene, wy drk nd wy er.

tt and nt of m God.

fatomab ab of Bng and Lov m God ou mpl a

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eond aion

his variaon is composed o onass We ms becoos ha i he ree versions o reachig o and

proecon he is absen (i does no appear as a cener oaenion); ony he ou remains consanly pesen Weshold allow orseves o be carried away by he Thou Inhis second variaion however here are hree epressionsin which he appears B his happens in order oemphasize by conras he Thou

In pracing his variaion here is he dange omenal aciviy owing o he concepal conrass whichhe mind ends o sbmi o anayical aciviy B hisshold no happen On he conrary we ogh o have heconemplaive aide o one who ooks a a landscape andsees he lighs and shadows b does no ocs is ponhe lighs and hen on he shadows b rahe akes i al ina once We ogh o do he same hing as someone whoadmes a conasing skyline (rainbow heaening cospaches o ble) in an allencompassing gaze

Prepare yorse by doing he aoremenioned eecises aways ending wih a decision o he re.

200

Yo are resen wiho asy Lord Yo are he dan iho snse.Yo ae he beginng and en o al hngswiho beging or end

y o Yo are coseness an isance.

Yo ae ie and acviyYo are imanence and anscenence.Yo are in he disan sarsYo are he cene o my eng

y o Yo are my ll

Yor nogLor Yo are re essencewiho orm o imension



0 y d Y ar ddn rsnY ar y I,r I tan yslf.

d f t ssn and rs f y d.

W a Y and w a I?

id ation

n tis variatin w cntin wit t sstaind rs-nc f a ou, wtin t sa bndaris: racng tand rjctin Hr wvr d s nt s c inhibt c rfo-e Tr s tn a gratr csnssand as a cnsqnc t rlatns adratin) s cr loing Nvrss t attntn s b fcsd nt hou

t ay appn tat as w d tis varian w s tb wastng t W st b awar f ractcng trytransfrng xrcss I wl xpain: all f t farsanxitis and bttss ar b in s sprtd by andtd t t Tnng tat w ar gaining scrtyinscrity is t rslt T idat and ra ffct inadratin is tat t I s assd by t hou and as a

rslt t fling f scrity is bPrpar yrslf as prvisy ndicatd.

Lrd Y rb and Y w Y nat Y nvlp Y v .Y ar y d.

Lrd y d Y y l rs.My d ly Y d I fl at a.Lrd y Y ds y sl rs.

My d Y ar y sn.Lrd Y ar y anLrd Y ar y sityLrd y d Y y y

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Lr Yu are beautyYu e gentlenessMy Father Yu are y sweeess an teneessYu are e eteal reat an arable Lr.

Trsorming exercises

n this eercise there is a great eal f ental activityAttentin is ivie in tw irectins: You and I here isas in s eercise aginative activity

We wi use the verb t feel qutan arksas a synny fr cncenating feel that have a fly ny frehea feel that the fr is cl feel that yingers are tgether feel the heartbeats in y chest . neach act f eeling, y attentin is centere. feel isifferent t think it is silar t iagining t is

eactly the sae tng as fcusing u attentin n sething

ist ation

practice this eercise we ust nt frget t the

preparatry eercises aeay utline hen in each stateent we ust eel hw G is entering ur n urinsies eel hw G is taking n ur st secret esiresthe ass f thughts putting ut the flaes f islikes eehw He wipes ut the stains washes the ipurities Anin the en we ust let g f the ars letting urselves be

carrie by the current: What es the Lr want f e? Deverytng slwly

202

My Lr an ce se e.Enter an cpy the very rts f y beg

Lr take e cpletely.ake e with l tat a

al that I have



a ha I nka ha I do

Aep my mos see desesTake me he nmay o my heaTansom me You ompeey

Fee me om esenmens,oppessons,beess

Rd me o hs ay awayWash me ompeey.Ease eveyhn, pu ou he amesLeave me wh a pe hea

Wha do You wan o me?Do wh me wha You wshI suende myse o You

econd ation

e ae on o mane ha we ae spendn an"nense momen o a e hous. Le us suppose ha ehave pobems n ou amy n he ommuny a ok

ons h ohes suaons e do no ke evens eess We need o ove we need o aep and sneessay o do hs in God

Toehe n a sp o ah and one e have eneedno ommunaon wh he Lod e ouh o o bakdo o ou e h ou od a ou h handmakn ouseves menay pesen n he home n heomuny an ha peson ovn undesandnovn hm o he n he pesene o he Lod akn onha suaon h a ha do You an o me? aepnsome maon h an suende o You Pay n hsmanne nensey and h bean esus un you eeheahy son eaess and u o peae

To pae hs he expessons o he peedn exese may be hepu You may aso e youse be aed

203



away by inspiaion, invenng ohe ones Always endwih soe deson o he uue

Vsual exercse

ae soe expessve pcue, possbe, one wh anage o esus, an iage ha evoes poweul eelingssengh, iniacy, paence

ae a payeul posion Pace he pcue n youhands Do he aoeenioned execises o eaxaon andsilencing

Sply loo a he pcue o a be eThen, o soe ou nues o so, cay and h

concenaion, wihou ying o analyze , y nueyo capue he ipessons ha he picue suggess o you

hid, nonvioleny and h uos ca, ake you-sel be ha age, as you wee o wee n And,eveenly and quely, y o ae you wn he pes-sons whch he picue evokes wn you Tha s, dnying wih ha pcue, ean ipegnaed wh he eel-ings o Jesus ha he age expesses Say wh hs o along ie

Wih his ineio sae, enally ove youse o youaly, o you job, o o any dcu suaon. Menalyibue ha suaion wh ha aude o Jesus

Hearg exercse

Find a place alone.ae a cooable posiion and a payeu audeBuld silence; e go o eoes o he pas; e go o

woies abou he uue Unie yousel o he nosesand voices you hea aound you Reain in he sipepesen; alone h yousel Sowly ene ino he wod oaih

204



Chse a sht expessn ne wd pssbe exampe Lord!, esus!, aher!, sme the

Beg t sa t sw eve ten teen secnds.e sang t make the expessn ours that s thecontent the expessn nt a eneges

cncentatn ae dented and mpegnated wth ts Pesence Sbstance D ths wth tst tanqt andcam Begn t ee hw whe beng s ed wth thatPesence begnng th the ban the ngs the heat . . I ee gd epeat the expessn ess ten eavngme space the sence

Make a desn the te and etn t e Gd

Execses of magaton

Thee ae man pepe whm the wng was pang pve t be ve eectve

rs araon

et s sppse that had n the past a vepwe expeence Gd n sme cncete pace vea m whee ae nw

G back wth magnatn t that pace wthgeate eat pssbe Bng that pace back t e be ta chape a h a mntan a ve evng a thedetas: heang the wnd the ste the tees eeng thewamth cd the a that bghtness shadw dakness

In ths wa n ath nw ty t eve that expeence Gd that had bee The mem pnd expeences eeds the pae e man pepe man easespeca n tmes adt. Hw t cmts them tetn t thse mments happness whe the ved wththe Ld! nd wth a decsn the te.

205



econd aion

Ae he pope pepaaon we should om an neo aude o deep ah and ecollecon

mane esus n adoaon on a mounan a nhbeneah he sas Wh umos eveence mane youseln he neo o esus lvn wha Jesus lied Whaeelns o admaon and oneness dd esus expeencewh he Fahe Wha would ha mxue o devoonveneaon and oen be ha Jesus el o he Fahehose deses o pleasn Hm o ben ahul o makn

Hs le an oen o Hm ha aude o suendebeoe he wll o he Fahe

y o make all o hs ous, n ah ake on he heao Jesus wh all o s emoons

Reun o le and be a beae and beacon o he eelnso Jesus and enew he ace o he Eah

Thd aon

Wh he movemen o you luns each me youexhale say he name o Jesus wh he ollown vaousaudes o eelns

Fo example evey ve mnues epea he omula oah: Jesus I belee n You Do n such a way ha youwhole ben ncludn he body jons n hs audeen o anohe ve mnues (upon exhaln) Jesus suende o You onnue o epea he expessons handcae adoaon suende o some ou mnues

Slowly le you so head hea luns . be led whhe pesence o esus wh whch you wll eun o leEnd wh a decson o he uue

ouh aaon

o ceae eelns o aude elve some conceeeen ha n he pas caused you ea happness eeln

206



no f possbe somethng of that same happness T toput ourself n "hamon" th esus hen He sad Tankou Father for havng heard me And th esus thankand acca the Father

Go back to a dsagreeabe event n our recent past

Reve that experence thout fear Then magne esusbefore Pate or Herod rdculed beaten Obseve Hsposture and adre Hs seent Interorl tr to epo-duce n ght of the memo of that dsagreeabe event) thesame attitude and th esus and lke Hm take on thaevent ith the same dgnt and peace

2 PROFOUND ENCOUNTER

We have sad that the encoune s a eatonshp ofrendshp th God But e keep askng ha happens

thee? Fo suddenl there s a eaaon a knoledge.But t s no analtca knoedge s rahe ntuve andpossessve

In that encounte hen t reall s auhentc contemplaton he atonhp knowledge? efeced conscousness? state of conscousness and emoton?) does no ds

tract but centersTs s somethng ve dffcult to expan the encounter hen t s gradual more contemplatve) tends to besmper moe pofound and moe possessve each me

Reecton s eft behnd The mnd orkng h themultplct and varet of facts cannot reach that Toal

Realt God) ho s beond the comngs and gongs theups and dons of lfe en the mnd begns to medtaet nds tself subject to the multplct the nstablt andhe dsquet that dvde and dsurb . Because of Ths nhe measue n hch the encoune wh God s moeadvanced and moe conempatve efecon ends o dsappear and he encounter comes to be a much more smpeand tota act

The nstumen of the expeence o God s no he

207



nteect but te tota peon Language abandoned andcoucaon take pace between beng and Beng ve-ce o nteedae uc a wod o daogue ae notnecea ode fo u to ute oueve wt GodBecaue of t a at te nteect a ltte o notng

to do becaue te te of te unon conuatedbetween ente Beng and ente beng

d t a appen tat n t contepatve expe-ence teou enege of "adeence" ae attanedange powe of "knowedge" (pofound engt tatae noa aoped ou ubconcou becaue we

genea lve on te uface) Te ae upeoa focenatua b natue awakened b gace and nteo vtat

We can a of tue contepatve tat te aveovecoe te atona and nteectua mnd Wen contem-patve ente te pofound aea of communcaton wtGod te vaed and puatc actvt of te concoune

ceae and n t pe and tota act contempatveene teeve n God wtn H and He wtn tem(Act 17:2)

So ten wat doe t ean? t mean a tpe ofntuton dene and penetatng at te ame tme andabove a ve ave wtout age wtout detemned

tougt tee no epeentaton of God t not nece-a to epeent Hm becaue God ee He wtme t a ea concoune of te Geat Reat tatoveflow e copete. But t not an abtact eat t ate a fend fama ovng concete Someone

n a wod we ae deang wt upeknowedge

bette et utaowedge. t te Wdo of wc Jonof te Co peak t an iediae liing of God.How coud we decbe te pofound encounte? We

can on peak n metapot a ta ngt Fat tat beed teoogca vtue

upe te cd and te a of te Fate ae openedTe cd pace ef n te eat of te Son and fomtat vantage pont contempate te Fate. Te Fate amte panoama wtout doo o wa da and ngt

20



illunated by tendeess; it is an ininte orest o warmarms invitng an embrace, ee o btterness, ull o sweet-ness

Suddeny, everything comes to a hat There s nomovement in the world so quiet, or silence so dynamc.

Loe There is no other word Perhaps ths other wordPresence Putting the two words together we come close towhat this" s loing Presence Maybe ths other expressoncomes even coser eneloping Loe It is the Father He is tenthousand worlds, He s ten thousand arms that surroundand ebrace the loved child. He is an unavoidabe tde, like

a huge tidal wave that vioenty loods the beach, a tde oenveoping Love (How can we put it?), an unexpectedncrease o water that oods the and. In ths way thebeoved chid is surprsngy looded by the Loving Presence which is deintey reey given.

The stars? They stubborny contnue to shne but there

are no stars The nght? The night has been droed,everything is ight, athough t is sti nght The beovedchid says nothing what s there to say? The LovingFather says nothing ether Everything s consumed It s aneteity

Is there a loss o identty? Personal identity remains

more clearly than beore. The conscousness o the der-ence between God and ourselves, in some contemplatives,takes on boundaries as sharp as that between light anddarkness So we have the "nights o the spirit" o John o theCross and the continua excamation o Francs o Asss"Who are You and who am I?"

ienaton? The empty conscousness o the empcal concentrated in the One, is rresstiby attracted to andtaken by the Obect, made totally one wth Hm. We, ascontempatives, are taken ousde o ourseves, a dier-ences disappear.

When we arrive at ths state, everythng wil be thework o grace; psychoogca crutches, supports or humanstrategies do not exist nor do they work It s God, n Hs

209



ininie power and merc who unods Himse over hehouand worlds o our ineriori

Does he duai coninue? Duali amos disappearswihou losing he disinc consousness beween he individual and God Up o a cerain poin we can sa ha here

is o one reali because his pe o encouner engenders love and love is uniing and idening

Becaue God creaed us in His image and ikeness heinal goal o he Covenan is o become one wih Himwhou losing our ideni (he endenc o love is inrinsic srengh is o unie hose who ove each oher; and I

would almos dare o sa ha he inal end and pereciono e encoune ies in he disappearance o al duaibeween God and ourseves and in he arrival a oauni o uoe T cen of Moun Cael b John o heCross

hen od grans s speaal avor o he sol sogrea a non is caed ha he ngs boh o od ande sol become one in parcpan ansoaon ande sol appears o be od more an a so. Indd i isod b paripaon

Fusion? Thr�se o Lisieu says Tha day here was

no even a ook bu a usion We were no onger woeresa had disappeared ike a drop o waer which is os inhe dephs o he ocean Jesus aone remained as owner asking" Neverheess his epression is a wa o speaking;no onl is here no usion bu he more one advances in hesea o God we repea he more he brighness ha disin

guishes and divides becomes painul and burning when wease he sweeness o God in he ace o he miser o oursoul

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Trsfiguration

e proound and ontemplatve enounter s emnentl transormng God assumes and onsumes the 1

And e enter the rushng stream o oveGod vsts the sou and does nothng more than awak-en us rom ths obsesson and plaes us on the rm groundo sdom obetvt and peae

The Father eanses us entre th Hs enveopngLove Wth ths we nd that everthng we admred up

untl then s artia that the llusons that ado the "I"are van Wth Hs presene the Father pures us strpsus and berates us destrong the astes n the arbnng the paper dols and as a result true realtemerges n naked purt We have entered the abode osdom

Who are You and who am I? You are m I am Yournothng n m nothng hoever as a beoved hld I haveeverthng n Your reel ven love Beore the Splendor oYour Fae the gure o the "I" s redued to nothng lkethe stars that ade n the brghtness o the sun.

When e are speakng here o the I e do not mean

our personal realt muh ess our personal dentt Weare speakng o the mage o our personal realt a shadowo reat We transorm ths eg nto an obet o ourattention and devoton Man people spend hal ther leeretng a statue and the other ha n ear that the statuema all

A powerul experene o God begns n the enter othe nueus o the I The resene enveops and assumesthe "I" better the adherene to an mage vanshes. Whenthe beloved hd s assumed b the Father the "" eases tobe the enter. So e let go o a appropratons andadherenes and are let ree. The transormaton has be-gun God omes rps o the masks strps the "I" o tsartal lothng and suddenl we eel pre ee empttransparent breathng n peae seeng everthng lear

2



The consciousness o the is competey attracted bythe other as i taken o its hinges by the orce o admiration and gratitude a resut o this attention and intention rom attachment are irresistiby seized by a newcenter o graviy n this way a new situation is estabished

the dience between the and Thou disappears Lovetakes on esh and bones There are no abstractions but onyconcrete reaity

Loving resence awakens inspires and transorms ourpotentias in the interreationship o brothers and sistersand we puriied by the stripping begin to experience ove

comng from ove) th depth and purity n this wayour ie or those o us who have been visited" enters intoan irreversibe process o transparency acquiring a newmeaning and a new strength

overty takes us by the hand and eads us to secui.Things the word brothers and sisters begin to be pure or

us: they are no onger distorted by our vision disturbed binterest and appropriation they the things begin to betheseles in the origina purity in which od envisionedand created them enveoped too in ove and wisdom. Inthis way our own reaity is made rea or us and isaccepted in peace Anguish disappears forevr. eace

dawns

Beyod space ad me

ontempatives tend to rise above the mutipicity o

things and events somehow they tend to pace themsevesabove time and space and in certain respects above the awo contingency at east beyond the contingency o siuations and emergencies because they are anchored byparticipation in the absoute and imutabe essence ood

ertainy the contempatives do not escape ime or theaws o space But because o that profound uniy withod they are ae to catch a gimpse o the Unity that

212



coordnates the successve nstants whch form tme andthat glpse akes them partcpate to a certan degree nthe elessness of the Eteal

n ths way contemplatves begn to overcome theanxey at s the resut of the lmtatons of space and

tme Suendered to God they have no fear of old age ordeath but rather partcpate Gods etea youth

God s Presence; there s no here there near or far Hes with and in e. He flls everythng. Before Hmeveryhng s relatve and loses ts ndvdual profle Thereonly exsts the mmensty better yet there only exsts the

mmense If He is wth me and I a wth Hm then I tooam mmense or better child o the iensiYesterday tomorrow before after centures mlenna

do not mean a thng Who defned tme as the oeen othings? n the profound encounter movement does notexst There exsts Quet Eternty The ord my God s

Beng quet and eterna but n Hs depths He cares adynasm that n the splendors of eternt lke an expandng unverse put nto moton and gave brth to ths colossalfabrc of the unverse whch our eyes contemplate Whatare our concepts of dfference reatvty and dstanceworth? In ght of the Absoute everythng s relatve tme

does not exst I woud not say that He s n tme butrather that tme has been consumed by eternty The Lord sEternty and I am a chld o Eerni

Brigher and brigher

At the rsk of reeatng advce that has aready beengven here and there I am gong to present some practcarues followng the suggestons of the srtua masters

When medtatng on some toc of refecton weshould not stay wth that materal f we fnd no proft ordevoton n t If at tmes we fee warmth brghtness orove we ought to sto for the tme beng. The frst rue set the Sprt carr you rather than foow some reset an.

213



he mos imporan goal is he experience o God oransorm lie raher han ha any one paricular experi-ence

We oen display a grea dea o enhusiasm or gainingor eeling devoion Bu s can easiy become an agiaed

enhusiasm which is counerproducive because o isexcessive orce We do no reach devoion wih open arsOn he conrary his orcing o he desire or soehingcauses he hear o dry up and aes i incapabe o heLords visis

Perseverance yes orce no A vehemen desire or

climbing ahead can oss all plans aside wha we experienceinsead is menal breadown nervous aigue rusraionand hunger

he diicu and necessary hing is o obain a hebeginning o prayer an inerior eperaen in which woconrasing eemens are inegraed: a sae o enhusias

and a sae o sereniy is necessary o susain a cerainemoional baance a he closeness o our Loved One andespecially because ha relaionship o 1hou is energyoveen o he aculies Bu ha balance can be aa i iis no a he same ie accompanied by a sae o capeace and genleness

Do no be discouraged i he eeing ha comes is nohe devoion ha you desired Paience and perseverancewe repea are he absouey indispensabe condiion oranyone who desires o ener he casle o he experience oGod

we have gained nohing we are in he viciniy o he

os dangerous ree which is disenchanen we havespen he whoe ime and have el nohing we should nopunish ourselves n such a case i would be good o ae aboo and ry prayer by reading doing his aes usaways ready or he Spiri which bows where i will

Coneplaion ough o low ou o ediaion ie heinal clib o he pea As Sain Peer Alcanara says hewho mediaes is ie one who ses a lin in order o gea spar Having achieved quie concenraion or eeing

21



thee s notg et but to est and be slent wth God;wthout aguments concepts o specuatons but wth asmple gaze.

Medtaton s the oad contempaton s the goalReachng the end thee s no need o the means. Reachng

pot salng ceases Endng the pgmage ath and hopecease whch ae ke the wnd that caes the shp to thehabo Once we have aved at the "sabbath est" bymeans o medtaton we should abandon the oas and etouselves be caed by the waves o wonde amazementjublaton pase adoaton

3 SILENCE AND RESENCE

at we have descbed up unt now s n some wayconeplaon n my opnon evey tue encounte (wo

shp) s contemplaton and even moe so the pofoundencounee s coheent and one We cannot take the easy oad

o sayng: Up to hee s the ealm o medtaton hee s thedvdng lne between dscsve paye ad contemplaton n le thee ae no chemcaly pue elements evey

thng s ntemxed and combned In all medtaton theemay be a good dose o contempaton and vce vesa howeve want to speak hee (although thee s the dangeo epeatng mysel) o contempaton as such o acquedconeplaon

In tems o nsed coneplaon the od gants t

when how and to whom He pleases To have t we cannotdo anythng we do not deseve ths gt we cannot demand t we cannot ask o t t seems to me. It sabsolutey and extaodnay eey gven

e have aeady stated that nomay n the begnnngGod lets ook o ou own methods and suppotsbecause thee ae no adequate methods o measngwhen a sptual state s the est o gace o when t s thewok o natue ate the od Hmse begs to ntevene

25



making uman thniqus worthlss taking th initaivin subtting us to a passiv stt taking omplt posss-sion o t astl wr H is mad Host and th ast istransormd into th grtst mansion

Evryting is work o gra and wit ts mth

ods w do not want to ignor or dvalu th ation o tis git Wit ths aids tat w ar oring w ar simpyprparing a rptal (a adl?) or t mystry w argiving an airmativ rspons to gra and w ar tlsking t a o th ord

n silence and solide

For ndlss ags od was sint But in t wom otis siln mor intimat and ruitu ommuniationwas dvloping. Witin tis intriority th trinitarian rl-

tionsips wr going on s in a osd and iruar orbitmutua rlationsips o attration knowdg (amiliarity)and sympathy o th Fatr or t Son in th Hoy Spirit

r is no dialogu mor ommuniativ tn tat inwi tr ar no words or tat in wi words havbn rplad y siln h ontmplativs admiray

undrsor that at As w ris nd dpn our ration-sip wit od rst t xtrior words disappar thn thintrior words Finay al dialogu disappars And tris no diaogu so intns s in tis momnt in winothing is sid

h univrs aso was sint or many nturis. hr

was no aov or bow thr wr no imts or boundaris.Evrything was sinIn t midst o tis osmi siln th Word od

and th univrs issud ort Word tn ws ruitu.But siln was also itul

Evry artist sintist or thinkr nds to av grndintrior sin in ordr to ab to gnrt prptionsidas or intuitions

i grows silntly in th dark wom o th art and

26



n the sent omb o the moter Sprng s an enseexposon but a sent one

r as meo ne knws w

he most proound and dyna peoe o story aretose ke Ejah ( Kgs 7:8), Jesus o azaret Mt42) and Pau o Tarsus a 7), o ave been abeto sustan the ombat th sene and sotude ae to aethout ang apart In my opnon the ev o the

entury" s boedo, hh orgnates n o nabty to beaone th ourseves We o the tenooga age annotstand sene and sotude And to ombat these e grab agarette a rado or teevson

To avod sene e bndy grasp dverson dstraton As an eet o a ts dsntegraton s rodued

thn us Ths ends up by gvng brth to te eeng oaoneness aenaton sadness and anxety at s tetragedy o te peope o our day

Wthout a doubt the perod utvaton o senesotude and ontempaton s more neessary regousyand psyoogay than ever beore

Our nterorty s assauted and battered by speednose and renzy; e are at the same tme our own vtmand exeutoner; and e end u eeng nseure andunhappy

There does est a stere sene It s en e retreatnto ourseves to esape ommunaton t oters ommunaton tat s not aays easant. Ts s te sene othe dead

We have spoken o a zone o sene and sotude tatradates n our o onsttuton But te dynasm o tssene does not mpe us to de rom but to open our-seves to the daogue th d And ust as ths daogue sove and ove s expansve t opens us up to daogue thour rothers and ssters I ths reahng out and these

7



ress are o proded, we wod be i a aieaigsiee Pa V wroe:

For ai, o ad a ove o od read o reeive e o e o S, o o eo a aea ove

oe o e er o oer eo, ee a a kid oposae, e eei o ee

e Word is awas wrapped i siee Siee is isara reeae order o be ri O i iee aw ise o God

O e oer ad, e dpoio or a ae owi od es e eed or a siee ae oewoe bei, wee oe oeed ae o id od ie d o oie ad oio, or oe wo ae dediaed o oeao

Te momes o e advaeme o e kigdom, jas i e grea reveatios rogo savaio isor,ave bee give i e mids o siee I is a give aw oSipe:

peae ee a ove a, ad e i ad

e a o er w ore, dow ro e eave,o e roa oe, ea o aowe Wod ke aie waior o e ear o a ad dooed (Wi1:141)

Contempation d combt

Te Bibe preses Moes a a exraordiar oempaive His reaiosip wi God is deveoed i a imaeo immedia, ad i ad ad ae o ae wi e Lord,owisadig a era draai sese wi eeaess o God awas prodes

Te Book o Exods sm a o e ma adroei greaess o Moe God oke o Moes ae o

21



face as a man speaks to his friend (Ex 3311) Moses hadbeen cast in the mod of God in the long days and nightsithin he coud enveloped by the silence and soltudeface to face th God on the top of the mountain Mosesas God's on ork of art He is bing like fire and as

gene as the breeze (extraordinary mid: Nu 123)He as a tary man a polican and a contempla-

tve ooking at hs huan breadth e come to the concu-sion that al contempative hen they et themseves betaken by the captivating coseness of God ll be transformed into a carved mage of strength purity and fre

The servant of God harmonzed the enor of a srategyof lberaton ith the demands of a hdden lfe th God.He ateated battles th God on the mountain peak ththe battes ith the peope on he plains belo

These rues of slence and solude for he encountersth God reach extraordinary heghts n the case of Moses

Whenever God anted to speak ith the contempative Moses He caed him to the mounaintop (Ex 1931920; 241)

There are times hen the expression o cmb to Godand to climb the mountain are synonymous as n hebook of Exodus

Ad even hen Moses as on the mountantop Goddemanded absoute sience And so on the frst slopes ofthe mounain He demanded that Moses metcuously draa boudary across hich no one must trespass o theextent that Anyone ho touches the mountain l be putto death (Ex 1912)

t is a sient solitude so demanding that even henMoses is accompaned by Aaron and the eders theynevertheess have to stay behind he Moses enters ntodiaogue ith God (Ex 242)

Sinai is tself a shinng sign of the soltude of sence2,285 meters hgh a burning sun sand rock ind soudeand ke a living symbo eages

But here there is a tremendous mystery God takes theform of a cloud and the coud is the symbo of sence

219



ere ten tere appears to be an dentcal relatonspbeteen odcoudslence

Moses ten went up te moutan e cloud coverede mount . o watc Israetes e ory o

Yawe looked e a devou re on te mounanopMoses went rt nto te coud and e went on up temouta Moses stayed on e mountan or ory daysd orty nts (Ex 24:5)

at appened durn te orty days and orty ns

n te nteror o te coud on te mountantop? We onykno tat en Moses let tere and descended to teplan te ebrews could not stand te snn lt tat lte ace o Moses And e ad to ear a ve so tat teebres could look at m and lsten to m And en eentered te cloud to speak wt od e took o te vel

e Israeltes oud see Moses' ace radant en Mosesould put te ve back over s ace untl e went n tospeak to m next tme" (Ex 3435)

Undoubtedly al o ts symbolsm s lled deepmean o c we can ony uncover a ltte bu most oc escapes us But te mdst o so muc maery

symbolsm and teopany a sensatonal esson can bedetected Moses te most "commtted" o all te propetste reat berator and reat revoutonary was a mano unke many cutvated slence and soltude.

Fle of fe

oter o te men wo alteated te rey o battet soltude n od s te propet Elja e s not arterpropet but a proet o acton and ts drawsmore attenton to s lon perods o soltude Elja rsesby surprse ke a ame on te scene o te story oIsrael od separates m rom s suoundns and leads

0



hm to a dre stream n order to ransform hm no a manof God

e wor of awe came o o awa fom eego eas an e b e oe of e eas of e

Jordan ou can from e seam an ave oeee ravens o bg ou foo ee e ravens bougm brea e mog an mea e eveg a euence s s a e seam Kgs 1726

d for the res of s lfe God keeps m apart from

socet for hs consecraon He does no have a ome Hewanders lke he wnd pused and gued b God hmself.Hs home s sence

he pope sureers msef moe an moe o ewl of Go s surene s accompse b e gauaneroraton of te mos secret and pofoun nmacwth Go He makes a pgmage of fo das an fonghts to e op of Mount Hoeb Up ere wtn ecave an afewads ousde of Go spas before eshae ees of e prope all of Hs go and spleno gs 1989) he mse of s heopan wl awaseman hdden and naccessble to us n Zarepha wene resores te cld o fe we sense ha e s ful of

enderness nmac ad confdence n Go

awe m o o ou mea o bg gef eve oe wow wo s lookg afe e b kg er so esece se o e cl ee mes a ce ou oawe awe m o ma e soul of s cl

beg ou come o agan A e woa eeNow kow ou ae a ma of o an e wo ofawe o ou s u self Kgs 172024

When e appears n pubc Ea s a man surouneb flames He s alwas aenve o e voce of Godaccordng o s bate cr B e lfe of ahweh Go ofsrael wom serve (1 gs ) e on ngs amatered o hm wee he eses an glo of Go o s

221



reason e ower o God sone fort in is actions and iswords

e aears as a lookout, waiting for orders, and wenGod comes to im wit te usual "Get u, Elija goes inall aste to comlete risk mission, to announce unis

ment to te king, to gater te eole on te eak ofCael, to brng down re from eaven on te troos ofAaza, to mask te owerfl or to tn is back on teworsiers of Baal

Soitude ad temered im for te more audaciousundertakngs t is a twosided life e ides imself in God

and sines fort before men

e odyssey of e wod

e "at" of Jesus troug te world is te odsse

te grand to of silence, in its most rofound andemotional sensen ts first stage, te ncaation is te great lunge into

te waters of uman exerience at is te meaning of teuntranslatable enosen (Pil 2 e umbled imself, descended to te furtest dets of anonmi, umili,

silence, to te utmost limits of umanit.e descended into te umbe womb of a silent virginn te eace of a silent nigt," e made is entrance

into istor, escorted b seerds, on te trone of amanger During tat nigt in Beteem, silence climbed isigest summit

During Jesus lifetime, te ord of God was retainedand traed in te folds of silence ile e lived, owman knew tat e was te Son of God?

Te silence of te real resence of Jesus in te Eucaristis also imressive ere is no sign of life, no sign ofresence no one is eard, noting is felt, noting is seencontrar to all evidence, tere onl remains te irreduciblesilence Onl fait frees us from te erlexit

Silence covered, wit a reverent veil, te totali o

222



esus mse dung hose man eas n Nazaeh Thenew name o slence s Nazaeh

esus would have a sng caee, om bapsm o hecoss Bu beoe, n hose unendng eas o slence, whacalm hope! Wha long mmobl! We see Jesus mpaen

I have come o bng e o he eah, and how I wsh wee blazng alead! (Lk 12:4) Bu, n hose long easha peceded hs peachng wha paence Wha slence!

Meiaion an conemplaion

Conemplaon s no a heologcal dscouse n whch abllan combnaon o deas abou od s woven, plangwh pemses and comng o conclusons Nehe does deal wih an exegecal elecon b whch we ave a anexac meanng o wha he saced auho waned o sa, bu

s ahe, a peneaon no wha ha auho lvedSome compasons wll shed lgh on he subecA boans akes a owe e akes a scalpel, dvdes

he lowe no vaous pas, places on he laboaoable, akes he moscope, and sudes he owe Insumma, he undesands he lowe b dvdng , wh

an nsmen (he hiself s a om he owe. e undesands analcallA poe, on he cona does no pck e lowe he

aen b he lowe e "undesands he owe, gong ouo hmsel, mavellng, hankul, almos denng whhe lowe, no paall bu wholl. e undesands pos

sessvelConemplaves ae, above all, no specaos bu admes In he undesandng (acve veb, hee ae passve elemens admaon, gaude, emoon As a esul,conemplaon s n he same "hamon as admaon Ideals wih ha suspense ull o awe ha Paul expeencedwhen he sad, ow deep and ch ae he wsdom andknowledge o od! We canno each o he oos o hsdecsons o hs was" (Rom 133

223



oud dre to y tht, n certn ene, the contem-ptve cpcty n peron proporton to the cpcyor onder Becue o th, he contemptve neverth hme or ued nrd We re y n exodus, n movement o rechng out nd projecon tord the

Other, competey exted nd tken by the Other. e kno, he cpy or e nd nrcm re n

nvere proporon Nrcm nd chdhne re theme thng, jut ke mtury nd nrcm re on oppo-te poe n oureve, the nordnte dherence to oeve cue recton o euphor or depreon, unb-

ncng ou emoton tbyn contempon, there no reerence pont n the e

the thng tht reer to the e re not mportnt to thecontemptve. The ony thng tht hve n mpct re thethng tht reer to the Other They re not eted byuccee nor thon by ure. Becue o th, the gret

contemptve re u o mtury nd grndeur, th nunchngng joy, th the chrcterc erenty o thoeho re n n orbt o pece bove the up nd don,torm, nd troube o dy vng

Thoe ho medtte re epreve nd eoquent Thectvy o beehve bute thn them, perpetu

cong nd gong, n ende jumpng to concuon, romnducon to deducton Ther hed re u o concepthch they nyze nd decpher, dtnguh nd dvde,epn nd ppy

Contemptve, hoever, re ubmerged n ence nther nteror there no dogue but ony r nd

pung current o councton t ence u o end preence hch the pmt et hen he d, Yh-eh, our Lord, ho mjetc your nme throughout theord (P 8)

They nothng Nor nythng epned Thecontempve do not dertnd nor try to undertndArrvng t the port, ettng go o the or, they enter thesabbath rest Th the overhemng poeon n hch dere nd ord re enced orever The unon o

224



beng Beng s consaed (expresson no needed as an needary) o neror w Ineror o ysery Mysery

or e conepave s enoug t be "a e ee" oe Oer ou knong or anng o kno; ony

ookng and knong a one s ooked a ke a araeoon a copeey surpasses a expecaons ereeveryg appears o be que and eerna We coud saya e conepave s ue dnk dened enveoped and peneraed by e presence as on o e Crosssays

I e yse and orgo ysefy ace boed beore y Beovedeveryng ceased and I e yseeavg y caresorgoen aong e es

Conepaves ay be abe o undersand even beeran eoogans e proound ysery o God o esus oEerna Le; ye ey canno express ose experencesand s possbe ey g no ave e drec conscousness o a ey "undersand" And s because ervng s oo u oo proound and ere s no roo orconcepuazng

n suary edaon s anayca concepua persona nducve dferena seecve and sceacConepaon oever s nuve negrang subjec-ve synec oazng aecve and unyng. Nosandng as e sad above a o s s nerxed n daye

Adheence

e Counc airs a eac person as been born soas o connue vng beyond dea. I adds a e nadesny o every Crsan s e eerna conepaon o



te edless ster o God Ad te Coui oudes bgivig tis spledid deiitio o oteplatio:

God a aled ad a a o tat e gt eoed to i i ere eig i a edle arig o

a vie e beod a orpo (audum S, 1)

t ould ot be said better t is iteretig to poit outtat we te Cou reers to oteplatio, it alotalwas does so uig te word oi (adere), a word iwi kowledge, love, adratio, otet, urre

der, ad lie are all wrapped up ad itertiedAs we ave alread said, te istruet o otepla

tio i ot te diurive itellet aloe It i te wolebeig, itegrated, tat partiipates i uiig otepla-tio, wit te ulles o oe's beig

Coteplatio, as e are explaiig it ere, oelose to te word ow i te Bible, to go beod uakowig ad to express a existetial relatiosip Tokow soetig is to ave a orete experiee o it ii ow suerig is kow (I 533), as good ad evil (G2:), it is a real oite it prooud oequee.

o kow soeoe is to eter ito a persoal relatio-ip it tat pero. Tee relaioip a take odieret ors ad var i te degree o relatioip I allrespets, i te Bible, to ko (jut a to oteplate) i toeter a great urret o lie i overos ro te earto God ad lo bak to it

Oe oties te iitee wit i aul VI peak ooteplatio i is disoure at te losig o te Couil.I te disourse, e peaks priaril o te diret relaio-sip wit te livig God, a preiou ad exat deiiio ooteplatio e e asks i e ave looked or iskowledge ad love, aoter ver appropriate a oreerrig to te at ad attitude o oteplaio Laer, eHol Fater aks i e ave advaed i te ter oGod durig te oiliar seios ad te, iall, raisig

6



tone and emoton, e agan summazes te goa of teCounc pocaming befoe te woe wod:

tat God ests, tat e s ea, tat e s lvn, at es esonal, tat e s ovdenal, tat e s nnte

gd, o Ceato, our t, our aness; n suc a watat te sent to cente o sgt and our eat on ,w we cal conteaton, eoes te gest andfuest act of te st, an act w toda can and souldace ode te ad of uan acvt

Te object of contempaton s not an dea, not even atut, but ate a Someone a Someone wo s, at te sametme, ogna souce and fna goal of ou destn and ouves.

To ft al uman effots and jon tem to God s temost subme act of te uman spt And tat actonecaptuates and puts n ode of pot a uman valuesand actvtes

Aboundng n te same concets, te Councl makesanote seous attempt to decpe te natue of contempaton, n ts dnac fo Speakng of ow te ougt tontegate pae and acton, t sas tat "t s necessa tategious combne acton to contempaton wc teae adeed to God wt te mnd and te eat . (Perecaras 5)

General, confusng, and ovng noce

As we cm te ladde of contmlaton, te God wos te Object of tat contemlaton evaoates ttle ltteGod begns to ose, step b step, foms, mages, and modesunt e vanses and s educed to pue ssence Neve,oweve, s ts God so muc conceteness, tansfomaton,stengt, uivesat, and acton as n ts moment nwc e s educed to esseal ur, n fat.

Yes Fo pue contempaton, God as to be slenced,

22



srppd o h varios clohing which or imaginaionpacs on Him Tha is od has o com poor Thconmplaiv is no inrsd in h drssing o od;wha inrss s is od Himsl in Himsl no h orm h ssanc no odword odsilnc al

hogh h Lord is nvr so mch Word so mch Substaceas in his momn o silnc

Whn wo silncs ar ossd nil hy lnd hycrash wih a gra xplosion. Th words carry concps andh concps carry "il pars" o od B ony h silnccan ncompass who He , and his is yond concps and

wordsTo know ha w hav nrd ha land o conmpla-ion ohn o h Cross ofrs s h ollowing signs

1) - njoying ing alon wih h loving anion ood

ing aon wih loving and cam wachlnss2) allowng h so o calm and qi alhogh imay appar o a was o im

in pac qid and rs3) laving h sol r nhindrd and rsd rom

all mnal discors wiho worrying ao

hinking or mdiaing wiho any paricar considraion wiho acsand xrciss o powr a as discrsiv powrwhich is a coming and going rom on plac oanohr

4) avoiding mhods and proccpaions ha disr

and disrac h so rom is cam ranqilliy only gnral noic and anion y vry lovingwiho ndrsanding ao wha

l o hs characrisics ar smmd p y ohn oh Cross in hs hr rms: gnral consing andloving noic

H says geeral cas i dals wih an xnsiv orwid anion Tha is h anion is no cnrd on



some specfc aspect, but s stretched or dffused over thegeneral object: God

en we contemplate a landscape, our vson s notcentered on the top of a hl or a treelned peak, but ratherthe eyes broadly scan the whole of the horon t s called

the nte gaze an analogous way, the contemplatvegaze s duse, extensve, or general

He says cosig n opposton to analytcal Everythng analytcal s clear because n analyss there s dvson, and where there s dvson there s clarty If we wantto conquer a tth, we have to begn by dvdng t dvde

and conquer he contemplatve gaze, then, s conusngbecause t s not analytcal

t s also conusng because contemplatve actvty snot ntellectual but lvng, and lfe s dentfed wth myown person that lacks the dstance and perspectve tomeasure and ponder what s lved; because of ths we

cannot conceptualze, because the experence s, n tself,dense and complete and t s too near

Nevertheless, although t s confusng, there s not ahuman gaze that nuses such certanty and that projectssuch clarty as the contemplatve gaze

he contemplatve fles above the peaks of theology

and exegetcal clarty; and the more we are submerged nthe depths, the more lost and found we are; the more densethe darkness, the brghter the lght, the mnd paralyzed andstll, not understandng but possessng the Scence andDvne Essence; wser, more mute, clmbng and soarng nthe hghest heghts of all scence How well does John of the

Cross express t

I enteed nto unowngor I remaned n nowngTracendg all knowledge

was so whelmed,

absobed and wthdawnat my senses were leftev of a seg



A my spt as ivA ersta e ot uerstarase a koee

e ss loing, that is emotio he oseess of the

ove iiviu ays proues suspese emotio.he eouter of the otempative is persotopersooe Beae of ts there is a touh of possessiveess athe heart is iite there is estabishe a iruar areipro stream of ivi a reeivi opei aaepte

Oe ai o of the ross

amps of e! hose speorse eep ave of feeOe obsre a bNo ve forth so rarey so esiteyoth ath a iht to their eove.

In oal ullness

Go has preestie us for oii ourseves to Himith ou etire bei (audium Ss, 18). Fess is theeperiee of iterior iteratio Whe attetio (osiousess) peetrates every apartmet of the humabuii e a say that the perso is iterate Whatever is isiterate is ever hoe Whe e pray (or tryto o so) i a sattere state the prayer i aays eith a feei o rustratio oy beause e aot prayi this state

he same eemy aays oes ao ith us: istratio t oriiates i a state o ofit riteria aaistimpuses behavior aaist vaue jumets Where there isoft there is o peae here there is o peae Go "isot

Ho o e beome iterate? O the oe ha there

230



is no integating orce like God Himsel Next to Him noneo the integrating exercises are worth anything The pro-ound ystery o the Lord our God ans out in every areao our lie crossing and puriing the dierent aspects andin God we eel whole solid and indestructible But on the

other hand beore oining ourselves to God completely weneed to have an elementary degree o integration How dowe get it?

We perceive our uity when our consciousness is madepresent in every part o our being But it may happen thatthe consciousness cannot be at th sam tim, in dierent

places So what do we do?We have to get to the point where the consciousness is

made competely present to itse And at this time withour entire being in sience we notice that the depth o ourconsousness is extended over the entire andscape o ourperson integating everything with its presence When the

consciousness is "within itsel it is also "within" al o itscomponent parts. the mind retains absoute contro overitsel all o its parts are let inteated.

Exercise of sience and presence

t is possible that at irst we may have the impressionthat we are wasting time with this exercise Do not beimpatient Beieve that it is the most helpu exercise orattaining the sirit o rayr and or "walking in the presenceo God a totally grand spiritua walking

Adquat surroudigs choose a pace where you can baone a chapel a room a orest a hil.

im or this exercise alow yoursl an its momtin which you are not pressed by hurry or preoccupation

Positio comortabe and prayeru in compete quetDo the silencing exercises as described previousy

reate interior emptiess suspending the activity o the

23



senses and emoions puing ou he memories of he pasunying yourse om worries abou he fue solangyourself or dsancng yoself om he commoion ousideof you and ouside of his momen Do no hink ofanyhing beer ye hin nohg

Remove yourself more and more from he sensesbeyond all movemen beyond acion wihou looking aanyhing ouside or inside yoself no holding on oanyhing wihou eing anyhing hold you wihou focusing on anyhing

Nohing ouside of you.

Nohing ouside of his momenComplee presence of yourself o yourself a pure and

naked aenionOnce you have gained his sience placing yose

upon he plaform of faih open yourself o he resenceSimpy remain open aenive o he Oher like some

one saring whou hinking like someone loving andfeeling lovedn his momen in which you have paced yourself in

he orbi of faih you shoud avoid forming an image oGod Every image every represenaion o God mus vanish Silence God sripping Him of everyhing ha signi

fies loon He s no near or far above or below before orafer He is Being He is resence ure and oving andEnveloping and eneraing and Omnipresen He s.

Forge ha you eis Never look a yoursef Conemplaion is fundamenay esasis or going ou Do noworry abou wheher his is God Do no disurb yourse

wih wheher his is naal or comes om graceDo no ry o undersand or anayze wha you areliving There only eiss a hou for whom you are in hismomen an open loving and calm aenion

racice he hearing eercises described previousyWihou noicing silence wi replace he words unil inhe mome in which he spiri is maur, he word iselfwil fall Do no say anyhing wih your lips Do no saanyhing wih your min

22



oo and you ae "ooed at" ove and you ae ovedPue Pesence n pe sence and pue at w u

te etena covenantt s notng t s EveytngYou ae te eceptace God s te content et youse

be edYou ae te beac He s te sea Let youse be

oodedYou ae te and Te Pesence s te Sun et youse

come to eReman e ts o a ong me Ten "etun" to e

o God aso now peope wo pactce imaginative contempa-

ton Tey go nto a cape n a comete sence Tey ookn at at esus; tey ee temseves ooke at by mTey say notng Tey ea notng. In comete quettey mt temseves to smpy "beng"

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Capter 5

PYER AND LIFE

H a a ud m o od acur r rarv oc wou owr, druwou w, ad wou d (aaaks

I recogize that prayer ca ecome without our realiz-ig it a selish ad aieatig escape There are peope whohave made prayer a serile acivity o ecause they werecaught i the test o aridiy ut ecause ivig a devotioo he seses they sought eoyme peace ad cosoa-io i themselves

Everythig we are tryig o promoe i his ook casik us like a stoe i we do o apply a hoes adcostat critique o ie ad prayer Lie has to e aithu toprayer ad prayer has to queso ie

oday some youg people udge ad codem theirelders ecause they ever sopped prayig ad ye re-maied accordig to the youger oes seish adimmature or their whole lie.

Youg peope (some o hem) say that they do o careaou prayig ecause Why? To e "immature ad "discotet like those they kow who do pray? Youg peopeca easily uderstad that i some o the older oes are likehat it wil ot e ecause they pray It could e hat theyprayed poorly or they did ot pray wel. However wemay ask they are ke tha ad hey pray wha woud

23



ty b l ty a not pray? Mgt not tos wocrtcz smply b ratonalzng tr own bavor?

B tat as t may ts pnomnon (t nconsstncybtwn l an prayr) tat som young popl pont outan crtcz as always sturb m It crtanly cannot

b unvrsalz It os not appn to vryon W nowcountlss cass (wtout scountng t partcular sto-rs nvov) n wc nvuals av ma contnuaan supruman orts to ovrcom i od, natural aultsan ngatv aspcts o tr prsonats W cannot soasly say tat ty pray an o not cang W o not

now o tr snt orts Cang s always graua anuttry slow All n all w av to a wt t quntcotomy btwn prayr an l an st up an onstcrtcsm btwn t two

Tr ar many pop wo cat countlss oursto o Howvr ty carry tr natura aults wt tm

untl tr nal ays: always gtng suspcous aggrssv an mmatur To al apparancs ty not growon t contrary ty sm way bn

How s ts possbl? How os on· xplan tosprsons wo cat so many ours to o ssntally abratng o wo s not abl to r tm? For so many

yars ty gav o tmslvs wt a lot o voton to tLor o ow com ts o was not abl to put tm nmoton towar a worl o marty umlty an lov?How com ty not vn grow a lttl? Wr s txplanaton or ts contracton?

Praps nsta o aorng o ty worspp

tmslvs In tr lvs tr was a subt pnomnnas unconscous as t was tragc o rasrc: wtoutralzng t ts pop rplac tr or wat tyca o

Tat o wom ty trat wt so muc votonwas not t tru o H was a projcton o tr arssrs an ambtons Ty sougt tmslvs n o.Ty srv tmsvs nsta o srvng o Tat owas nvr t Ohr Tr cntr o ntrst an attnton

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was neve he Ohe bu heselves They neve eachedou They seemed o woship God, bu hey woshipped inGod) hemselves

They seemed o love God, bu hey loved in God) onlyhemselves Tha God was a false god, an idol, a "god"

made accoding o hei desies, ineess, and feas Paying, hey wee always ceneed in hemselves. Thoughouhei lives, hey emained hin a selfish cicle This is heeason why hey did no gow in mauiy, and caiedhei childishness, aggessiveness, and naual fauls o hegave

They neve looed beyond hemselves If hee is nogog ou, hee is no feedom If hee no libeaion,hee is no love f hee is no love, hee is no mauiy

1 LIBETION

The God of he Bible is a GodLibeao He is he Onewho always inevenes, unseles, and challenges He doesno answe, bu quesions He does no solve poblems, buceaes conflics. He does no mae hings easy, bu difficul. He does no explain, bu confuses He does no fose

childen, bu adulsWe have conveed Him ino he Godexplanaion" foall ha we now, he "Godpowe who coves ou weaness, he "Godefuge fo ou limiaions, failues, anddiscouagemens He is he poecion of ou feas andinseiies Bu his is no he ue God of he Bible

Some famous people of ou ceny have affimed haeligion foses alienaion and childishness. Accoding ohei psychoanalyic explanaions, ha god" ho explainsand solves eveyhing was he gea "mohe's womb" hafeed alienaed) humans fom he iss and difficulies oflife, and le hem avoid he open sggle on he balefieldof libeaion and independence n his sense, Niezschewas igh in affiming ha he pesence above of his "god"has impeded humaniy hee below fom eaching adl

237



hood, and so hey have eaned lke chlde up o hepesen day Bu hs no he God of he Bble

a god had o de hs sese, we y speakcoecly of he deah of God was he le of God, hefalse fce of God nveed by ou agnaio, used ad

abued by ou pde, abo, goance, and lnessThe e God, always lbeaig, akes us ou of ou

secures, gnoace, and nusces, no by avodnghe bu by cononng he and ovecog he Therue God, accodng o he pophe Eekel, leds people ohe deser whee he enes no udgen wh he face o

face (E 20353 He s he One who eves Hs so aloen agoy, faced wh deah He s he God of adus

He s he sae Oe who, fe ceg us, does okeep us ou ohe's as o sve us fo he sks ofe, bu who qucky cs he ubc cod d sys, Nowbe aduls, push he unvese fowd d be ods ove h

eah (Gn :26). The ue God s o oe who eaes buoe who lbees, fog ode, oe ue, ad feedvduals and peopes

Saved to the roots

In he Bble, hee s o oly o paly he salvaoo my soul. The salvao bough by Jesus, whose p sanouced o us he Seo o he Mou, sezes dkes hold of he ene dvdu. The pla of svogoes o he oos of he dvdua, sks o he epessedsubcoscous, lunaes he dak ecesses of pulsesand oives wih a peneag ad eveag blce,wkens he eflecve conscousness o s deas ofopoence and s delusos of gadeu, pcng s feeon he ground, he goud of objecviy, causng us oene he lad of wsdo, of auy, of huly, ad oflove

I a wod, s he slvo of he whole. The God of

238



prayer ought to be a dubng and quetonng God That o ay, a beratng God

he drama o our humany th rom that ataaternoon n Parade, when we uccumbed to the temptaton You w be e god (Gn 34), rom that moment, wehave caed wth u an ancent, dar and rretbe n-tct to become god and cam a adoraton or our-eve

We voenty ubject, preure, and obgate a peopeand a creature to worhp u The vaue and reatewthn our reach are approprated money, beauty, ympa-thy, nteect, ex . Everythng ubjected to our ervceand adoraton Creaton wa made ubect to your vanty(Rom 820) We ue and abue what we conder to beour, e ome depot

we coud domnate the word, t woud be done Iwe coud approprate a creature, we woud do t I wecoud oppre a o humanty, we woud do t We ee annane and natabe thrt or honor, appaue, and adora-ton Our e a compettve batte to ee who can capturethe mot attenton. Sn rede wthn u and the n is topretend to b lik God

Everythng that threaten to ecpe our power or e-en our honor caed a an enemy; the dar eed oenmty panted wthn u and war uneahed to deeatany compettor.

We ve u o deuon, haucnaton, and e. Forexampe, when we ove, we thn that we ove but weamot away ony ove oureve; the more we have, themore we thn we are ree, but n reaty we are more avethan ever beore; the more peope we domnate the morewe beeve we are n contro, when n reaty we are moredependent than ever beore

Man' enemy h own eh, Sant Franc ad A a

239



resut becse of or desons of ben rst and rsnaboe a oters e ps orsees t en poeressness jeaos orr mpossbe anxet becomncts b creat empres kndoms and dctatorspsand ten feen trapped b o creatons

We expot te eak We pass up justce and merc norder to amass more fortes We are nsenste to te crof te poor We amass fortnes t te bood and seat ofte orkers Often en te poor become rc tebecome te reatest expoters of te poor

n a ord e are saes to osees We need bera

ton Don deep and aboe a e are doators We needredempton

Makg roo for God

f ts saer conssts of doatr te oe probem ofberaton es n dspacn te od of sef and repacn tt te tre God Saaton s tat God s my God For tsto be so tat ord of desres dreams and castes n te artat ae sproted from te do of te sef mst be bonp t s necessar to pe out to cean and empt our

nteror of a "appropratons c ae been absoutzed and dnzed and n ts pace et God take possesson and nfod tere s o dom

Te pat of beraton passes ten b a of tepoert and mt of our Lord Jess Crst (St Francs).Te ms ad ouss of Jon of te Cross contans ts

sentence:

Te poor man o s naked be coted and te sotat s naked of desres and s be coted b odt s pt sasfacon and .

On te a of te "notngs" (absoute beratontota nakedness) takes s to te peak of te a tat s God.As te Mstca Doctor sas n s Asc o Mou arm,

24



"the sou must empty itsef of a that is not God in order togo to God"

In the Sinai desert the formua of the covenant sounded ike this srae there is no oher god than God (Ex2024). With the savage force of a primitive desert formua

the Bibe gives the fina secre of savation that God beGod withi us

That simpe formua is expressed in the bibica scenewhen Mordecai coud have saved his peope by bowingdo before the proud Haman

But what have done have doneaer than pace the oy of a anabove e ory of a odand sha not osae ysef to anyoneexcep Lord to you (st e)

Now then the ony "od" who can compete with Godfor kingship over our hear is ourseves

Do deep there runs a tragc mysery our "I" tends tobecome "god" That is to say our "" caims and demandsworship ove admiration dedicaion and adoration on aeves something that beongs to God aone The idos ofstone god and wood that appear in the Bibe as competing with God (the goden caf staue of Baa) are not rea;they were and are purey sboic.

The ony ido which can do handtohand combat wihGod over our heart is our sef In he end one or the oterives up because the two canno rue the same territory ahe same time "No one can be he save of wo masters" (M624).

If iberation means that God is God wihi us and theony "god" that gets in the way of that kingship is the "godof sef" then we come to he concusion tha he kingdomthroughout the Bibe is a compete disjunction God Qr usit is understood tha by us we mean the "od man" tuedin on ourseves with our insane desires for domination of

241



ownng everthng and of deanding all honor and alladoration for oselves

hen our iterior is lierated o interests, owner-shi, and desires, God can ecoe resent there withouttroule On the other hand, as long as our interior isoccuied selshess and egotis, then there is no lacefor God t is occuied territor.

So we coe to understand that the rst coandentis identical to the first Beatitude the ore we are oor,detached, and disinterested, the ore God is God withinus The ore we are gods to oselves, the less God isGod wthin us The lan, then, is ver clear He ust growgreater, ust grow less n 330)

Blessed are the oor in sirit the reign o God istheirs (Mt 53) n the easure in which we ake ourselvesoor, letting go of ever internal and external aropria-tion, and when this is done with God in ind, the kingdoof God autoaticall and siultaneousl egins to unoldwithin If Jesus sas that the irst coandent con-tains and sus u the whole o Scriture (Mt 220), we canadd, in a siilar vein, that the first Beatitude contains andsus u the whole of the Gosel of Christ

ieration advances, then, along the roal road oovert The kingdo is like an extraordinaril siple axisthat crosses the whole Bile supported two oints thefirst coandent and the irst Beatitude That God istl God (irst coandent) is veriied in the poor andhule (first Beatitude) This is where the ilical traditionhas its origin, according to which, the oor and hule are

the heirs of God and God is the inheriance o the oor Onlthe ll ossess the kingdo

Salvation is equivalent to love But the quantit of loveis equivalent to the quantit o lierated energ in ourinterior that is to sa, love is proportional to povertBecause of this, Saint Francis said, Povert is the root o all

sanctitPraer ought to e the tie and the eans for lierat

22



ng the energes ted to our own sefcenteredness, mangthem avalale for servce to our rothers and ssters

Free to love

Beng poor (total leraton) s also an ndspensaecondon for eang a joyfu communiy

Sant Francs of Asss, who dd not try to found anorder ut rather an tnerant fraternty of pentents andwtnesses, paced evangelcal povertyhumy as the ony

condon and posslty for there to e true communtyamong hs folowersFrancs clearly reazed that a propery s potental

voence Bshop Gudo ased hm, "Why do you not alowsome property to the rothers" Francs repled, "If we hadproperty we would need arms to protect t. An answer of

enormous wsdom.If people are l of themseves, full of personal nterest,the nterests of some wll clash wth the nterests of others,and the couny wl soon fall to peces It may e thatwhere here are possessons, voence ecomes presentWhen they feel ther persona amton or prestge s threat-

ened, they jump to the defense of that amton, anddefense soon ecomes offense, and very soon there are"as to protect the property," such as rvalres envyntrgue, cques, accusatons n a word, voence thatrps apart the common uc of communal unty

Because of ths, Francs ass hs rothers to mae an

effort to have patence, moderaton, gentleness, and humty when they go preachng throughout the world (II Rue3) He also pleads wth them to have "humlty, patence,pure smplcty, and te peace of sou (I Rue, It sevdent that f the rothers are mpregnated wth thstypcal tone of the Sermon on the ount, they w e menflled wth meeness and gentleness, quc to respectaccept, understand, attract, stmuate, and love the rest ofthe rothers

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He counsels them to strugge aganst re, vanglory,envy, avarce, care, an solctue of ths worl (Rue, )f the brothers are foun to be onate by these atttues, t will be a joke to cal them brothrs; communy wllbe a torn, booy, steeon banner lyng n the me of

them alTo be a goo brothr one has to begn by beng a goo

"minor rst an foremost, we must be lberate from aaproriaton an ambton en we will arrve, by thepath of ths lberation, at communty

Poor o be mare

beraton from ourselves s aso a conton for humamaturity, for motioal stability To see ths, we nee onothng but anayze the orgns of overreactons an ch

sh atttueshen we lve ful of ourseves, raggng ourselvesaroun asking for publc recognton, always seeking toook goo n ublc, worrie about our aearance henour unlmte esres are met at any gven tme, we willhave an overreaction Our emotons wl be so overwhem

ng that we wll lose our balance, fallng overBut, oh, the ay others cast us ase, forget , orcrtcize us! hat ay, too, we wl comletely fall aart, thste because of btterness Others ll see us throw ourselves on the groun, becomng a vct: they w see usestroye, bown over by a reacton copletely out o

roorton wth what actually happene hat s the profoun explanaton for al of ths?et us suose that what they crtcize us for or cast

us ase for was objectvey just Nevertheless, we consert to be a monstrous njustce There s, then, a robem ofobjectvty e have an nate age of ourseves, asante an eaze an our reacton was not accorng to objecive realty, but rather accorng to the "1vze an fasely clothe by our reams an esres

2



is neessary o libeae ouselves om hose deams haalsi ealiy oherise, e ill alays be hidish andbie

Duing he o enuies ha ooed he empies oDavid and Solomon, Isael's lie ih God ell o is oes

levels Wy? Beause hey lived esing on hei aueshey lived on o uneal deams on he pas memoy ohe Solomon empie, deaming ha ha empie oudeu one day (hey ived in he pas) and, seond, heylived lookng oad he uue, o he nonexisen deeds oa messiah ho oud make hem rues o he Eah

These delirious poeions ompleey alienaed hemom he ea, pesen siuaion (in hih hey ee adivided and onqueed people) And hey ee alienaedom hei ideliy o hei ovenan ih God, in spie ohe a ha he od had sen o hem, duing he hole ohis ime, a mos impessive goup o pophes

God sa ha he only soluion as some aasopheha ould aaken hem om he deaming And so ias Depoed o Babylonia, hey eaized ha hey hadnohing in he od, no even he hope o having anyhing ha all o hei deams ee ies, hose abou he pasand hose abou he ue ha hey ee no moe han a

hand o eak and deeaed peope Waking om healse and inlaed images hey had o hemselves and heihisory, ealizing hs, eogzing (and aeping) obeiveealiy as i as, hee and hen did he gea uning oGod ake plae.

This is he eible and endess hisoy of evey naionand o eah peson I is neessary o be libeaed om healse ons ih hih e ove ouselves, and o aephe ealiy o ou dependene, peariousness, indigene,and imiaions Only hen il e have isdom, mauiy,and salvaion

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Sprtua stocracy

However et us magne he oppose case here aepeope who have worked fo many years to beae hem

seves from he sefnteess and popery" and aeadvanced n the pover and humt of ou od esusChst

The rst thng they acque s obecvt Fowes dono overexce them stones do not boher hem much Ifhey rse to the throne they do not de of oy; f hey fa

from he throne they do no de of pan Ther moodremans stabe befoe appause and before ccsm adthe more berated from themseves hey are he moeunbeakabe hey fee d f beaon from themsees stota we fnd ourseves faced wth peope who fee hemperturbabe sereny of one who s aboe the up anddos of fe

We fnd ourseves befoe admabe and enabe fgures gures scuped by the spr of he Beaues fu ofsoftness srengh paence sweeness and baance hepoo one of he Gospe s an arstoca of he sp

Nohng no anyone can dsub he seene peace ofhe sous because they have nohng to ose because theyhave no appropraed anyhng Wha can dsurb theperson who has nohng and wans nohng hee w benohng n ths word ha can easpeate or depess haperson

beraon from onesef has gen us a maue ba-anced exraordnary sabe peson n hs reacons ademotons a human exampe of hgh cabe

Vta crce

s whoe process of beaon w cary us o hengdom of God o he kngdom of commun and topersona maury w ake pace n he encouner wh

46



God i a circle that r from life to God and from God ole

Today there the common opnion that he place forthe encounter wih God in humanty, n the wordTheologicaly th pnciple ha no anwer. But it i an

udeable fact that the hardet fighing and mot committed liberator of elaved people Moe and Eliah ddnot meet God in the hea of miary or ocial baleathe they retreated to compete olitude and there foundthe coage and rength for the comng bate e amewa e of eu

have to bring to he preence of od my enre oad ofrouble and problem. t will be here (in the ie andplace of prayer) where wi have o veniae my quetion crie and pending projec o God

hat God with whom have communcaed n pray-er whom I have een, hat mo lovng Faher who mu

come down with me into lfe; hat ae of peneraion andnimacy whch I have lved wth the ord, that atmophere(prit of prayer, preence of God), ough to at and coormy ife, and with him a my righ hand, have to fgh hegrea battle of liberaion

The encouner wih God e a generaor. Bu f the

power of ha moor no ranmied by mean of hafand other gear ha pu machne n oon, he power uele.

We have been wth God We have fe m o vividyhat Hi preence accompane u wherever we go greadfficulty arie how to pardon an offene, feelng a grea

diie for omeone. For love of tha od whom we feel preen we face he tuation and overcome our daeConquering hi, the ove for God grow (I would ay haGod grow H preence greater wihin me). h lovepuhe to a new encouner with Hm Ti i he vtalcircle.

Not only tha The repugnan uaion, overcome whove ha been ranfored ino weene, a happened oSain Franc wih he leper nd od ad o hm, Franc,

24



you mus renounce everyng you ave loved up unlnow, and everytng wc seemed ber o you ll becanged no sweetness and oy for you

Ay b of sesness rraby, fanasy, envy, revenge, rs for onor and pleasure) wc s overcome

wc we are lberaed om) w God and roug Godmakes love grow; and us as love s unng my love, mysreng, sad San Augustne), atracon streng) forHm grows; and wl carry us o a new encouner wHm

n e encouner, we see a durng e day we w

ave o do bale e land of genleness, patence, andaccepance, and carry God o e bale, and w m amy rg and, we l ave a seres of conquess, a a gcos, of course, eac conques beng rewarded by appnessand an ncrease of love

Tere wl be many wo w say a s s maso-

csm Tose wo do, say so because ey ave neverwnessed, even from a dsance, e experence of GodTose wo lv for God, owever, see s process as ajoyful lberaon

en we fnd ourselves n a profound encouner wGod, we feel as f e Tou akes, puls ou, absorbs e

I; and en we experence e absoue freedom n wcsyness, nsecury, rdculousness, and al complexes ds-appear No one wll ever fee suc an nense fulness ofpersonalaon, n spe of e fac a ose wo kownong of God may speak of masocsm Ts feeng sexacly e same as a nebrang and power omnpo-

ence a Paul fe wen e sad, If God s for us, wo canbe agans us Rom 3 Te probem s n experencnga God s w me oever as really fel w kowa s oal lberaon

e return agan o fe e fnd ourselves faced wunfavorable commens abou our beavor Our desre s oook good, our natural rs for eseem puses us o jusourselves e remember e slence of Jesus before Caa-pas and Pae and, wou offerng any explanaon, we

24



are ue We loe prege bu gan freedom Lberaonadvance

Wh he ord a my rgh" we reurn o lfe. here aconflcng uaon n whch han prudence adve hawe eep ue; ha way we are no nvolved Bu we

remember he ncery and ruhfue of Jeu, and weay wha we have o ay We ge nvolved, bu we fee freende

We go do o he bung and of he rugge foruce We become a voce for hoe who have no voce.Love carre u o he forgoen of h world. We are

preen among hoe whom no one ee, whom no onewan

Soon, we ee he reaon why here are hungry andnaed people, and we have o draw he harpened wordo pon ou and denounce War anwered wh war.And oon we feel he machne of e powerfu a our de,

wh her nrgue, wh her le and provocaon.h a very dangerou me for u Dung he ngh(whou our reang ) he weed of hae agan heoppreor may prou n our hear Our pr may becomepooned, and he poon of hae may God Hmelf,and may mae he be plan ere.

A uch a decae me, we need a rong ea n order odcern, among our feeng, hoe whch prou frombelow and hoe whch emanae from God; we have ouffocae he fr

hough, a me, our acon may be e ame ahoe nvolved n polc, we have an everpreen preoc-

cupaon h beng a wne and no a pocan o keepour deny and o reman fahfu o our mon, morehan ever befor, we need he "von of he Face of God oha, n lgh, we may dnguh beween pure andmpure aude We come down ofen from he "mounanof he ord" wh he "Lord a our rgh" (P 15) o reman ahe de of e poor, o defend he oppreed and o beraeoe n capvy, bu a he ame me no o be appedup n move ha are no hoe of a wne

249



We e rapped n God and pushed b loe; we lookfor new opportuties and nent new forms of epressngloe We hae found ourseles amid onfts n danger ofbreaking we hae remembered the wholeness of Jesus nhs dft moments, and we hae remaned whoe ast

eek we were upset and frant neertheless, at the sghtof the ord, we balaned ourseles wth serent among therashng waes

dal beraton onssts n aeptng ourseles aswe are thout btterness, aodng oments and reatons that bother others; we free oursees to forge and

forget man detas; to aept dffult thngs as the are; toshare often wth people hose presene aone dsagreeswth us; to aod temptatons oerome sensttes andto hae eah tme more lordshp oer oursees

Whle ths s gong on, fath and oe grow Godbeomes Prze and Gft, and lfe aqures new meanng,

happness and spendor n God and through God, therenunatons beome eratons, pratons eome pen-t and dstastes, sweetness

2 SEP FROM SELFSHNESS O LOVE

Rectification

Aordng to the Bbe what s the orgna plan of Godn reatng humant God wants to enter nto ommunon

th us Ths s the utmate goa of God's nterenton nsaaton hstor and, aboe a, t s the fna obete ofthe oenants

n other ords hang reated us n s mage (Gn26) God wants to make humant more ke mselfThat s to sa frst e wants to form a faml wth us tomake us more lke msef, makng s hdren share ns own nature

Before sn, ths ommunonkeness was an eas and

250



natural thin bcau w accordin to th Bibl had bndind in uch a way that w wr a prfct cho of GodHimlf Spakin with a crtain clumin w could aythat God and w corrpondd xactly w wr in har-mony

But in cam and difiurd our fac From that mo-mnt harmony wa impoibl communion wa impoi-bl for two bin o atly diffrnt Thr would ha tob a profound purification throuh pnanc of our innrtctu in ordr to rtablih harmony unity and lik-n.

Bibl prnt in a th traic rality that ink itroot into our ry nc " wa bo uilty a inrrom th momnt of concption" (P 51) Saint Paul aymuch mor: "I do not undrtand my own bhaior it inot myf actin but th in which li in m" (Rom71 W ar innr thn by birth and by pronal uilt

God in th binnin put ordr within u. Thi ordrwa unbalancd by th ruption of inlfihn. Now itwill b ncary to rtablih th oriinal ordr byman of th rordrin of pnanc W would dfinGopl pnanc a a rtablihmnt of that initia ordrtablihd by God within u In othr word a recicaion

A pa of love

Pnanc alo man conrion. And conrionman a difficult moin from our to God That i to

ay an nd pain" from th pychic tructur of thold man" (Rom 6:6 Eph :22 Col 39) toward th ruc-tur of God What ar th Thy ar th tructur oflo bcau God i ntially o (1 Jn 16).

n th Gop u point out to u th rout for thi"tp with th pnitntial formula "Rpnt" (Mk 1:15 Mt41 But th Srmon on th Mount i th mot profoundtraty of libration from th lary and dmand oflhn

251



t s a pogam ictate o the top of the Mot,spoke t the ws, ecoe y his listeers may yearslate poclaime i a style free of explaatios l of tismakes it ifclt to capte the exact meaig of hislieag message Bt ee so, we see that i the Sermo

o the Mot the pocess of leatio, a its fial oa which s oe is otlie perfectly Essetialy, i thefst pat, we ae tl of poerty of spit, of hlity ofheat, f patiece, of meekess, of forgieess

l of this sigies that the oatos emas of the"" hae ee ee Mt 1624) ee represse Mt 112)

a, ths way, ie ioeces hae ee calme oce these forces hae ee leate, etache

a leashe fom that 1 iate y isios areams, they ae atomaticaly te ito Loe Now, ithe seco pat of the Sermo o the Mot, we will eale to se these fces, areay trasfrme ito loigoes, fo the seice to otes

t t se w wr s t 42)t par se wh ffe t 612)t make ace efre eri ifts at e atar t 22)t cect r rtes a sistes t 1)

t witt s tas ecese 6)

t he ter c 629)t le iersy, a t y se e s

k 62)

I smmay, peace is a eig "step" om self-ishess to loe

Cl o e peak

Bt the secret strategy fr coersio is fo i theGospe, i a seies of sccessie scees, atithetica a

252



contradictory, that, like true psycholoica shocks, were athe pot o stunin the wee

esus accepts the "conession" o eter Essentiay, he isthe lonawaited Messiah (Mt 1617) a resut o thisunmaskin, the "old man" awakens in the soul o he

wele ke a delirious eer hey bein to imaine theirMaster like a commanderinchie aboe the Roman eales,and they themseles (naturaly!) sharin and enon thesweetness o power and ory

esus, knowin how danerous it was to leae them athe mercy o those dreams o lory, conronts them and

says o them, Boys, et up! ets o to erusalem, but dont be mistaken not to be crowed Messiah and Kin,but so they wil ake me, whip me, spit on me, cruci e,and kll me Then on the third day, will rise (Mt 2017 Mk831; k 9

hese words, which were ike a pai o cod water

thrown on their dreams, prooked he typica reaction othe old man" "hey did not understand wha he wastellin them" (k 834) at is, they tued away and didnot want to know anythin t is the disus that we eewhen we see the Cross

hen eter, echoin this disus, is ready to aunch he

inal battle in aor o the old man and his dreams akinJesus aside, he beins to "reprimand hi": What do youmean? Go to Jerusaem? And whas ore, to be execued?No way! he Messiah canno ail, the Messiah is inincibeand immortal (Mt 1623 k 24)

We hae the impression that his is an important tie

or Jesus e rises to a docrinal ee, raises the torch hih,and shows them the absoute conditions, sayin to the,Friends, you sil hae tie to stay or eae You stil haetie to choose But rom now on, know tha the one whochooses to olow e wil hae o abide by he olowinconditions he wil hae to deny hisel; he will hae totake up his cross daiy; he who looks ater hisel is lost, heis not worthy to ollow me e who denies himsel is saed,he is worthy o y proram The rain o wheat wil ony

253



be brougt to le t ulll te condton o dyng Soten woever want to lve a to de (Mt 162427 Mk848 k 9227 Jn 1225)

Jeu reaze tat t roug program o penance acrbled te trengt o te Tweve a become a tum

blng bock or te at and ope n gt o t, Jeutake te leader o te group lead tem to te top o temotan and to reaure tem, trangured beoreter eye

n tee contatng cene we ee te ecret mean oconveron a we were loong at a "repreed ubcon

cou We ee n te rt place, te retance and dguto te lluory tat cannot bear ookng at tel or dyngto e

ere , n tee cene, a trange mxure o cro,deat, and tranguraton. t appear at rt gance to be aconued mx o ucce and alure, gt and darkne

Tabor and alvary However n pte o t apparentconuon we ee te aulte logc o te Gopel t anew ogc or a new order

to ve one a to dererecon and cruxon are e ame tng

alvary and Tabor are te ame ngreecon not a euence but a coneuence ot' deat

oy penance ead to anguraon

Self-mortification, what fo?

t a toca act beyond any dcuon, tat meno God o great uman tature, uc a Sant Franc orJon o te ro, realzed ter tranormaton n Jeurt n the measure and at the same tme tat tey ubjectedtemelve to body penance

A contemporary bograper ay o Sant ranc tate ved cruced, to te pont o avng to ak pardon

4



om Broher Ass for havng reaed hm so badly Andhs seems even sranger o us when we consder he facha Francs was a man who marveled a he beauy ofcreaon.

I s rue ha penance does no only mean sefmorf

caon, bu, n he conex of he Bbe, morfcaon sncluded n he general concep of penance. In he Aexan-dran ranslaon of he Bbe, here are wo verbs: meanoein whch means a mena change, nner converson; andeisrein whch could be ranslaed as selfmorfcaon,meanng he exeal acs of penance whch se he sage

for and ad conversonMorcaon, undersood n s ascec sense, has re-ceved que a beang receny, and, of course, all n hename of new heologcal currens Today, even he wordmoricaion sounds bad and dsaseful And he erm ha nsanly cals o mnd s hs masochsm agree wh a

greaer number of objecons voced agans vounary mor-fcaons; however, he branches should have beenrmmed whou hurng he runk They have been sruckbndy

Sarng from he heoogy of human vaues, hesecrcs of morfcaon say ha we shoud love fe ha

God has creaed a hngs ha we mgh be happy and weshould use hese hngs o our advanage; ha no one shappy by denyng hmsef; ha he verb renounce has nomeanng anymore. I know ha hese deas, undersoorghy, are correc

Bu hen hey are ndscrmnaey apped o he un-

versay of lfe, even consecraed lfe you shoud seewha hey mean for he hree vows for communy ! Anda n he name of hese heores unersood superfcalyand appled rresponsby he mpresson ha one gesfrom hese heors (so expaned and apped) s no farfrom he pagan cry recorded n he Scrpures: "e us eaand drnk, for omorrow we shal be dead" (Is 22:13)

We do no need o heorze I s enough o ouch ourown sn a le so as o eperence he fac ha o eprve

255



oselves o somehng or love leads o he characerscsasacon o someone who has loved In love, needs arelled or me The more rewards we are gven, he emperwe eel The people o our consumer socey have neverhad so many hngs as hey have oday, and never beore

have hey el so dssased Sa Teresa says ha whoever has God lacks noh-

ng, any one o us can see ha whoever does no haveGod has nohng, hough he may have he whole world nhand n hs sense, he sascs abou sucde speak loud-ly Who are he ones who ake her own lves Prmarly,

hey are he bored rch who need nong, and ye, heempness o her lves oppresses hem lke an unbearablewegh

These are real experences All we need o do s dgdown o he eernal roos o humany and any one o uswll see ha each person s an ne well And an nne

well canno be lled by an nne number o nes; onlyone Inne can ll Only God can ll he human hearand qe s deep longngs The words o San Teresa sumup a grea anhropologcal dmenson God alone is enough.

How can Jesus say ha he poor, hose who c, hperseed, he unwaned are happy, when common sens

ells us ha he happy are he mllonares, hose wholaugh, hose who enjoy presge and reedom I s under-sood ha we have no money, eedom, presge, ec, budo have God, hen we have vehng, we are blessed,lled wh all good, because whoever has God lacksnohng

These hngs, nellecually undersood, are unsuppor-able and even absurd. Bu, wha does he head kow Wonly know wha we have experenced To dersand heGospel, we have o lve To ndersand God, we have olve Hm Yes, he hngs o God are only undrsood bylvng hem, and s only hen ha hey cease o beparadoxcal

When we ener deeply no he lvng sram o God,we mmedaely eel he need o exernalze our answer o

6



love with onrete ations n life hs would seem to saythat love woud be hanneed in the area of ommunity inattention to the poor in the aeptane of the sik in thatwe are ageed But what life demonstrates is the folowing:if we do not train ourselves in love with voluntary sef

denials we will not normally be apabe of sariial lovebut wil only love ourseves in a diret indiret or transferred manner at happens today is that to form valueudgments we stk to the human sienes and we avoid infat God at east the livng and true God hen yeswhen God is not the living soure of experiene any

mortifiation is masohsm elbay s repression obedene is hldish dependene sefdenials are mutiations ordeath wishes and life itsef ends up being a mass ofmaladustments ompensatons and misguided ways. Forone who has no experiene of faith what meaning forexampe does marta dety or love of neighbor have?

We will never fuy understand that selfdenal is loveand that ove matures and deveops our personality andthose who are inapabe of denyng themseves anythingare so beause they are napabe of loving

ict suls: substitutin r sidarity

hroughout the history of humanity from the earliestenturies these questions have been formulated

If God exists and is good and powerful why does He

not bury al the evils His hldren suffer one and foral? If God exsts and is good and ust why does evi

triumph and good fa? If the evil we suffer s the resut of sin why do the

ust live in disgrae and the sinners bathe in healthprosperity and happiness?

257



Thr ar ormidabl problms wch ha ormndh agold har o haniy Thy ar h qusons haar draggd across h pags o h Bibl and whch, noday, in h mouhs o many, ar ru arrows aunchdagains han

Th problm o aks o h road rom hsqusons, a ry compx probm rom h phlosophca,hological, and humanisic poin o iw W ar noinrsd n dling dply no h problm o xcponly by aking hs qusions and lng hm dirc usrigh o h ara w wan o xpor, h land o h "cm

sous" Th obsraon of hs ls has lf m wh anumbr o imprssonsThr ar prsons, woud sm, who wr born o

sur Thy ha had an unbrakabl chain of lmaons,bad uck, biologca or psychoogca faus, and suffrnghas bn hr daly brad A ms ls arr sngy a

ohr ims hy com al a onc I ha hard manypop in h las yars o hir lis say, In my who lf Iha no had a sng happy day

I sms o m ha h prncpa sourc of suffrng lsin h ndiidual's prsona makup bginnng wih gnc cod and h aws of hrdy Thr ar prsons

who wr born wh an nsaab dsr for s and anoicab lack of quais, gng rs o a hghy conc-ng prsonay Ohrs com no h word wh manicdprssi ndncis and ohr obsssons ha hy cannoconrol Thr ar os who ar aways domnad bydprsson Thy fnd hmss unhappy and do no

know why Thy wr bo br and hy suffr Thy arshy and always afrad. Why go on I s a boomss wMany ohrs ar unhappy bcaus of r mng

llnsss, which ak h flng o wllbng and h oy ofliing away rom hm W al know our own cncahsory cran organc dfcncs ha ar w us unh nd, mporary pan srous mrgncs

For ohrs, s bad luck as y say wc spayng a xd gam wh m Eyng urns ou

258



bady for the No one knows by what ystery soepeope continuay ive ad sunderstandings persecu-tions en

Faced with ths genera reaiy we react differentyaccording to our own criteria and enta categories There

are those who it theseves sipy and passivey tocopaining We ony ive once and with such bad uck

There is nevertheess an aost iversa way ofreacting though difficut to nae which aost awayscoes to the surface athough diferent fors It is aysterious consan of the huan heart

at is it? What do we ca it? The fact is that we findin the huan heart above a in those who sufer soethng ike an innate vocation for expiation Aiena-tion? Masochis? eope who ive on the surface areaways in a huy to abe it without bothering to anayzewhat it invoves

at is it? I woud say that it deas with a need fortranscendence for openness In the ancestra roots of hu-anity there is a vocation (need?) for deep and transcen-dent solidariy with huaniy above a with painfu andsinfu huaniy Coud it be that we find on this path theeans of reieving and iberating ourseves fro the terri-be weight of suffering? Or coud it be that the need forredeption and soidarity existed even before we experienced sufering? Coud it not be that wthin each of us ikea hidden shadow there exists a redeeer?

Sooviev Dostoyevski Tostoy in part and Berdyayevreected upon the essianis of the Soviet peope Theyspoke of the any ways in which huanity woud besaved by the sufferings of the Russian peope sufferingsaccepted in sience and peace Aienating consoation oressianic soidarity?

I reeber having et persons who ferventy adheredto the doctrine of reincarnation They cay suffered athe isfortunes of their ives and any thought that theywere expiating the sins of their past ives And that gave

59



hem grea rele and as the only thing that consoed themin the midst o ther robles

I have knon conless persons dontrodden by lness and degradation ho et peace and sereny only bybeevg that they ere collaborating h Jess in the

redempion o the orld is gave them grea rele theoering o ther pans in redempive soldarty In manyternally ill patiens lying in hosptas lookng at thecrci and beievng tha they are sharng His seringor the salvaon o te orld I have seen in their eyes aprood peace and a srange oy A ay o reeing hem-

seves rom sering or o lilling their vocation osolidaryThe tragic thng is no sering bt sering seessy.

When there is a reason or serng not only loses isvence bt can be transomed nto a nobe case and atranscendent "mission.

We are never isolated beore God or beore hmantyIn the Bibe sin as ell as savaion has a social dimensionWe have a common destiny: the ev deed hams eveyones as the good deed benets eveyone

The prophe Isaah as the rst in he Bible to ncoverone o he mos myserios recesses o the hman heart

and o pont ot the role o sbsttton or soidarity on thepart o the st One throgh his serings

rs ere the serngs he as bearng ors thesorros he as arrying he as being onded or orrebellons she bease o or e have beenhealed by s bses (s 5:46)

The mportance o the serng and death o he stman or the redemption o others crystallized in the time othe Maccabees The ndeserved sering and death o thest man represent not ony satsacton or his on snsb even more so or he sins o others

26



In plae of...

The great French thinker Georges Bernanos reats thesequestions, rom the perspective o r in his amous work

he aneiesAt the eginning o his work, he speaks o the ast dayso the rioress, a woman o God, admired in every way,who has exercised her duty or many years The hour odeath arrives and ear wraps itse around her ike aserpent; she tries to hide this ear rom the other sisters, ut

she caot do it. She is overcome y the siuaion, which isvery siar to Jesus' crisis in Gethsemane panic, ear,sadness, anxiey The ony thing she is ae to say in herna moment is some disjointed words eg pardon death . . ear . ear o death" And, thus trried, she dies

A month ater while two young sisters are gathering

lowers or her grave, ths dalogue takes pace etweenthem

onsance I ay e young ut have already eaedthat good and ad orne are ore a atter o chancethan ogc Yet ay not what we cal chance perhaps ethe ogc o od? ake the death o our dear Mother, orexape Sster anche ho woud ever have thoughtshe woud have ound t so ct to de and that shewod have such a ad end! It s aost as though whenGod gave her a death he ade a stake aout the kndo death he eant or her just as the woan who ookater the coakroo at a party or a theae sometes gves

you not your own thngs ut soeody ese's Yes tmust have een soeody eses death, a death not adeto the easure o our Poress a death too sa or her sothat she couldn't even get her ars into the seeves .

anche Soeody ese's death what does that meanSster Constance?

21



onstane I means ha when eah comes, ha ersonwil be sse o n how easy s o e, an wl feea ease an comorable he may even boas abou i ansay, ee how easiy eah sis on me, wha beaufu folsi makes. (ence) ho knows f each one es for

himself, or some for ohers, or even some ae o oe(lence)

Bane (n a raher shaky voce) O boue s fnishenow ...

Ad so, simply by relaing he incien of a caninovice, he auhor presens a remendous diemma, bu ahe same me he pus us on he rack of, and insinuaes, hesoluion o cerain enigmas ha have always ormene hhuman hear He reas absur evens, wihou sense orogic, ha happen before our eyes every ay

We see peope who are acually very goo, an w seehem surrounded by msforune an faiure An a iefurher, we see oppressors uner a shower of rumhs,healh, and honor.

Who unersands his? Wha has hapene? Go hascrisscrossed he roles ha which corresons o one, Hehas given o anoher As ernanos says, some are sufferngand dying in place of ohers u, is his no evideninjusice? s his no an absolue ack of ogic an commonsense?

y does Go o hese hings?We are imily gong o ry o u forh an exanaion

Go needs o balance he wns an osses, baance hequani of good and evi We live n a unue sociey inwhich e i in ommo ad e ose in ommon. Yes, heChurch is like an anonmous sociey of common ineress,in which here is an ebb an fow of goods, in which we allparcipae ly in he gains and losses.

And, because his socie suffers from such a wase oross of vialiy on he ar of hose nameless bazeeople, he losses will have o be balance by he gains of

262



the w then the hians wh have lt vtaltywd nt be capable f givg lfe t the crsses andbecae f th d fced t place the gd n panflstatns that they can give mert and lfe t them Inths way d acheves the balance between the wns and

len rder t derstand ths mystery better and s thatth explanatn may be cnvncng we need t eplretw ther myteries

The "ody" of he hurh

We are nt asscates t members f a specal scetyne whch s lke a bdy wth many memers bt all f themembers tgether frm ne entty Each memer has tsspecfc fnctn bt all f the members wrk tgether

tward the general fnctnng f the whle rgansm r 2:2).When r ft hrts s d we let t bleed sayng What

de my ft have t d wth my head When r earache des the eye say I am nt the ear what d I have td wth y each memer helps the thers ecase

all tgether they make p the rgansm What wld thearm be f t were nt ned t the dy Of what valewld the eyes be wtht the ears r the ears wtht thefeet ( r 2:422)

Bt there s mre If ne memer sffers all sfertgether f ne member s hnred all rece tgether

r 2:26)And here s precsely the essence f the qestn If weare hrtng becase f r tny fnger t s pssle that thefever can verpwer the whle rgansm all f the mem-bers fer the cnseqences Why shld the knees sfferthe cnseqences f the lttle fnger Why d we wn ncmmn and lse n cmmn Lse the lttle fnger All fthe members lse. The fnger s cred All f the membersare cred

263



There exists, then, i he interior o tha Organism, hawe ca he Church, an intercommuicaion o heath andilless, o webeing and discomort, o grace and sin

The, i does mae a dierece whether am a saint orjust uewarm wi, the whoe Church ns ovemuch, ove grows he iving stream o the Church. ama corpse, he it is the enire Church tha has o drag tsdeath aong There is, then, interdependence.

With this expanation, he mystery and he spiritualityo the victim sous is clariied.

3. N THE IKENESS OF JESUS CHRST

The night-time attle of Jaco

There is in he Bibe a myserious event, loaded wihprimitive and savage orce t is the batle tha Jacob hadwih God

2

at same ght he got up ad tag his two wives, stwo slave girls d his eeve de, ossed the od othe Jabo. te he had aen them aoss e seam, heset a his possessios ove too d Jaob was et aone

en someone wrested wi him unl daybrea whoseeig that he oud ot maste m s him o the hipsoet ad aos hip was disloated as he wesed wih He said, e me go, o day is eag Jao

repied, wnot et you go uless you bless me eoher said, hat is you ame? Jaob, he epied Hesid, No onge ae you to e aed Jao, sine you haveshow you seg agaist od ad me ad havepevaed. e ao ased Pease te me you ameHe replied, hy do you as my ame? ith that, heessed him thee

ao amed e pae Peie eause I have see odae to ae, he said ad have suvived ( 32233)



sa, hn, s h pop nam of a pson; acob wasgvn hs suam fo havng kp up a fc ba whGod

Ts soy s d wh awnspng symbosm: h

man who mbacs God, who s ovpowd n som wayby His dvin sngh and whos shd s bokn; h onwho ngags n ba h God and accps bng aackd by Hm, s shakn and ansfomd by God, shang His bng and pow o a hgh dg

Tha scac nv wh acob was woundd s sfsh

nss, ax wh and man ga of a sn God aac hsnuoogca cn, a sngh coms fom hs Vunab a hs pon, h ndvdua bcoms ansfomd noGod and shas n h mauy and ganss of sus

Th pofound ason fo a ha has bn sad s hsUpon xpncing God as a ovng Fah, upon knowng of Hs bauy and pow, h s bon n us apusaing ov fo Hm. Now hn, ov s a unng focand poducs a song ds o b one wh Hm

Bu s mpossb ha wo so vy dffn bngs bon n vyhng unss on of hm oss s own ssanc: as sap s ansfomd no a pan, a dop of acohos dssovd n wa, on s convd no f.

n a sgg, n an ncoun bwn God and us, hSong On who s God ovpows and ansfomsh wak on who s ach on of us as ong as w sopssng Bcaus of hs, w aways nss on h ad ofsund as an ndspnsab condon fo a ansfomaon.

Wh ss ssanc and ga sund, w canbcom uy one wh God n h unon of ws And so,h mag and knss can b so nocab, h pacpaon on ou pa so song ha, n hs way, w go houghh wod as vng fcons of God, vng wnsss

265



To be and o lve lke Jesus

We have epeaed ove and ove ha he ina goa oall paye is ou ansomaion ino Jesus his Any

eaionsp wih God ha does no ead o his end iswihou a dou an alienaing escape We neve aive ahe goa ha is ceain Bu ie shoud e a pocess oansiguaion: he change om one igue o anohe

We ae a had sone ha he Fahe has aken om hequay o ie Fom his sone he Holy Spi mus cavehe unveied igue o Jesus his A o ie wih God isdieced owad his; and his means epoducing in us heeelings aiudes eacions mena eexes and genealconduc o Jesus

Mercl ad sesve. he Gospel expessedly saesmany imes ha "he e soy o hem" (M 9:36; 14:14; Mk

:41; Lk 713) His ace was changed he ideniied wih heunounae his inne emoion was eeced in his wodsand in his eyes

Jesus could neve ook a an aicion wihou eingmoved he neve ived "o himse" he aways wen ou"wih" and "o" ohes his iving "o" he ohe sueing

"wih" he one who sues was somehing so nove soimpessive ha winesses coud neve oge i and heyoen comened upon i "Feeing soy o him Jesusseched ou his hand ouched him and said o him I amwiling Be ceansed" (Mk 1:41); "He ook piy on hem andhealed hei sick" (M 14:14); "Jesus made a ou hough al

he owns and viages cuing a kinds o sickness and alkinds o disease" (M 9:35); He coud no ea uni he hadcued he man sueing om dopsy (Lk 14:24); in hesynagogue he ineups his eaching o cue he man wihhe wiheed hand (Mk 3:16) and he possessed woman (Lk13:1112)

Jesus invied he wea and hose who nd ie udensome ecause he had a message o hem ha would givehem peace (M 11:28). He came o cue he wounded

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heart, to announce erty to captves sght to the ln anleraton to the oppresse (Lk 48)

esus gave hmsef to the aanone an forgottenith a that he as his thoughts hs prayer, hs ork hsor, hs han (Mt 83), hs spttle n96) the hem of hs

tunc (Mt 920) e mae orks of mercy the fna test forentrance nto the kingom (Mt 2534ff)

Mee and patient Jesus reathe peace cam seetnessan onon even hen they "presse," "assaulte," "m-pore" hm (Mk 310; Lk 51) e offere every essng

an gift to those ho are meek, calm, to those ho sufferpersecuton patently (Mt 55ff)esus as humle, slent patent efore hs accusers

an juges e not efen or ustfy hsef e notrespon to the rue slaner of Caaphas (Mk 1456) orPate (Mt 2713), or ero (Lk 238), causng amraton nthe one an sgust n the other.

Jesus, at the ena of Peter "turne an looke at hm"(Lk 2669) a ook of accusaton ut th ove an forve-ness

Jesus patence the nght of s Passon as sumtteto severe tests hen they hppe m, resse m as akng, force a cron of thorns on s hea an a scepter

nto s han; they ht m aout the hea, rcue mAs an anser to a of that e suffere n slence Weshou not forget that Jesus as very senstve

esus, up to the last moment on the cross, put up thnsts. an anser, e aske forgveness for them (Lk2324). hs meekness an patence on the part of esus

must have mpresse the tnesses so much that Paulsears to the Corinthans "By the meekness an goonessof Christ" (2 Cor 101) an Peter after many years strsth emoton hen he rememers that "hen he asnste, he returne no nsut, hen he as mae to sufferhe not counter ith threats" (1 Pt 223)

Prerene for the poor. Wth heart an hans open to thecros (Mt 936; Mk 634), Jesus not only fet pty for the

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hungry crowds bu worried abou giving hem somehingo ea (M 15:32; 8:2) For esus, whose favories wereaways he poor (Lk 6:21), he kingdom is for hem (Lk6:20) The sign ha he kingdom has come is ha he poorare aken care of has come expressly and amos excu-

sivey for hem (M 11:5; Lk 418)Jesus ooked sympaheicaly a he poor widow who

gave a few coins (Lk 21:3). Tha same sympahy wasdemonsraed when poor Lazarus was paced in he armsof Abraham, wie he rich man sank ino he abyss of hell

esus no ony dedicaed Himself o a preference for he

poor, bu aso shared heir socia condiion.Undersanding and aenive. Te rs o ener aradise is

a hief The Faher sen he Son o give preferenia reamen o he weak and os (Mk 2:17)

esus shared His ndness indiscriminaey wih sin-

ners, so ha hey caed Him iend of ax coecors andsinners (M 1 1 :19)esus ender and preferenial reaionship wih publi-

ca ike Levi, Zacchaeus, and ohers who sa wih Him aabe ouraged he harisees (M 9:9; Lk 19:1£

Jesus principe was, is no he heahy who need a

docor And He cried, wan mercy, no sacrifice (M 9:13)One singe sinner who rerns o he Faher causes morejoy in heaven han a he jus ogeher (Lk 15:7)

Jesus was no afraid of he inenions of a msress, budefended her pubicy (Lk 7:36 o ha adueress, condemned o be soned o deah, He endery says, Go inpeace (n 8:1£

esus poured ou His exuisie human sympahy anddescribed Himself in beauifu parables (Lk 1511£.

esus paid specia aenion o Nicodemus, mainaineda friendship wih Joseph of Arimahea, honored manyharisees and rich pubicans wih His presence, ran oJaius and he Syrohoenician He even reaed o hecenurion from Capeaum, one of he Roman oppressors(M 15:21; Mk 7:24).

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Jesus had peeences, bu He was no excusive

incere and truthl. Jesus spoke cleay and diecyYes, yes; no, no, M 5:37), wihou speaking one way osome and anohe way o ohes.

Jesus was coageous when hey ied o ip Him upby surpise: Hypocies, why do you emp me? M16:1); give o Caesa wha is Caesa's, and o God wha sGod's

Jesus was magniicen when some iends came o elHim ha His e was dange because Heod was seekngo H: Go and e ha wo ha wil ac when andwhee hink shoud Lk 13:3)

Jesus deended he uh a al coss, even o His lie:As i is, you wan o me, a man who has old you heuh n 8:40) Even a he sk o losing dscipes n6:66); even a he cos o casing scanda and pesecuonM 7:3; Lk 7:39) ohing disgused Him moe han hypocsy, es, and aonaizaions. One o he mos beauulexpessions n he Gospel: he uh will se you ee n8:3).

Jesus, aleady wihin sgh o eey, summed up hepupose o His e: was bo o hs, came no heword o hs, o bea wness o he uh n 18:37)

Many yeas ae, emembeng he e o Jesus, eeesiies, He had done nohing wong, and had spoken nodecei 1 :).

ver-loving. Hs own dscpes had he mos vvd mpesson: he Mase, above all else, had loved Because o

hs, hey undesood peecy when He od hem o ovebecause He had loved hem Un 13) He oved he llechilden wih endeess and smplciy M 19:14), and Heook one o hem n His ams M 9:36

Jesus was aeconae wih Maha, May, and azausn :) beoe dying, He reaed Hs own as iends n0:17) He eceived His own beaye wih a kiss and awod o endshp M 2650)

Jesus caed an unknown paalyc my chld Mk 25),

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and e eorraging oan y daugher M 922 Heoved His peope so deepy ha, seeing he os, He sano oer souion han o cry and eep k 1334

Jesus invened a housand fors and ays of express-ing His ove because ove s ingenious Mk 1045 M 2028

n a brua irony, here s an enorous deph of ruhHe saved oers; he cano save hisel Mk 1531 Hebrough o e Faer ony one hing have oved you,us as e Faher has oved e Reain in y ove 159

This ove of Jesus us ave so ipressed Hs w

nesses ha hey give us his eory, recorded in prceessords God so oved e ord he gave his ony so n316; [He] oved e and gave hisef for e Gal 220 . e kndness and lov of God our savior 34

Humble and gentle Jesus fled pubiciy o heal he sck,o ipy e loaves, o coe do fro he Mou ofTransfiguraion. en Jesus as rdculed befor aeand aiaphas, He did no anser he on a snge counM 27:14 Jesus e Hsef be anipuaed by heTeper hou coplaining M 4111 Jesus dd noargue or rase His voice; no one heard His cries hearkeplace M 1215

oring about others ithout oring about himselfJesus aended e hungry crods n 6, 1 6, he Aposlesn he Garden, Peer k 2251, he pous oen, he hiefk 2339 His oher a he foo of he cross n 1925. Henever orred abou Hsef, ook no ie o ea, sleep, or

res ( 135 37

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Chapter 6

JESUS AT PRAYER

our ace my only omeland. (St h o -

ux

To b a han o a Ju lt and o lv a lvd Th "mnd" (hl 25 howv can b akn wong-

y Th a mo adqua xon dsposton. o-ton wovn wh moton convcon and dcon Sohn n oh wod th han xnc on ooducng n ou own l h moon nn attudand gnal bhavo o h od

n tyng to lv h doon t atvy ay o

know wha w h nc o u ltyl andualy h man uo o But th anoth thng a dcul to dcov a

to lv and h how to cau h nn hamony oh od? In my onon th h bac qut I thconduc o h ndvdual h toa on? No o cou

no bcau u conduc n h nd nohng mothan a dtant cho o mul d by ancnt dal and amot vng tuaon

W nd o gt o th oot bcau h na away bnath h uac o dcov hn Ju nnamoh w nd to dcnd o th modal andognal ng o h on wh mu dconand l a bon n ho w nd o dcov andatca n th nn o h od

27



Hw d we d hs The su Jesus appears smade anspaen n Hs wrds and deeds. We have egn y eanng n he hole ord wh a cnemplaveaude n der e ed n he rd

gan, hw d we d hs?

Exercses or lookng "wn" Jesus

u shud pace yursel n an aude ah, askngr he asssance he Hy Spr and eng yuse ecarred away y s nspan

Then, ake an aude sma ha a pesn whhds hs reah n a sae adman lke he suspense smene a he m he sea, r smene wh apweru elescpe, wh has he wld he sars penedup hm

Then, wh a yur acules receced, n ah andpeace, e yurse e aken, wh a cnempave gae andnne reverence, n he nmacy Jesus, and emanhee, leng yuse e surpsed and sensng eveyhngha s happenng here n he dephs nd, nce su-merged n ha envnmen, que and mnless, eyurse e mpegnaed y hse varus exsena andvng harmnes, shang n he prund experence Jesus n hs way

Ths s he knwedge "eynd knwledge (Eph 38),he supreme advanage knwng Chrs Jesus my d(Ph 38), he egnnng al wsdm, he reac hageneraes a enegy and apsc geaness.

T advance hrugh he dak cdrs ah, n heng and dvnng ascen, we mus ake ny ne pahhe pah Jesus Hmse. S as n lse ur way n hsvenue, we mus wak rmy upn hs grund.

Here s he mehd upn whch here can never e much nssence place yusel, cneplavey, thJesus, r any uul medan.

2



Once here, ry o now in he Spiri wha he Lorfelt when e sai ay your name be hel holy 69).

Loo wihn Jesus an ry o now an share) whawaves of enerness rose wihin im, from he eepespars of im, when e repeae so many imes bba0 belove Faher)

Loo aenively an conemplaively, an ry onow wha happene in he isan an srange ephsof he Lor when e sai, y Go, why have ou abanone me 246) a happene in hose momens ofesolaion as he ligh exinguishe Di exreme pres-

sure or empiness fall upon is soul ha was iLe us loo whin Jesus, an le us ry o now, in he

Spiri, wha rusle wihin im, giving off perfumesweeness, when e sai, I am sorry for hese people 936). a i Jesus wan a ha ime o suffer wha heywere suffering To carry all of he crosses of he worl

ha was ha floc of whie birs ha suenly oofligh an crosse he sy above Jesus when, full of oy anhappiness, e sai, Than You Faher for hearing myprayer n 1141)

ha happene wihin Jesus when e oo piy on hecrows 141; L 13; 1414) ha winows were

shaere in is inerior room ha suen esires fell onis groun ha i e feel

ha was is feeling when e sai o hem ome ome, he esroye, he ones hrown upon he bans of heriver by he rushing sream, he leas an he forgoencome o e an you will see consolaion sprea is shae

across your esers M 1128) ow i Jesus feel in hamomen

This exercise of placing yourself in esus place has areverse sie o i if i is he same coin) an i is escribe inhis way ha woul Jesus o if e were in my place

23



Wha woud he Lod ee wee He in he hea o hslack nigh whee am now ndgnaon CompassonDesie o ea down Desie o console Wha woud Jesuseacion e i hey did o Him wha hey did o me

Seang from wiin e

hose who sense hs, wi have o go ou om hevaey o conempaion o communcae somehing o wha

hey saw and head. his is he essenal ask o uewoshppes: o speak (o we) as someone who speaksom win Jesus, ae avng pacipaed, n sp anaih, in he poound epeience o e od I s aneaodnay dcu u necessay ask

Among a human epeience, paye is he mos po-

ound and aeachng And now ha we wan o speak oJesus paye, am awae ha we canno ue a snglewod wihou he aid o e Holy Spi, whc we heeadeny eques

he pah s ddled wi diicules Fis, ee comeso us ha eena enigma o he human peson, e un-known: I am me, a sngula an nepeaale myseyEveyody else s oe; each one, a unque epencehey will no ene my epeience no wll I ene eso one will exeriene themselves as I o I will neeexeriene myself as ey do

ow hen, does no seem oolis o y o ene eepeience o Jesus Wiou even ouching His peson,emaning on he ousks, e scipua scences ae ullo quesons Wha wods i Jesus acually speak Al-hough some wos may no acually e His, wa wodsepess he eal hnking o Jesus In wc o e paales,

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aegores or sermons s there "somethng o the vastnteror rhness o Jesus?

The Gospes are eebe attempts at makng transparent and transmttng Jesus hrst to us. The attempt s ntse dsproportonate The Gospes have been ut o

Jesus hrst s mmensey greater and more brant thanHe appears n the Gospes the Gospe gmpses are shadows nothng more than rmbs tny bts o a Beng whosegreatness s beyond us.

au s among the "wtnesses a ontempatve whohas been bnde by the nnte rhness o hrst and who

nvtes beevers to punge nto the mystery o hrst norder to be abe to "unerstan

the breath an the ength the heght an the depth ohrsts ove so that knowng the ove o ht whh sbeyon knowege yo ay be e wth the tte

ness o Go (Eph 3:18

Perspectve

Jesus hrst s both Son o God and Son o Man

wthout onuson or dvson two natures ormng oneunque I Who s abe to depher suh a ormdabe ystery?

I eah person s a osed rut a unque reatyorgna an neabe what w we say about ths nntewe that s the person o Jesus hrst? Where o the

bounares begn and end between what s dvne anwhat s human n hrst? What reproa reatonshp s tobe ound between them? Do they ane eah other out? Dothey nterere? Do they enrh eah other? How naessbean puzzng or us s ths unque I o Jesus hrst!

What was Hs prayer ke? n estat and sent gaze? wordess ntmay ke that o one person at the eet oanother? n mperturbabe peae? Bung words "wthoud res and wth tears" (Heb 57)? Eataton wth a gt

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f ears A pure and dry faih Simpy being Hw richand deep are he wisdm and knwedge f Gd (Rm1133) The prfund psychgy f esus escapes us, because f he mysery f w naures in ne persn

Bu we, in he refecin f he fwing pages, are

ging eave ne side, fr purpses f methodolog, hefac ha Jesus is Sn f Gd, and we wil cener urcnempaive fcus n he Son of n e wil use hisperspecive

e are seeking he One wh is ur Brher He is urguide A guide is ha persn wh raves ane ang

uexpred pahs in he munains r fress Then heguide akes he hers and eads hem ang he pah ha isn nger unexpred. e are seeking ha Brher wh hasaready aken he pah ha eads he Faher

1 PESONAL ELATIONSIPWIT TE ABSOLUTE

On he juey f esus' su, in His religius experience as Sn f Man, wud imidy venure disinguishw (hw shud ca hem) chrngical sages

Firs, Jesus appears have ived wih a radicaness andunequaed srengh wha we ca he absoluteness f Gd,accrding he mnheisic radiin in which he wasbrn and grew up And, secndy, He appears havediscvered and ved he experience f he Abba, he greanvety f he Gspe

auray, here is a permanen inerreain beweenbh experiences f we lk a he parabes, alegries rsemns in which he inerir ife f Jesus is revealedduring His days f preaching, bh expeiences seem beinermxed, cnsed, and smeimes idenical Hwever,we, by reasn f mehd and he search fr cariy, aregng sudy he tw levels separaey

n rder undersand we wha am ging explain,we mus ake in accun he fwing infrman

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esus gradual grth in human and divine experienes L252 Stil a youth o itee or twety years Jesus wasadacig at high seed ito the deths o God Thisyouth made o mystery ad dreas i rayer o theaked lls o starry ights; sailig through the immesi

ties to touch the oles o the earth; exlorig umaedregios to discoer the other side o the mystery; Jesus atwetyyearold ma each time more iterior each timearther out i total resece The huma d is lost. . What ca we say?

esus' sensitive temperament. Essetialy Jesus was kitrom ery sesitie bers The Gosels reeal may occasios that iled Him with comassio uo seeig somay eole hugry ad without a sheherd ( 141 Lk713)

Oe day tired rom wakig aog dusty roads beeath

the su He wated to rest. He took a boat ad guided it toa lace where there were o eole But the crowdsguessed where He was goig ad wet by ad arriig atthe ace beore He did. Gettig out o the boat ad seeigthe eole He et ity or them ad istead o restigstayed wth them the whole day ( 63235)

Aother time arriig at the gates o the city Jesus meta ueral rocessio. The situatio caught His iterest adthey told Him that the deceased was a boy the oy so oa widowed mother Hearig this the Lord was moed withity almost to the oit o tears (Lk 71114)

Oe day hearig o the death o His ried Lazarusesus wet oey The ews seeig Him rom a distaceadrig His sesitiity said How ts ma eels What agood ried He was J 113438)

Ater the solem etrace ito Jerusalem saddeed bythe stubbor resistace o the theocratic caita esus couldot aoid tears o hellessess (Lk 1941) He et saddeedby the igratide o the leers (Lk 1712), disilusioed bythe laziess o the disciles as they slet i the Garde

He was attetie to rieds courteous with wome

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loing wih chiden He aways showed a peeence oinalids In a wod, He was ey sensiie

He as deeply pous The human consiuion is made oquaities and defecs, possiiliies and imiaions, all o

whch ae susaniay ooed in he ia dephs o eachpeson.Thee ae hose who hae a gi o sudies and nne

o spos, and ice esa. Thee ae hose who hae a aleno he ars and none o he had sciences hee ae hosewho hae no gif o paining u who ae maelous in he

fied of music ach indiidua, hen, is on wih ceainpedeemned dispositions, o gis he Holy Spii, haae caed chaisms.

Among hese pedisposiions hee is a senstvy ohe hings of God hee ae pesons who wee on wi aendency so song fo God ha hey canno ie wiou

Him do no know i his is gace o i i is naual Ineihe case i is a gi om God This sensiiiy o endencis caled pety

In his sense, we ind Jesus ey pious, a pesonaliai ha He definiely inheied om His moh

he relgous ontext thn hh esus as born and grup Isae had sugged o many cenuies agains alidoay, which came fom he gea empies and om hesuounding ties Aways in conac wih ohe peoplesand hei gods, Isae fe dawn o he sange culs whichwee in ogue a he time Many imes hey gae in o he

empaion They euned o God unde he wachful eyeso he zeaous guadians, he pophes, who paid o heizeal wih hei ies. So, wih lood, deah, and eas, Isaeloged a monoheism ha was adical and somewha a-naica Jesus was o and gew up in his amosphee

This monoheistic hsoy had shaped a ey concise"ceed" caed he h'ma, which eey Isaeie had o ecieseea imes a day The h'ma was no ony he oundaionfo al ewish paye u i was aso he sou o ha cuue,

278



the nana anthem the natna flag the ultimate raond'tre f srae. t says

Lsten Israel Yahweh our o s the one the nlyYahweh You must ove Yahweh your o with all your

heart wth al your sou wth all your strength et thewors I enon on you toay stay your heart. You shalltell em to your chren an kee on telng them whenyou are sttng at home when you are ut an aoutwhen you are lyng wn an when you are stanng uyou must fasten them n yur han as a sgn an on your

forehea as a heaan you must wte them on theoorosts of your house an n your gates (t 69)

Jesus frm the tme He was ale to utter Hs firstwrs in Aramac earne these wrs by memry.Josehus tels us that t was a matter f great rie frevery mther n Israe that the frst wrs whch her chearne shu be the wrs f the hma.

If ths was the case for every mother in srael hwmuch mre s fr the mther name Mary f azareth shewas a nrmay uet an reserve wman but oucke the chr an the wr saw that she sune lkea vbrant har n the wrs f the hma that His mothersa that He reeate (what an nescrbable scene wesense a great rfunty. Jesus was nourshe wth thsstrong f frm the very frst years of Hs lfe

Jesus reeate these wrs thusans f tmes wheHe was stl n Hs mothers la as a chil f eght whenHe wul go t the um for a al of water r clectfrewoo n the nearby hlls as an aolescent of ffteenwhen He went ut n thse starry nghts r whie fashn-ng a yke in the carentes sho r maye a nkey cartwhle n the synaggue .

s s a fact of utmost mortance for unvelng thenteror fe f Jesus an fr afrmng n the frm of aconecture that the asc relgus lfe of Jesus was anexerence of the abouene f o

279



A b fe yer f ge, e beg gg ch, ch ke chl dy Th chl whe he f he bk" beth a safer, fr ernng bymemry he bk, h he w nd he rphe

ere, e eed cer fce h H hd

whe he de ergrm ppered, he fr cnnf he me f hweh

Th, he, w he reg cnex whch epr w peed p fe. r reg experecewere g f he Abe

God one

Tkg cndern grd grwh n dvneexperece d ee d p emperme, eped he prg f chdhd d dlecece

wrpped n he mle f he Admrble By he ded expre whch pper ler, he dy f heGpe, we feel rgh hkg h w, he dy H chdhd d yh, he Incmprble cmpleelyccped per

A wee yer f ge, He hd lredy fe he brnng

cee f he Frmdbe nd he Oe wrd,nwerg he gref f mher (k 249) dce h h ge, he bmle d bnde ce whch heAbe hd cmpeey ken pe f h e byFrm he , Gd le wd be H ccpn ndpreccpn

Ad , we dcver e prfd d exenve"reg f de" h n ne, n even mher, cneer, e b Gd e My mher? Wh mymher? re my mher. Aye wh ke he Adrbe erly, ye wh decre d mke Gd heOy Oe fe, h my mher, my fher, my er,d brher ( 335 Wfe? fve wve r l f hever he wrd re ble qench he ee hr H her Gd Alne freh wer wheer drk f

280



wi nee be hisy n 41119 I you only knew whaGod is ike, i you only ased he wae .

a Adam, auho o he on of God, saes

he Fahe was his wold, his eaiy, hs ie ny

hough he Fahe does his solide ecoe a coun-ing, he os l o counings

his child, who knew ha on Sinai, Moses alone wasabe o appoach he pesence o he Foidabe, whie heohes coud ony ook on o a disance; who knew ha

he Hoy and eible esided in he "holy o hoies wheeony once a yea a singe peson coud ene; his child waseneing deepy ino he closeness o he One who isbeyond a ime and al Space. His sensiie sou wasaked by he impession ha God is Al. He ook hisabolutene o God and caied i o is ina consequences.

Scattered experences

We ae now going o see how hese poweu epei-ences appea, scaeed like god nugges, in he pages o

he Gospel. esus speaks o God and, behind His wods, heecho o passion is head. he sand ou ike a peak in aounain ange o declae, God is All In his sense, Jesusgahes ogehe all o he ways and oices o he geapophes, bu hei oices do no een each he heigh oHis sandas

God aone is he od o he uniese and auho o heingdom He goes ou o ook o wokes in he ineyadhee is no need o inquie abou he salay, because eenhe las woke is paid he same as he is. hee is nopayen, eeyhing is gi (M 20120 He oganiesweddings, and He Himsel goes o he sees and make-places o ook o guess (M 22:114 Yes, He Himsesends he iniaions (k 1537.

Thee ae some who ike o ead ao cads, o

281



eample, o know and be eady fo he fue, and o nowwhen he end will ome is useless o even he Son ofMan knows God alone knows he ea hou (Mk 1332; M2436, 2513) God is All

diulous vaniies? ho will oupy he fis plae?Ae you able o pass he es? Even if you ae able, knowha no even , he Son, an give i o you. God alone givesi He appoins eah one hei plae. Eveyhing is gae oone deseves anyhing Hee eveyhing is eeived, us asin he ase of a hild Oy hose who make hemselves"lile" an eeive he Kingdom, life, food, dess, eduaion,

love. The Kingdom is a gif, a pesen (k 1232). Jesus"knew God in His long enounes wih Him and hee"disoveed" AllisGae.

Vey good, Simon, son of Jonah, how well you havespoken Bu wha you have us said has no been old youby insin, inuiion o any ohe fom of wisdom Godalone has inspied you How happily Jesus looks a hi,how happy He feels ha God be All! How He would like opay hese wods

You ae ea and do avelous dds,you, God, and none ohe (Ps 610)

Beause of his, He waned nohing fo Himself, neiheapplause no eogniion no gaiude o God aloe givegloy ou ae aleady healed, bu say nohing o anyone,go o he emple and give hanks o God (M 44 heyoung gil was healed, he deaf had hei eas opened, buwihou anyone knowing (Mk 543; 736) You have beenleansed of leposy, bu do no bow down in he dusbefoe me go o he emple o give hanks o God aloe

Saised by wha hey had eaen in he dese, deliiousby wha had happened, hey look fo Him wih he inen-ion of owning Him king The hough of his seemed oHim like an ovehow and He esapes o he mounainbeause God alone is Kng, and all goy belongs o Him In

22



th otud o tha h, ha gh 6:15) how wl woudth word hav oudd

Not to u, Yahwh ot o uut to yo am gv t goy (P 115)

You ca m good Who good God ao good (k18:19). W m a a So awd y h purty adho o God. do ot put up wth ayo whoak away h aou atru hat og to Godao.

n th yar o youth, prhap wh go out th coutryd, gathrg wood ad r truk, dggh yok or h mul, comg o h prg wh hwatr, g th v grow ad th wha matu ou, ot th mmt o th tral, udradthat God dr th ad, d th rd, mak prg

loom W u a a chld awd y h powo God

God, who k you (P )

Wth ty ad oy, aud tho who hk aou

h dcult o avato "By huma rourc mpo, u o o God cau or God vryhg po" ( 1027)

u ach ad vry hg comg drcy omh had o th Fathr huddr wh th magcpowr o God "ow gra ar your work, Yahwh, m-

my dp your though ( 92:5). do ot hk trm o coday cau, do ot thk aout auvral ordr dgd y a gu ad cog ymcham o caualt ad comc aw, k a plotdpachp Byod appaac ad v, Ju com-plat wth joy h Crao, a o u o rdom,powr, potay, ad good (M 6:26)

you "kw what God k, who God , you coulday o ha mouta Mov om thr (Mk 22) ad

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trow yourse into te sea; and the hill woud y ike aird to te water And to this sycamore tree that is in ronto you you wod say Be uprooted and transpanted in tesea; and it woud umy oey you (k 176)

How much you have doneYaweh my God your wonders and your pans or us

you have no euaI wi procaim and speak o the;

they are eyond numer (Ps 0)

Rememering te requency during His preacingdays th wic He retreated rom te sigt o the crowdsto e aone wit God preerring the night we can envisiothe state o adoration and awe in which Jesus spiritpermanenty lived This was so rom His eary days asmuc during work and traveing as at the synagogue

Aove a we are right in imagining wat His intensemoments wit God were ike in His younger days in theneary is o azareth at night. His sensitive soul woudave een swept over and over again ike a wave sweepingover a eac y the presence o te ithoutame in awrencing closeness eing ae to say with the psalmist

A your waves and reakershave roed over e (Ps 42

Tis is what appened alow me to conjecture inthe event o the Transiguration n his narrative uke says

"As e was prang te aspect o his ace was changed. ."(k 929) e may concude rom the context o te storythat te itensity te possessiveess and te concentrationo Jesus' spirit was such that with te strengt o spiritualenergies pysica aws were roken producing a change ow we don't know in the appearance o esus thesame as in the case o Moses at another time In a wordesus was made" a iving reection o God radiating terigtness o God in His roes in His ace in His ody.

2



hose ecoutes, He was expeencng that theAdabe s the oy Good on whom t s woth bettngeeythg you knew how much God s the GeatTeasue, you woud se you and ad you housesabado you poesson n ode to "possess" that Teas-

ue t 1344The bds hae the ests and the oxes the as n

whch to seep. The Son o an does not know what Hew eat tomoow o whee He w seep the day atetomoow. He has eounced a secuty ad has depeded o God as Hs ony Reuge and Saety (t 8:20

The Kgdom o the Etea s o such magcencethat ts conquest" s an heoc deed that demads couage"oece" ad peseeance (Mt 12 Lk 1324.

e ask what the beauty and magncence o the Admabe w be ke to what pont the ncompaabe w beebang wne o someone who has tmatey "kow"Jesus, who poposes a adcaness that s ghtenng.

You athe has ded? et the dead buy the dead Tat

s not mpotant (Mt 822 You want to take God seousy You want to decae Hm to be the Ony One? Go homeBeak tes wth eeyoe and eeythng The Ony One swoth the toube ( 1021 The game we ty to ea scaed all or nothing Beoe choosng to pay thnk about tBut oce you put you hand to the pow, thee s no tunngback, you mus pay to the end (k 921 hy so manydeses, atha? y so many pepaatons o the banquet? Few thngs ae necessay Bette yet ony one thng snecessay God Lk 042 I hae not come to bng tan-quty and peace but the swod (Lk 1251

Hs days o peachng we see Hm actng wth joyand dedcaton Hs e o the peope has no possbehuma expanaton The souce o so much enegy and joyhas to be ound n a hdden and undegound spng n Hs

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e ept A o H wo a acto ae om anemotoa ept tat, wtot a ot, come om ecote wt te o om H eaet ay

Aga qotg al Aam

I w ak wat n a ano og an ac oJ wa t ot nwa an nng an awa, a t w, t ang gon ackgo o wo an acton, t anw t ntat no on w Fat nc o l aw na to vy cn o wl an w g

aay conct tat t oly png a t wnc ow o t lonn o o an allacng al copaona ov o ankn anw y atan nty

Dzzess

Cta pepectv o J vn n t alm ococ, cap wtot a tat t gatcotemplatve, po vg to t mytey o Go, at tck y te tace etwee tem a Go. e call

tat eato vetgo, o zzne, ecae t a to owt a mte o acaton an gt ea a -p

T ato appea vry vvy n t Pam Foampe, Pam 8 ate epg ow majetc yoname togot te wo, te palmt ma ttace a a, at ae ma g tat yo paa togt o tm?

at typca o pta zzn tat t alwt a tey peet tace, a vetgo mae at te ametme, o coee a tance, o tacenece a m-mace

I t aa, wt pct to Je, eel ot a canoy vete to ak, Fom H ma epenc, om Hpoto a a man, ow Je e, ow He meae

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how did He sense God In what way did He measue thedistance between God and humanity Did He expeiencethe diiness o the psalmist whe he said that they passaway but you emain" s 02)? his wil neve be an-sweed satisactoiy. it is tue that Jesus was the Son o

an, He was aso Son o God.evetheless, I am impessed by the iinite eveence

with which He spoke to God on the night o His depatueHoy Fathe, Just Fathe! This entie ina paye isiled with poound veneation, eectig the eeing oadmiatio and awe that Jesus elt eoe the ost Holy It

seems to me that Jesus elt that same eveence, that is achid o distance and veneation evey time He aised iseyes to heaven 4 7)

2 THE FATHER'S FACE AEARS

Eveythig that has ee said up to this poit is otqualitatively dieet om the concept o God which waslived i udaism at the time o esus ay pophets ivedi itimate commuicatio with the tanscendent ad pe-sol God, although not to the extet to which Jesus ived

it he pophet Jeemiah seems to us to e vey close to theeligious expeience o Godathe he psamists speak attimes o a state o peace, suende, and conidence o thesoul in God, ike a child i the ams o its mothe s 3)he pophet Hosea, that we might sese the tendeness oGod, uses expessios that could e attibuted peectly to

the eligious expeiece o e bba

Wen Ise ws d I oved nd I ed y son ot of gyp. e oe I ed e f e tey wen wy fo eey offed sfe o

nd bnt nense o dos.I ysef tg p to wkI ysef took te by e

28



bu hey dd k I e e cg he I ledg e hu e ledgg ve ih he I lke ee lig h,

d I be d eed ( 116

I spie hese spks ipii geig ce he idea Gd as bba, hee as eal advaceme ihe helgy ealie Judis The Gd Sii led heidividul ad he clecive eligius lie Isel

The new ne for God

Duig is ey chidhd d descece esuslived eip ih he Ld Gd accdig he

hegy he peple mg h e b dge upBu begiig sme ge iee? ey? he

yug Jesus i a gdual pce ieiizai beg expeiece elae Gd i a essentlly dierentme i a mae h uside e leeig

glimpses he pphe i Isael had demed ivedThe yug Jesus pssed beyd he sage ae ddai He eeed cmpleey i h e u hbelgs he ms vig Fhe i he d

Thee s he gdu i i he ul he yug eus

What happened in the so of the yong ess?

Wih e d eveece e e gig ee heced pecic hi yuh ge ee ey eyve d e e gig ed specce beeu eyes il ise kigdm ihu sds cepeihu c he des ll be buied d

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aguish wil e destryed ad ave the hriz, the daywithu ed will daw A yuth will rise ave the ghestpeak i the wrd t prclaim we have a Father, we arerthers ad sisters, we are saved, alleluia.

T uderstad this, we have t take the fllwig it

csiderai Mark tels us that esus reeated fr frtydays t a mutai s iaccessile that ly the wild eastsdwelled there (Mk 113) Frm this fact, the flwigpsychlgical cclusi emerges A idividual, if tfaliar with the silece ad situde f the mutais,des t, a whim, sped s may days i such a

ihua place If, fact, e wet there, it is a sig that ewas already accustmed t the slitude f the mutais

I additi, there are may Gspel passages that statethat esus used t retreat at ight t the his ear Capharaum r erusalem, t e ae with the Father

This, tgether with ur previus servatis, rigs

us reasay, ad y meas f psychgica premises, telieve that esus, whie a yuth i Nazareth, was used tgig away fte ad fr g perids f time t the hilsear Nazareth t e with his Father, ad that durig thedays f is preachig, e maitaied the hait

The cidhd f esus was cmpetely ccupied y theAdmirale (Lk 249 at presece illumiated everythigi this yuth what was ave ad elw ad what was the ther side f thigs It was like whe the su's rayswarm the earth, give it ight, ad make it fertie

esus was a rmal y, ut e was t like the thersis eyes were aways athed i a strage spledr ad elked a great deal withi imse, like smee whlks at a cmpai ad it seemed that e was t aeut that he as heandOher

Yes Smee was with im, ad e was with Sme-e, as if all distace had disappeared. But here, there was

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e sense a ere were no riges ecause, i sees, ewo a een uie iac A, in is case, iiac was oal presence, ae o wo presences oerwors, e iac was e eeg, crossing, a rui owo e erioriies

e oug Jesus seveee? we?) avance oa o a, o nig o nig, eeper wi, o e osreoe recesses o e Lor Go; a so, ere cae eie i wic inac an love se up wii e ou aesion, in e sese a e sroger e iiac wiGo was, e greaer e love; a e greaer e love, e

sroger e iniac n is wa, ierior veloci wasgraual accelerag uil all isace a bee e-voure

Lve is o a k,a oe o ore oese.

I rows wi he esires o ivi oesesuore i oeI is coumae i he oa oreio a reroca oy

Suer was aig over e orcars o esus Te

aples were ripeig Te eeives were illig wi e-eress a sweeess

Brigig o iio e esio bewee iiacy aove, a wi e isapearace o isace s wasgrowig i Jesus sou, ike a wie oak ree coverig iseep esires wi is saow Te o e oa oeess-

seneress owar is Lor a Go.O, ose igs Jesus se i e oely ouais

akee by e ae o is Lor Go i e osasolue closeess a i e os asolue resece aswell ere were so a sars o ose igs!

Te bo we? weywo?) wi suc sesiiviywi a srog preisposiio o be wi Go, akes oese a e aoer grauay exeriecig iere

290



snsaions and ach im prcivig mor cary ha Godis no xacy h Fard nor h Inaccssib

And so a m cam whn h yoh bgan graduayo f a bach washd by a wav of ndss comngfrom h mos profond dphs o h oca n housad

words cam do po Him ovig Him, covring Him,assg Him as i God wr a widing ocan and Jsuswr saiing pon i wars; as if h word wr (Wha?Crad Ams Shrng wings?), vryhing was scriy cainy jbiaion, frdom H cam o hav adni crai and nforgab snsaion fing ha

h ord God k h mos oving Fahr in h word.

God, yo ov rach o h hav,and yo ai o h oudYo juc k God' moai,yo jud k h deep

ord ho preou yo ovy God, o o md rfug h hadow o yo g,y a o h rh o yo houhy rom ram o yo dgh

I you h ouc o ad yo gh ee igh (P 36)

ing h yars o Jsus' youh h mos rvoioary inor ransormaio o a ims aks pac Jssxprincd in His own sh ha h Fahr is no primariy Far, b ov; ha h Fahr i o abov a Jsic,b Mrcy; ha h Fahr no v, ir o a, Hois,h Mos Hoy, as h proph Isaah xpais, bu H knds forgivnss, car nd And h yougJsus cam o h convicion ha h irs Commadmno ongr had maig had b rpacd forvr: fromhn on h frs Commandm wod conss i lettingoneself be loved by h Fahr.

was a w word, a word o srpris and csay, ohappinss and drunknss, a word "discovrd" and

291



led b s omal e diee ou, a wod ha coudbe expessed b ese wods AllisLoe Jesus el eallloed ad compleel beaed Loe libeaes om eaOe wo eels loed does o kow ea

e ae ook he iiaie he oeed Himsel ad

se Himself comleel o Jesus; Jesus espoded, opeedHiel, ad suedeed Himsel compleel o e ahe e wo gazed a eac ohe wi a look o loe Tisgaze was like a clea lake i which e wo los emseles,a embace i wich eeyhig was commo ad saed,eeig was gie ad eeyhig was eceied, all was

ommucaed wodlessl I was somehig idescibable, like music comig om aohe wold

ligh o is expeiece, Jesus aalzed His suoudigs ad oud ha he mos beauiul higs o hewold, suc as spig, chldood, mohehood i sho,eeig a sigiies loe ad lie is oig moe

a e oelow o he iexhausible iali o e Oewho is o ae bu aehood, a usoppable cascadeo all lie ad all loe AllisLoe AllisGace

God alead as a ew ame om ow o He will obe called Yawe He will be called ae because He is soclose, poecs, caes o, udesads, ogies, woies

om ow o, adoaio does o osis i coeig oe'sees ad ace wi oe's ads bu i suedeig oe'ssel i ucodiioal ad iiie us o e allpoweul ad ede hads o He who, oee, is ad will becalled ou dear Father

292

aheYou who ie loe ad haesswhe o he eah e so shouad he assos .You ho sa ha I shoud shae eeygg omleely he seg o you hldeshow me yo eae

Guide me o ha ds aeawhee a ao ee



whee wod, mle and eace bd foth,whee eveythg hanebecae eveyg hane ove, om whch I wa o! Begon)

Jeu now poee the matuty of the golden wheatWe can imagine Him a an adult man of twentyeght yeaof age. He i a fountan of peace. A filled aby Thepeence of the Mot Hgh appea though H hand, Hieye, Hi mouth

The owth of Jeu doe not end hee In the Spit,

thee ae no boundaie Bette, Je boke all boundaeWth Hi entive temeament and H pedlectionfo the thng of God, ubmeged each tme moe feqently and moe deeply in H oltay enconte withthe Fathe, Jeu contnue alng at full ail in the wateof tendee and love Confdent n the Fathe, bondaieand contol ae lot One tep and then anothe towadtotal uende

d o, one day I do not know if it wa at night caied away by the dizzine, in the fullne of the dunkenne om the team of delght . . a completely tangewod ecaped Hi mouth, candalzng the theology andpublc opinon of Iael: bba whch mean 0 dea Fathe.

With th, we have eached the hghet peak of eligou expeience. Joachm Jeemia, wting in he entralMessage of the N estament comment on th:

It wa ometng ne omehng ne and nheadof, hat Je daed to take th te and to eak wh God

a a chld eak wth h fathe mly, ntmately,ecely Thee no dobt then that the bba wch Jee to adde God eveal the vey ba of h commnion wth God . bba a an adde to God sma voxan athentic and ognal tteance of Je, mle thecam of a ne evelaon and a ne athoty .. Weae confonted wth ometng new and ead of whchbeak togh the lt of Jdam Hee we who thehtoca e wa: the man who had the powe to

293



ass o as Abba a who iclu sirs a thubcas i th kgo b auhog h o ratts o wor Abba ar Fahr

e aer loves me

ow, s Now sus ca strik out o th roasa moutais, to roclai a aouc th latest bulletin ws that H discovered a liv i th silt ars oHis outh: God-is-Father If o is allowrl H is asoallovig f with His has H hols th worl with thossam has H taks a rotcts m.

B ight H watchs ovr sl a b a Haccomais whrvr I go Wh ol colasaig I am alo i th worl th Fathr rsos Doo b aai, for I a with ou Is 410 W iiviuals lamt, saig No o lovs th Fathr aswrs Ilov ou Is 434 H is closr to tha ow shaowH taks btr car of ha h os ovig othrThr is owhr ca bco los for whrvr go Hgos wth m

Furthror, it is a l giv lov Th fact that Hlovs m os ot o whthr or ot srv itwhthr I a just or ujust Th Fahr lovs fr. Hurstas m bcaus H kows vr w of what soil a ma, a H forgivs uch or asil tha forgiv mslf H has o rasos for lovig . I agracious o who I a gracious a I tak it o thos owhom I ak it (Ex 3319 H lovs bcaus H lovs H is sil Fahr Dos a othr look for reasonsfor lovig hr chil?

I am ot h th rouct of a assbl i I a thcarl sig work of a artisa was cociv itt b ov a I was born i i though ov Froth bgiig a forvr, I a frl lovd b FahrBlssd b th o a Fathr of our or sus Christ

294



e mer Faer and e God wo ives every possibleenouaemen 2 or )

To ove d e oved

never ire of repea o love God is diffiul almosimpossible To love our neibor is even more diffiul Buwen we are won over by e love of e Faer ere is heunonanable desire o rea ou to love. A is ime olove God will no only be easy bu almos inevable Even

more we will feel e insane desire o mee someoneanyone alon e innumerable roads of he world o reahem as e Faer as reaed us and o mae ohershappy as e Faher has made us happy

Ony ose who are loved are able o love Only he freeare able o liberae Only e pure puri and he only ones

who an sow peae are hose who have iSomeone who is loved is no old o love Whouanyone ellin a person an nesapable fore brngs hmo undersand forive aep gaer and ae are of allhe orpans wo wal e earh i need of happiness andlove

For me here is e mysery of esus esus was ha onewho in His youh lived an nense experiene of heFaher

During hose years He fel dn wih he warm andininie enderness of he Faher On he ousrs of Nazareh in e ills surounding he villae he son of Mary

fel a ousand and one imes loved enveloped andpeneraed y a loving Presene and as a resul of his Heexperiened vividly wha i means o be free and happy

Afer ha e ould no be onained was impossiblefor Him o remai in Nazareh He needed o leave and ogo ou ino e world o reveal he Faer o sou o hefour wnds he grea news of love and o mae all peoplehappy

And He wen everywhere liberaed and liberaor

295



love lover to relte wit oters s te ter drelte to Him

I ve love youjust s te ter s loved me. (J 159

How oes oe recocile tt s ee sid ere witte fct tt Jesus lso So of Go? I sk myself Willyoe ever e le to kow tt? Te Mystery is completely eyo us. We oly kow tt He ws lso completel te so of My

The ne who reveals the ather

Now Jesus egis to lift te veil revel te fce ofte ter We ve te impressio tt te Reveler feels

icple of trsmttig wt He "kows Like populrrrtor wo resses gret truts i simple clotig Jesususes ftsy ivets prles d compsos givigepltios from turl peome d wys of life Butfter ll tis we re left wit te ie tt te relity issometig else tt Jesus s cut Himself sort His epe

riece ws so log d wide d te um wor is sosortHve you ever see ugy cld sk is fter for

piece of red e give stoe isted? Or if esoul sk for piece of cooked fis will is fter giveim ske isted wic will ite im poiso im

ll im? You wit ec oter re cple of ytg. Butwit you cilre you re lwys ki d geerous tellyou f you i spite of te d leve ti you tret yourlittle oes wt suc tederess ow muc more teerlywill your ter tret you? If you oly kew ..

I kow im well so c gurtee Ask seekkock t te door I ssure you tt te door will e opeedto you you will d wt you seek you will receive wtyou eed. Yes. Before you eve ope your mout He

296



alead kows wha ou eed Befoe ou hae goe omee Him, He has spe a log ime i comig o mee ou.If ou o kew .

W do ou look ahead wih axious ees ad heahea? W do ou shou, Wha ill we ea? Whee ill wesleep? Wee shall we lie? How will he busiess we haejus ake o go fo us? Take cae, es wo, wha fo?Sggle, bu o axiousl Risk ouseles, ogae,wok, bu i peace Peoccupaios? Deposi hem io hehads of he Fahe Sei fo omoow? Be caeulDo place ou s i moe, which is a false god. Le

he Fae be ou o secuiLook a he bids: ih wha o ad abado do he

fl hough he sk I assue ou ha o oe of hese bidsfalls o he goud hug Ye, he ae o like us who, oea a piece of bead, hae o sow, eap, ad gid Thosebids do o wok ad e he ea. Who gies hem foodee da? The Fahe. d how much ae hose bidswoh? bou wele ces d ou, ae ou o wohmoe ha he? e ou o immoal childe of Loe?Wh wo ouseles?

d wha shall we sa abou clohig? Lif ou eesad look a he lilies ow ha i is spigime No eeSolomo, he elega kig, was dessed i such spledo asae hese flowes The do o sew o ki Who cloheshem so beauiull each moig? The Fahe. If he Fahecaes so much fo hese lilies, wich oe da blossom adwihe awa he ex, wha will He o do fo ou, Hischilde? Wha is moe impoa, clohes o he bod? Oh,if ou ol kew he Fahe

The sa ha e daughe of he chief pies of hesagogue had died he sa o o bohe he asebecause i is useless: he gil was alead dead Wha? I isuseless? Ol he So "kows" he Fahe d Jesus saso he cief pies: Look, i would be eough fo ou obeliee i he goodess ad powe of he Fahe, ad oudauge, ude he esuecig had of loe, would come

297



ck o le like lowe wkens om dem Mk552)

* * *

Tee ws once son wo ws s insne s e wsinsolen He wen eoe is e nd sid, Fe, woking like ool o so mny yes on is lnd, you veinesed yo lnds, you ve uil csles, you e pcicly e king o is egion Bu you ve neve enjoyed

single dy s we e men o do I do no wn e smeing o ppen o me Wie m sill young I wn oenjoy le Give me, en, e p o e ineince elongs o me.

And e wen wy o lnd nd pileed is iceson ioous living

en e son elied ene e suce o somuc siscion ee ws well o ininie dissisc-ion, noing could ke e pce o is es ouse,nd wen omesickness nd povey ell upon im, do youknow w inge did He memoied lis ojusiicions nd eued peceully o is es ouseDo you know wy Becuse e knew is e wel

And e ws no ong. T venee mn, wen ews old o is sons eu, jumped up om is ci, ndown e sis, go on is ses ose, wen ou o meee oy, ugged im, kissed im, geed e wokes oe ieds, nd sid o em, "Fiu sevns o my lnd,pepe nque moe splendid n ny is ouse sseen, ecuse is is e ppies dy o my lie; ing gold ing o is nge nd e cloes o pince o isody .

, i you knew e Fe He is ike undesnding, ogiving, kind . ook sun Do you ink e king o e sky sines only on e lnd o e jusT ll o e so gives lie nd spendo o e ields oe ios, is, nd spemes Te Fe is like

298



And e rain? Tank o er e deer are green and eree are aden wi goden ui Do ou ink a ere idiimnaion and a e rain fa o on on e andof e ee? You are miaken I ao fa on e and ofoe wo bribe piage and ake advanage of oer Te

Faer i ike a He reu good for evi If ou onknew Him

One da e wi raie me up on a ro beween

eaven and ea Te un wi abandon me ee wiao abandon me perona preige friend e reu ofm effor I wi be exied rom eve and and from agood ing Bu i doe no maer I no be aonebeaue e Faer i awa wi me (f Jn 8:29}

Te our a ome for wi I ave been ong waiing

I ee e ene a i going o ake pae ike a ok ofigened dove a of ou wi diappear aering in aouand direion ea one ing o ave i own kinou wi a abandon me and I wi be ef a e mer ofe wove And e I am no aone beaue e Faer iwi me (Jn 62}

Ti i e oninua inner ae of Jeu: awa fae ofae wi Hi Faer Te Son ook a e Faer and eFaer ook a e Son and a muua gaze i ran-formed ino a mane of enderne a wrap e wo ininfinie jo Faiure? Agon? Cava? Te orm maamo ouide Teir wind wi no rea e inner ake

exep for a few gu ike e one in GeemaneTi i i eem o me e reaon w Jeu roed eage of Hi aion u digni and peae. Trougou H ife Jeu did nong bu dig an infinie we wiHi ong Faer woud fi ompee

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Br gh

n e upper room, on e nig o His deprure, Jesusws more inspired n ever beore ws s i river d

n over is bnks everying ws looded wi emoion ws brillin nig e Lord opened wide e doors oHis inimcy, nd noing ws seen excep n ininiedwelling o soliude, inbied by only one erson eFer

T ws e reson wy He sid o em, From nowon, c you riends Do you know wy? Becuse riendis e iend o noer wen e rs one sows e seconde secres o His er ve sown you e innermosprs o me nd you ve seen w is e single greessecre o my lie e Fer

And jus s wen person is overpowered by scredobsession, e Mser endlessly repes e nme o Fater:

n my Faters ouse ere re mny rooms m going o e Fater.No one goes o e Fater excep roug mee Fater is greer e vie, e Fater is e vieesser

cme om e Fater nd re o e FaterMy Fater, e o s comeoly Fater, I come o nou noJus Fater, gloriy yo n ..

Never s nyone sid or l sy nme wi sucvenerion, suc enderness, suc dmirion, nd so muclove Will ere ever be conemplive in e world wowil be ble o ell us w sirred in e er o Jesus wenHe repeed nme so mny imes ng? Wo willbe ble o describe e expressiveness o gze, ll odmirion nd love, wen, in cper 7 o Jons Gospel,Jesus lis His eyes o sy His inl pryer?

Te Aposles mus ve seen Him in momen sordin, so brillin, so inebriing. iip, summng up

00



eeigs the rest, s brught t sy, Mster, eugh rs, yu hve lit big fire ithi us e reyig f hmesickess. Lift the vei sh us the Ftheri pers becuse e t t embrce Him

Durig the ys evgelizti, spekig ith such

ispirti, eep esire rse rm the hert the rup t the Fther Becuse this, the brthers i the irstcmmues elt lie pilgrims eighe by hmesickess r the ptel hme, r rm the Lr, like utcsts h rem their hmel (2 Cr 5:0 Pt 2:)ul, the great day of liberation hich is eth, tht

blesse Fce ppers i ll its splerBeeth the metphrs, Jesus presets salvation t us

s perpetu livig i the Fthers huse, hie m-ti is presete s beig let utsie the gle ls tht huse rever

Hell? It is the bsece the Fter: eliess, empti-

ess, ueig esire ese high spiritu cceptsul ever hve bee uerst by the iscipes i theyh t previusy h gret esire r the Fther

Etel ie csists i tht they k Yu, the OeTe G (J 7:). The he prbem svti mti revlves ru the bsece r presece the

FtherShe? Aihiti? Nthigess? N Deth is jiig i yur msters hppiess (Mt 25:2) Heve?Heve the Fther the Fther is heve The Fther'sHuse? The Huse is the Fther the Fther is the HuseThe hme? The Fther is the etire hmel

Jesus Nzreth? He s the Oe set t reve theFther t us, t rete t everye s the Fther retet Him

3. JESS SRRENDERS

e g ithi Jesus, i e esce t the utis His pers eplre the impuses tht re the rigi

0



of His ininaions and aspiraios, His ieos addesires, ad, above al, if e begi o look for he secre keyha expains His moral greaess, e ill fid ohig elsebu sud fufiling he il of His Faher

H food and breah The il of he Faher

susais ad gves meang o His life He lived like a smallhappy child, carried in he arms of His Faher My delighis o do your l; yo la, my God, is deep i y hears 40)

aer e ll see ho his ucondiioal aiude osurrender he origin of ha eergy, joy, ad securiy ih

hich e see Him lig and acig We ill also have osee ha his same srreder srogly enriched His perso-aliy, makig Him a soud iess o God, full of gradeurand courage Surreder, i he ed, is he primary spiriualaiude of he Gospel

offer

For Jesus surrender mea leavig His o ieressaside and deliverig Himself o he Oher, cofidelyplacing His head ad His life i he hads of His beloved

FaherThe ac of surreder is, he, a rasmissio of domia-io, a givig of he " o a "Thou" I is a acive gesurebecause here is a oal offerig of our o ill o he illof he loved one

does no mea resigig ourselves o he faeful

march of evens To surreder is o deliver orselves ihlove o Someone ho loves us ad hom e love, adbecause e love ha Someoe, e surreder

The rs geeraio of Chrisias sa Jesus primarilyas he Serva of God, ha poor one o God, filled ih hespiriualiy of he anaim,· ho did o ask or quesio,

Transars ne w s a Hebrew erm referrng e wdwse pans, e pr, and e meess a se w ae n nd

302



o did o ei o omplai u o uedeed, iilee ad peae, o e pla o e Lod a maieted ie eve o ioy Aodig o a aeme, eu dido ome pimaily to evageize, ot eve to edeem, utae o ig e ill o e Fae o ulillmet R

oug Hi o ill o ake o he il o te Fate,Jeu a lieaed om Himel Feed om Himel, Hea made Lieao.

I am a Seva eaue, "By myel a do oig" (J530). am o a leade. am Se I ao take eiiiaive am o a popet o a meege, o eve a

edeeme am impy a umiive ad oedie So ama "ale, a "aetio," pemaely ope o a myFate deie eaue o i aoe ave I ee e (J638)

he Fae love me eaue do Hi il ( 1017)Hee i e omplee mytey o a unng relatonshpetee he So ad e Fathe thee eit eee eto a oa ageemet o ill eaue they love eah oteo mu ad ey love ea oe o mu eaue tatageeme o ill ei I a od, he aial ove adthe emoioal love meet ad ae equaed

Ad liked y te hai o oe uiied il, e toive ove ad tedee eipoaly, ot oy i te eet-e o itimay ut alo i time o ight ad pai (Mt2637) Ad o, e eet od bba 0 ea Fathe aielely epeated o e Mout o Olve, o he ig oe geat et, i a mome o teo ad auea "Aa . . oyou eveytig i poie ake hi up aay om meBu et it e a you, ot , oud have (Mk 14:36)

Aodig to oe hoo o Citology, te elaio-hip o Jeu th Hi Fathe a aied o i a highyemotioal ate i eome evide i e look at theGope paage ad te peoaity tuue o thi ameeu eve t o epeatg the apaty o eieveo aiia ove i i pootio to thei emotoa apa-ity, e thi i popey haele eu heoiay

303



too on s Fathers ll t as due to that current otends rlatng beteen the to o the

Master eat soethng because surely you ust behungry t s true that a hungry but have ood ohch you do not kno My day bread s the ll o yFather (n 4:34) That bread sustans e

nd that ll s aested n sall everyday detals

Today Jesus attends a eddng party ute naturalyThere e ngles th sple people and shares thehappness o everyone e next day e spends the holeday alng to Capeau long the road e heps thesheen tal to the pubcans pardons the snner playsth the chldren Today e orres about those thhungry stoachs Toorro He ll orry abou thoseth hunger o heart lays cal stng treess com-pletely surrendered nto the ovng and beloved hands os Father esus s a happy Son am ree because amopen Thy holy ll be done on earth n heaven andeverhere! lorfy your Nae 0 Father!

Rudol Butann the renoned Scrpture schoarrote

304

For m od s no an objec o hought o speclaonod s to h neher a eahyscal enty nor a cosmcer nor a a o e verse bu ersona hoyand graous

Jesus seaks o od only o a ha man s camedby he l o od and deened hs resen exsenceough od's demand hs judgmen hs grace

e dsant od s a e same me he od near ahand hose reay s no ased hen a man seeks oescae o hs on concee exsence bu precselyhen e hods as

He bngs the message o he comng ngdom and ohe l o od He seaks o od n seag o man and



hwg tht e d the l h dec,h lmed by d

en he dcpe wh hd gne pepe the wy Jeu wee expelled m Sm, h me, he ed

wll etnce ppeed, demdng evege d eYu n knw wht yu e yng t the pt my he h peks m yu muh, but he evl pt bee d n cme t dey bu bud mythe pe the etce Sm, we cn ehe wd evenge Ret? N Suende (k 9:55)

Jelem, Jelem, yu wh kl the pphet !Jeu bek d emny (Mt 2:27) Ju eppe n the Gpel, Jeu the e wh e nt hvehe le cnde mel nd cpbe beng ey n mse Eely, e p het: eh n penl teet de e ede hmge

wn mge Becue h e w ee, ghuly eeBecue th, t, e lwy pceeded wthut pt-cl mve nd eve cted ut ccut lke me-ne kng the upp he e e w unbetbe,becue n he gme le e eve bet yhg be-cue e hd nthg; e bet eveythg, th , the

Othe e eded w t: cuced d ejected e e nw, t nt mel bu he the, beeWhm he cptl cty hd ubby ced t d

Well, hen, weepng d d, Jeu de t ce t cud them d e, bu the uende n teke l chld ced wth the mptece dve pwe

Wht tht, Pete? Ogzg med etcegt the ttckg tp I wted , ght w, wuld hve pweu eg gel wh, n t,wuld nnhte th hndul mecee But hwmy e d hve t e yu ht wh ee ethg, nd wh t ee que he Wh yu eehee cmpced egplcmty mxue p-mted by uted nd eetul pe lke CphTh he uce, he ppece The ty whch

05



alwas hdden behind what ou see is the will o mFather who permits this sequence o eents that are alreadoretold in the Scriptures Put awa our sword, Peter. Andwe are going to surrender to the Father's plan (Mt 2652)

And, tuing to the assailants, He sas, You are armedto the teeth, as i ou were going to capture a world amouscriminal n the temple, when I was speaking, ou were themost ardent listeners, and ou neer dared to touch me,een with a rose petal Now, howeer, ou dare. You donot kow wh things happen this wa. do know: romancient times, m Father decided that eerthing would

happen this wa and it sas so in the Scriptures Put downour swords there is no resistance here delier msel toou oluntaril (Mt 26:55)

Teaching one da in apharnaum, His relaties arriedand told Him, Listen, our mother and our brothers areoutside asng or ou esus replied, M mother? Who ism mother? All o ou are m mother I tell ou, all whotake the will o m Father serousl realize in that hecompleteness o blood relations Te will o the Father isthe coon ground (Mk 331)

On the last da, old riens will come bangng on theoors and shouting, Lor, Lord, open to us the gates oParadise because we ate an drank with ou e willanswer them, The gates o Paradise will not be opened tothose who call out but onl to those who quietl accept thewill o m Father (Mt 7:2)

306

In On Being ristian ans Kng stats that

s s the coon enomnaor of the Sermon on theMout s e tme for reatvzng Goswl s past What s requre s not pous enthusasm orpure nterorty, but obeence n sposton an eeMan hmsef must accept hs responsbty n face of thecosey approachng Go. Ony through resoutey, unre-servey ong Go's w oes man come to share thepromses of the ngom of Go



Preude

Thus did Jesus speak And He lied that wa, too. nHis final das, howeer, Jesus suffered a crisis, a prelude to

the great crisis He would hae to experience on the darkght in ethsemane. t was the da follong the solemnentr into Jerusalem The reeks, from the Diaspora, wanted to interiew Him. The Master went off into strangemetaphors. He said, for example, that to lie one had to die,that the life of the wheat is bo om the death of the grain.

And suddenl, the shier, like a death squad, oerpow-ered His heart for a moment He was scared. He waeredFor a moment He was taken aback It was a momentarcrisis

This moment of confusion is reported in the Gospel ofohn (22728). Probabl, John who does not record the

crisis in ethsemane paces here the snthesis of thatbigger isis Be that as it ma, in the two erses, fourscenes are alteated, with four opposing reactions Thecontradiction took possession of Jesus' spirit and disinte-grated it t was the crisis of contradiction

Now m so is roubledWhat shall I saFather, sae me from ths hour?But t is for ths er reason hat I hae come to is hoFather, glor our name n :78)

n the disturbance, the following takes pace Anthingthreatened pleads th its owner, saing, Defend me Thenthe oer releases energies for the defense of the propertThis is he disturbance Our first and foremost propert islife. Feeling His life threatened, Jesus is troubed.

n the second scene, the face of fear appears among theclouds to hae to die The unknown The absurd: a lifeended in such a wa, almost without meaning, before Histime t was too much! s there no other wa for salation?

07



Wh does it hae to be this partilar cup? Free me omthis hour at least, postpone it

Then, like someone waking from a nightmare, bathedin perspiration, Jesus opens is ees, shakes is head as ifto wipe out the bad dream, and that word fals whichechoes in is innermost depths: Remember, son of Mar,for this came, now is m hour

d, freed from fear and breathing caml, e iftedis ees to sa, Yes, Father! Th wil be done. Ma ourName be gorified

No one takes my life from me

What happened in esus soul during the time of isPassion? the scenes unfoded, would esus hae suf-

fered some disma as e was taken from tribunal totribuna? When the sentence was pronounced You wibe ccified would esus hae had some remorse, likesomeone who sas What a shame If had not committedthat foolish act, if had not hured those curses, would I bein this situation right now? ..

umanl speaking, could esus hae aoided death?oud e hae interrupted the chain of eents? When efet the approach of is persecutors, wh did e not escapeto the Golan eights or to the mountains of Samaria? Didesus ack a defense sateg, retreat tactics, sense of direction, or mabe a certain counsel? Is it that, mabe, theused a surprise tactic on im and, when e realized it,the were aread near, leaing im no chance for escape?

Bethan, a few kiometers from the capital, was it apace of rest or a refuge from the detecties of the Sanhe-drin? Wh did e not sta quiet during those last fewweeks? Sensing the bitterness of the Sanhedrin againstim, wh did e not go to Galiee for a whie, untilfeelings calmed down? Wh did e continue to antagonizeand de the authorities, right up to the last minute? When

308



aiaphas and Pilate both inited im to defend imselfwh did e remain silent?

* * *

What reall happened? Was it a normal and fataldeelopment of historical eents or a ee and olutardesion on the part of Jesus? Did the get im or did elet imself be gotten?

Let me explain e rier of histor falls from faraboe from the tie of esus' birth carring th itconcrete factors: the ups and downs of Israel's poicalsituation Roman imperialism the personalities of suchpeople as aiaphas and Judas initiaties of the compro-mising politics of the Sanhedin etc lof these factors ina blind combaon were rolling along like the waters of a

stream carrng Jesus and dragging im to is death Wasthat it?

l of that certainl existed But th this aone therewoud hae been no redemption It was necessar thatJesus accept freel and ountari all of this ose eentswere histo but not salvation histo For there to besalation esus had to form a soul to fit those externaeents.

Either historical fatalit and death destroed esus oresus destroed death. Feeling cosed in and lost esuscoud hae resisted defending imsef e coud hae

died swearing against the Sanhedrin In that case therewoud hae been no salation esus could hae looked atthe facts om a sociopolitica perspectie sang Eerthig began with the jealous reaction of a fstrated manike aiaphas was completed b the coward reaction of atimid man like Pilate and eerthing was combined b thefact that m death would bring good political benefits for afew people f Jesus had looked at things this wa ewoud hae felt wrapped up an destoed b the blin

09



fate of stor and there would not hae been the slghtestbit of salaon in it at all

But t was not so. esus did not fx Hs gaze onphenomena but on reality He did not anale facts superfciall but, behind the stream of eents, He saw the face of

the Father He did not gie homage to the facts but onl tothe wl of the Father n absolute terms, the Father couldhae intepted the chain of eents and stopped thmarch of histor f He did not do so, it was because Hewanted eerthing to follow its course and He wanted HisSon to disappear, burned on the pre of a disaster

The difference between blind fate and redeptedeath was that esus had to see (or not see) the will of theFather in eerthing and aept it (or not)

Faced with gien facts or with ineitable stuatons which human bengs can do nothing, esus sees and acceptthe wil of the Father With this attitude, esus is lberated

from fear and is made Liberator As Paul will tell us, esusdelered Himself, submissie and obedent unto deat,death on a cross Becae of this, esus was not onlliberated om death but receed the title of Liberator ofHumant and Lord of the Unierse n ths wa, esuscompleted Hs mission and transformed hstorcal eents

into a decisie stage for the kingdo of od

The queston could esus hae aoided death? s

not important to us f He could hae aoided death anddd not, He let death oerpower Him without een lookngfor it There are man passages in the ospel that confirmthe impression that He did not want to aoid death, as wehae said aboe For example, the fact that He contnued tode authorit to the end and, instead of turning His heelson the battle, fleeing t other proinces, He remanedwhere He was, wthin the reach of His persecutors He didnot open His mouth to defend Himself at the two opportu

30



nites He was gen to do so, ging the impression that itdid not matter to H that He was going to die

Howeer, that was not what was important. at wasdese was sometng else He could, or coud not, haeaoded death, but He oluntarl dies anwa because He

accepted all that happened, considerng it to be an expres-sion of the Fathers wll The ineitable or gen facts werenot or Hm as if He were a powerless ictim the had noeffect on Him because He did not resist He deieredHimself nonolentl to the olence of the eents, gingHimself up peacel and silentl into the hands o the

One who permitted eerthing to happenBecause of this, esus crossed the stage o is Passionwith dignit and peace The our eangeists abound indetails, conirmng this impression And i we were tosnthesize all those details, and i this snthesis were to beexpressed in a painting, we would hae the amous paint-

ing o Velazquezs hrtThat painting is the historical and pictorial answer tothe question about the oluntar nature o the Passion onthe part o esus: with open arms, deiered into the hanso the world, into the hands of humanit, into the hands ofGod, srendered, asleep, dead satisied? Yes, with the

satsaction of haing given is all There is in that face, halcoered with black hair, with ees cosed, an infinite peace,an imperturbable serenit, how do we sa it? A strangesweetness ertal this ead man has not ought withdeath Here there has been no strugge or resistance Oerthe top o the oss, we could put the sign, MissionAccomplished Ad that other inscription, No one takes[m lie] from me I a it down o m own ree wil . thisis the command I hae receied rom m Father (n 0:7)

3



e ea ss

the attitde of sender, maintained without fail byJesus thoghot His whole life, there was one powerul

and emoonal fallroughout His life, Jesus had bee the faithful an

complete response of the Son to the Father He was the"faitl" ad "e wiess" (Rv :4) am always stckby the way the author of the Letter to the Hebrews presentsJesus as the model of fidelity in the st of fraily an the

temptations that surround Him, an that also surround us.He ivites us to have "or eyes xe on Jesus" (Heb 22)."Remember how He edured the opposition of siers thatyou may not grow desponent or abandon the strugge"(Heb 2:)

Jesus, then, began by traveling along all huma aths tothe end, except for the path of sn e was "put to the test inthe exact same way we are, apart from sn" (eb 4:5 Wehave, then, a Brother to whom it cost a great dea to becompletely faithf to the Father, an that is an enormousconsolation for us.

Being more human, e eprved mself of the ivnegory, that glory which He ha before the wor exsted n7:5). With the act of the Incarnation, He renounced all ofthe advantages of being God and sbmitted imsef to thedisadvatage of being hman. He experienced the sametaons such as the law of cause and effect, the laws ofspace, the law of mediocrity, the aw of loneliness, an theaw of death

In short, He accepte mself as a human beng; ane accepte imself wthout reservations or compensa-tions, wthout recourse to His iviny n moments of nee.e never took advantage of is ivne power for is ownuse; He did, however, o so for the use of ohers e wascompetely aith to humanty e never "beraye" ishuman condiion. A of ths s relected when the Scrip

2



ures s h esus "desceded" he cdii f sle,he sme s her hum beig (Pl 2:5.

Bu i s hum experiece, Jesus lcked he msbier drik: deh

There is grce i sdig erec like splig clm fe The meri i fihfuless lies i remiigsdig he he ids bl iel Ad i s hisime, i he hur f he Gre Tes, he Jesus surredered he ll f he Fher, purel d rdicll, ihureseri r hesii I s he mme f umsfihuless.

I Gehseme, esus s rsfrmed i he gratmisrabl on, he sese f e lde ih eerhum miser, bu i he sese f e h experieced hemiser f ling human he pi f he ulime humekess, he pi f feeig crdice, use, dcrdici He desceded he les leels f he

hum cdiiHe disiguished beee is h ere ile

ppsed ech her esus cme be, i h mme, bleeld here gizig frces crried u heirfil sruggle: h I " d "h Yu .

Befre esus iid d sesiie imgii, hereppered he fce f deh, er cse beer, he fer fdeh

is es herize bu deh d csrucbeuiful phisphies he i is ihi sigh mighls be h deh iself is cm, smehig ihsubsce, like he rd nothing u e re he es hgie life deh, llig his empiess ih ur fers dfsies. Yes We re "liig deh Gehseme, Jess"lied deh

Al h lies egeble, iml, hum beig hsmechisms f selfpreseri I is isic f preseri, perfu defesie frces, sger i he imlh i he pl, d much srger i hums h iimls iml, ce i hs begu he prcess f deh,

33



lets itsel die, it does ot resist, it is sued out like acadle death is realied that aimal

Agoy exists oly i huma begs, because we arecosous o death ad resist it (Oly humas di Aimasr ll For may, le is a slow agoy, especially i the

later years, because they live domiated by earO the other had, death is a ukow ad the mid

aways ears what is ot kow Death cuts o or goodcertai ice thigs to be able to ejoy the joy o thissushie, o this sprg (ow that sprig has come, I musdie oe perso said to me), o this iedship, o the

appreciatio o so may rieds to be able to dream, to beable to make others happy, to be able to see or reae oamily, rieds . I short, it is he Great Goodbye I ameavig, ad o oe ca come th me

Oce dead, the iividual suers othig o his goo-bye It is while he perso lives tha we cotiue o "ive"

the uprootig o every goodbye A jus as ear is adeese o propery, a deat causes al property toescape our grasp, it is atura ta e eaess o eatshould be te cause o the greatest ear, which is ohigmore tha the maximum release o eergy to ee thegeeral owership o lie

Jesus lived al o this i Gehsemae; but He ive i ihigh gr because here were other cirmstaces that cametogether to make this deparure eve more hearreig.

Whoever aces te closeess o eath, as Jesus id,must create the cosoaio that may peope are goig obe aected by ha deat, ta tey will lame i a ta

they will cry over i The loeliess o dea may bepartially relieve by this sese o soiariy h ohersBut i Jesus' case there was o soiarity, bu rae

hostility ad idierece I His case, e majoriy werehappy or remaied iieret a example o e laergroup, there were His disciples, peaceully aseep as Hewe throug His tragic agoy Ayoe, i these circumsaces, must eel compleely uhappy ad miserable Howcould oe ot eel isgust a ausea?

4



Furtermore, tis woe ting appears absurd. f takets tter cup, wt sweat and bood, to save tem, and ifsavaon means noting to tem, if tey do not evenrecognie it or fee tankfu for it, ten we are at te eigtof te ridicuous t a eess sacrifice!

. .

Te New Testament presents us wit tat batte en-cosed in a iving context tat is extremey frigtening. Te

pysicianevangeist tes us of te sweating of bood, apenomenon wic sence tes us is caed htidrsisTe eart is a powerfu musce tat as as its function tepumping of bood. t is covered wit fibrous motor nervesust to keep it in constant motion. Wen we reac a igyemotiona situation, tat nobe musce may begin to pump

so vioenty and rapidy tat it can break capiaries, pro-dung te sweating of bood Tis, ten, is a pysicapenomenon tat is noting more tan a distant eco of aneevated interior state.

Te etter to te ebrews gaters, preserves, andrecords a very emotiona account of Jesus peading wit te

Fater on tat gt, wit oud cries and wt tears (eb57). Mark informs us tat e invoked God wt te wordAbba, e most tender of expressions (Mk 4:6). AndMattew adds tat e fe on is face and prayed (Mt26:9) Tis is strange, because te ews aways stood wiepraying. Tis posiion coud be interpreted as meaning tate ad been sck down as if by a srong wnd Wounderstands ts mysterious combination crying and waiing ike a cid, but wit words of tendeess, saken andstck down by frigt?

Te soptc Gospes give us a te caracteristics ofagony Jesus says e fees sorrow (Mt 267) One wodoes not want to die is, above a, in agony e is in terrorof deat. Te evangeists use te word distrss (Mk 4Mt 267), wic means te same ting. At te same time,

5



one wo s n agony feels so bad pyscay and psycoog-cally a e desre o go on lvng s los He s red of feck or nauseaed we commonly say If He does no wano lve f He does no wan o de e one n agony s adsnegraed beng pulled by opposg forces n oppose

drecons.mply and essenally s was e case of Jesus on

a ng a beng brually pulled n wo drecons byconradcory forces "wa I wan" and "wa You wan."

A rs "wa I wan" was nng All of e ques-ons rose up n e name of reason pey and common

sense e voce of Jesus came om e deepes par ofHm I came from Hs you wen so many opes snedbefore Hm... Wy Holy aer a useess and meanngessend Wy Lfe was so ce aer I fe so appy makngoers appy and now You ake away e oy of sarngappness Wy We may ose baes and s wn e war;

we may also wn bales and lose e war and You pu men s corner w no aeaves y Don' You loveme Are You no my aer Is no e a You can doanyng Can' You replace s cup w anoer oneWy does ave o be this one

d so e voces of proes emerged bu n e end I

do no kow were Jesus found e seng o do awayw all of ose voces He sad My aer up o now ave spoken only fools words eer ye was no I wospoke was e "fles." u now yes now I am gong ospeak my word N, t what want! Ys, t what Yu want!

e synopc ospels make a pon of e fac a Jesus

repeaed he same words many mes We may ave belefs;bu wa s mporan s a ese reac e emoonadeps were decsons are bo I s also possble aJesus was experencng complee ardy on a ng andso He needed o repea e same words many mes

Jesus never reaced as grea a saure as n a mo-men "accepng dea dea on a cross (Pl 28) ddened w "wa e aer wans" He delvers Hmself peacefuly no e ands of Hs execuoners.

6



Wat coel i e age give (k 22:43)? I wolvetre to iterpret tat cee i it pycopirita eee reite te Fater propoitio wit weat a

bloo It i eve poible tat at ome poi He togttat He a ooliy rike Hi lie or example wit Hicriticim agait te Saeri or wi Hi iervetio ite Temple Bt ta wa over. Tere wa o ecape

Fiay e abaoe Hi reitace a rreere Hime like a obeiet c wit te e i be

oe a Yo wil. A Hi rreer wa iberatio romae a agi (Mt 2637) at proce i Hi ote ormal it o every rreer peace coolaiocalm a above al a iite atiacio o avig oee preme act o ove.

We ao ee tat avig bee a cowar i te prece-

ig cee om te momet He rreer to te wi ote Fater He rie tregtee corageo ereeavailable to te oter i te iiclt time to come Healoe i calm we He i corote by e troop armewit ck wor a pear ( 183). Sc ereity lette troop atoe ( 186)

From ti mome i He ie o te cro e ii e aa o ma iory a iqe cae o graerHe appear a a tota oerig o love We i o trace obitere o compai; e croe e age wio rei-tace t iiite peace wit a beatabe ereityrreere like a mble ci ito e a o Hi

belove Fater i te mi o a to o lap ilt awippigTey wear at Him He oe ot ee Hime Tey

ilt Him He oe ot repo. Tey it Him: He oeot proe. Face wit c majety e jge appear tobe te acce a Hi ilece appear a teir ge ikea lamb beore te lagter like a eep carrie away to bekie Je i carrie by e orm coiioaly acoiely rreere to e pla o Hi belove Faer

317



unl, like the sbol o surrender that was His whole lie,He ends b saing, Father, into or hands I coit spirit (Lk 2346)

Joy d appess

Surrendered into the hands o His Father, His liecontnues to be happ and jol, in spite o the hostilitiesand ailures id great diicltie, He lies a proondand inectious peace

n pace I e dow and at once all aslpor i is o and noe oher Yahweh ho ae ere (P 49)

b happiness we understand the nperturbable se-

reit o soeone who is aboe all the changes in li, wecan a that Jesus was happ, jolOne o His constant thees, when He spoke priatel

with the disciples, is the jo that illed His heart as a resulto the willingness and trust with which He srrendered toHis Father's will.

Do not be araid, do not let our hearts be troubled, liecontent and happ or a going to beloed Father n1428) want ou to share jo and happiness just as theFather is alwas with e and because o this lie happil, wod like ou to share that sae happiness n 16:1224)

Shalo a e o total blessing is what He leaes

the as their inheritance Peace beqeath to ou, own peace gie ou n 1427) He had alwas liedsurrounded b that peace (happiness) Leaing it like thegreatest treasre eans that His own had seen (with adi-raon?) Hi le n that serene jo, and it is gien to theas an inheritance, but on condition that the also lie inthat sae state o aith and tsting surrender in the handso the Father Onl once does Mark record a gesture oipatience: How long?" 919)

318



Hee he paca geaness of Jesus and of aChsans he ay o ve n he mds o a and fauewh a sp wh seeny and cam, he ay o epofody happy g n he face of advesy hs s hemos decous u of sensng ha God s Fahe and o

vng sendeed n Hs essed handsReman my ove as eman n he cae o my Fahe,

ha my joy may e n you and ha you joy may ecompee Now come o You, my Fahe, and say hesehgs o hem ha hey may aso have my joy whn hem(Jn 73) ha s o say ha he pupose of Hs e has een

o make a shae n Hs poound happess

Leng Hmsef e caed he Fae, esus oazaeh has acqued a unque moa saue, ecomgan ncope wness o e Fahe, u o ne eedom

By he auho wh wch e eaces, e ank-ness wh whch e speas wh eds and eemes ake, Hs acons a a mes whou egad o pesonaaccepance, whou fea o osg Hs e, wou desngpesona hoo, esus s a vaan ma

We ac wh soveegn when we ae fee Wen weae fu of sefnees, hen nsecu and eas ake hodand make o ou fe a eggg o pesge ad oo oohes, depvng us o feedom.

We see Jesus pooud fee ecause we do no seem anxous ee s no need o esashg o decags deny o saus e sp pesens Hsef, nohngoe and nohng ess, as e Sea o he Fahe and ohumany He s fee ecause e as o pesona neesse has no coe o domnae u o seve and o do he wo s eoved Fae

usng, ong, suedeed no he ands o sFae, e ouses he a e deves se wou

1



regard His pes ad wih regard fr everyeelse

He feels ree serve everye whu mralisicprejudices be hey pagas r prsiues siig a he able publcas ad sers He feels ee serve everye

whu aialsic prejudices he Rmas as well as heceuris he Samarias wh were csidered be"hereics" he pagas f Tyre ad Sid ad CaesareaPhilipp He was decidedly fr he pr bu ree als bewih he ich He was decidedly fr he humble bu He wasee aed he Pharisees ad he Sahedri lie

Nicdemus ad Jseph f imaheaJesus was a pliia," much less a diplma e

ever wred ih a "bias," wih prudece," r by humacalculais Oherwise He wd have died i bed iseadf a crss His hr ad His life did maer lyhe gly f H belved Faher He played he hil ad

e was csiseis w adversaries a perfec psychlgical ph-graph f im Maser we w ha yu are ruhfuad ha yu are afraid f aye acig u fhuma respec bu each Gds way f life sicerely (M2:14).

Spral chldhood

he Miguel de Uamu died, amg he mauscrips fud his des were hese verses

32

ide he dr, Faher,fr I ca eerYu made i fr cdread I have rw upIf yu d wde e drhave py ad ae e saeTae me bac a ae wch ve was drem



Ncodemus, a sncere man but comtted to s caste,asks Jesus or a secret ngttme appontment Master, weknow at you ave come rom God" a good Parsee,e was a specalst n te Scrptures, but e sees n Jesussomeone wo "knows" tngs n anoter way, and e asks

Hm or sometng le a secret recpe, a basc and complee atttude or enterng te Kngdom

We speak o wat we "know" n 3:11), says esusEssentally, esus teaces wat He as prevously experenced, te lvng and reveang o te Abba, makng ourselves ltle and reng to te Fater's arms one s to be

bon again n 3:7) We ave to retu to cdood, eelngsmall and elpless, dependng on an Oter or everytngand courageously tstng n te nnte ove o te ost-ovng Fater Ts s wat te rst Beattude says and onyto suc as tese s te kngdo promsed

Wat s tat? Retu to te oter's womb? asks

Ncodemus Wat? You are a doctor and you don't know tose

tngs?rony as a certan strangeness about t esus s payng

wt te word know," and tat s te key Te tngs o tesprt cannot be known" tey ave not been "exper-

enced Sant Francs sad, "One ony knows wat one asexperenced" And te strange recpe or savaton tatesus reveals to Ncodemus rebrt s ony known" t as been experenced n te ntacy o te beoveFater Oterwse, t s notng ore tan an unbearabeparadox

To be saved, accordng to esus s to graduay become achd To te wsdom o te word ts s sometng com-petely strange because t pes an nverson o valuesan udgments In uman e, accordng to psycology, tesecret o maturty (savaton s n gradually gettng away

321



frm maternal dependence and an ther attachment, untiwe arrive at cmplete independence and the abilit tstand n ur wn tw eet.

Hwever in Jesus' plan, a veritable Cpeican revlutin, salvan cnsists in becming mre and mre de

pendent, nt standing alne but supprted b the Other inwrking nt n ur wn initiative but n that the Other,and in a gradual pressin tward an identicatin, until i it can be dne we cease t be urselves and are onewith d because lve is uniing and identiing inshrt t live the Other's lie and the Others spirit This

dependence, curse, is tmst libert, as will be seenshrtlThrse Lisieux sas:

We e kep ie e eie essad expe eveg e gdess d exaas a ile child expes eveig is ae Ngies us eve e aassig spial ies .

Beig as a le cid i d eas ta e d ae rselves e vires e a pssess eelie a e ae apa seig. ipies ea r i e a a d paes eeasue vie i te d is ile cild r hi

se as e s i g a e ie i is dsease.

We ind uselves i the ver cente te revelatibrught b Jess te reveatin d the Faher (Abba)The kigdm is give l t hse wh tus thse w

hpe t thse wh surrender in the hands the Fathe Ais race. Pue it. Evethig is received T receive, wehave t sueder Thse h sureder ae thsew are small It is necessar t becme small like achid a mi. But ce we ave paced uselves i therit d surendeing uselves ten al baies ebken and we shae in the iinie per the vigFate, i His eei ad immesit

u d nt becme ike a cild u il t ete te

3



ngdom of heaven (Mt 181) Becoe a chil! Chdrenare essentially poor and trusing, sting because heyknow that their weaness nees someone else's strength; inoher words, the poverty of the chil is wealh. By theselves, chldren are neiher strong nor virtuous nor see

They are ike the sunflower that always open o the sun;from there, all hope comes, everything is received fro ihea, light, strength, life.

To become a child, o live he experience of the Abba(dear Father) not only i prayer bu most of all in hecircusances of life, confienly surrendering to wha he

Faher wlls, all of this sees to be an easy and siple hingto do But in reality i eans he os fanasic change, areal revolution wihin he old casle built up in self-sufficiency, selfcenereness, and delusions of grandeur.

one of the Carelie sisers says in Georges ernanos aelites

Whaever haens o no she slciy o jeo or oo boo one h suose ha o esss sas as a blac oes a bar of ron o ry ssenh. I os hoever soees haen a a anner ess a iece of sin bewn hs hans o arase

s sofness Oh y aue be yo always sof anylin n s hans

Technology has conquered an ransfored aterPsychoogy seems o have doinae us. A vain illusionAt the te of diagnosis, psychoanalysis achieves goodresults; bu a he ime of healing (salvation), he iniviual, in his profou colexi, s an everfeeng anunreachable shaow We are aily inesses o the powerlessness of psychiaric therapy for any inerior lberation

No other "science" has been invene nor any otherplan for the transforaion of huaniy than that revelaion brought by Jesus to renounce dreas of onioence,to recognize the ipossibiliy of salvaion by purely hanmeans, to be conscious of our sallness and fragiliy, o

323



sender cnfdenly and uncndnally n e pwerf ands f Gd, and alw urselves, day afer day,cmpleey passve n H ands, be ansfmed me vey rs f r beng. Gd alne s Pwer, ve, andCange.

n ecclesascal rcles, ere as been e bsessn alms a mana fr ner lberan rug e psyclgcal scences, a fac a reecs a deep lack f faAlg ese scences are a grea elp, f we d n begnby recgnzng Jess Crs as e nly Savr and tesrrender H grace as e nly salvan, we ll tmbe

dn e pa f san .

Afer gvng an emnal descrpn f w umant

and e verse are n e ands f Gd, and afer tellngtem n wry ab anyng excep e sppr f eFaer, Jesus, f f jy, ends by ellng em, Tere s nneed be aad, lle flck, fr t as pleased yur Faer gve y e kngdm (k 13)

Ta smply f spr, at swee surrender e

Dvne Majesy s e gal f ur ves we wan acqrer t fnd agan, fr s ne f e gfs f cddwc, as fen as n, des n srvve e years fcdd

Ts sp f cldd as sble enemes, dffcl dscern becase ey are wrapped n seeps cngVas name ags ave been nvented wc reaeneds spr a s s agle and vlnerabe ... Tese dangersare called selfrealzan, persnalzatn, ndependence,bey, respec fr ndvdaly s necessary safegard agans all apprpan, pwer, suffcency, attdes ta apparenly save and mare bu wc, nrealy, enslave and burden.

Ts srrender n e Faers ands s a seemnglypassve atde B wever begns lve wll realze

34



ha a h Baiud ar conaind in i I woud a hahi piri o chidhood i h hi o a o h acivviru I i a i omon had conqurd a o h cao h ou and, onc akn, h wr urrndrd o hLord o h ca, a o ownr.

Th vnwo rrnd rom hir r apooico Th wr happ and od o hir "xpoi" Thwr amo ira. Thr wa no a docor, cri, orrai among hm Haring h ori, u, awa oniiv, immn o and aid Prai o ou, ovingFahr, Lord o havn and arh, or wha ou havhiddn from h arnd and cvr ou hav rvad oh chidrn Thank ou again, m Fahr, or havingwid i o (M 125 Lk 1:2).

Th in o avaion i drawn h poor in piri andh hum, ho who ar conciou o hir wak andar convicd o hir nd o avd an Ohr, inWho hand h ar hd ik ma chidrn

Sanci i no uch and uch a pracic u coni ina dipoiion o h har which mak u hum and

ma in h arm o God, conciou o our wakn anding o h poin o audaci in hi goodn a Fahr(S Thr o Liiux)

32





STRGGL BTWN DISCOURAGMENT AND HOP

Dicrgemen pek

I am a man ben oer by e weg of suson ane eperene of fe I ae le ffy or sxy years I aman old seawolf Nong nspres me an nong saens

me eeryng ps me up am bed by fe anmmune o I was young one I reame bu ony se wo ae

no le ream. My rees ba en bossome wusons ery afeoon oweer ere was a gus ofwn and e usons few away soo up and fel down

I go up agan an fell own agan. On my orzons I unge fags of omba: Obeene umy Pury Conem-paon Loe

saw a ose reams an realy were ery far aparas far as eas s from wes. I ear em say: You sl anan agan I embare on e goen sp of lusonSpwes oo pae Agan I ear: ere s s mean oug ben oer by e weg of so mu saser Imbed e pnnae of luson agan e fal was worse

oday am a eee man.I was no born o be a man of Go I oo e wrong

roue. Bu s no possble o re o appy loo oro e moers womb o begn agan

loo ba an eeryng s n runs oo a my feean eeryng s a dsaser. I o no now I am guy or

327



nt, I am n een nerested n nwng d nt nw ght with eerythng had r hed smethng bac ssmethng the mater? N ne can g bac.

What d nw ith certanty s ne thng here s nhpe r me. What was n tday and what am nw, I

wi be the end. My grae w rise pn he rns mywn caste.

ope peak

On the cd sns y hae b yr hseecase ths, t has aen a thsand and ne mes ahe whim the waes The sand the beaches was hendatin yr bdng, and n was neabe

The res yr game were prbabty and psych-gy, and the end rests were ceary in sight t I hae a

na wrd say y ths mng Y s can hpe ss pssbe mrrw w be beerLet s begn aganI, p nti nw, here were rins, rm nw n here

w be castes gh pining her wers he heghsI, ni nw, y hae haresed dsasters, remember:

sprng shwers are cmngehind the csed nght there are high mnains, andbehnd the mnans nigh he dan s cming I sbeati t beiee in he ight when t s ngh.

ehnd he sience breahes he Faher. The sde snhabied by a presence, and abe s was res and

beran.Cme Le s begn agan· I, hpe, was brn n a dar aen, n a barren h,

cered wh bd, when eeryne repeated, A is stthere s nhng et t d the dreamer has died he dreamsare er.

was brn n the wmb deah. ·ecase hs, deahcann destry me I am mmrta becase I am the nychd he mmra Gd Ahgh y may e me a

328



housand and one imes ha all is los, a housand and oneimes wll answer you ha we sill have ime.

f up unil now success and failure were aleaing likeday and ngh, from now on esus will be resurrece inyou each moing, and He will blossom on he dead leaves

of your auumn. He will conquer selfishness in you, anddeah Yes, he Broher will ake you by he hand an leadyou o he ransforming hills of conemplaion Your olbanners wll fly again Srengh, Love, Paience

Puriy will raise her naked head of silver among yourorange rees, and beneah he flowers of your garen will

blossom, invisibly, HumiliyYou will shine wih he brighness of he ancienprophes before he peoples And, seeing you, all will say,Tha one is a child of our Go

Come Le us begin againLook hose sars, blue or red, sparke from eerniy o

eeiy Be like hem never grow ire of shining On rylan and arid mounains, plan he seeds of mercy, hope,an peace o no grow ired of planing, hough your eyesnever see he golden shafs One day he poor will seehem

Walk The Lord God will be ligh for your eyes, breah

for your lungs, oinmen for your wounds, goal for yourpah, rewar for your efforCome Le us begin again

39





BOOKS FOR ALL SEASONS

Te wks Inac aaaa pvde anayss andsutns, dctnes and entatns te needs and

pblems te pesn, as a wle Tey ae a summay te ttal mystey man and s needs A summay tatas eped mlns and mllns peple t expeencete y nte beatn and te y t lve Nw, temessae Fate aaaa s becmn avaabe t tenls speakn eades

A) F te eatnsp wt Gd, we ave SNSINGYOU IDDN PSNC, wee s descbed and pactcaly anayed mans sceme m s st steps t teets cntemplatn NCOUNT (tcmn), asmpled and pactca manua paye PSAMS FOLF (tcmn), a pactcal manua t lean w t pay

te PsamsB) F mans eatnsp wt mse, FOM SUF

FING TO PAC (tcmn) sws te way man, bymeans pactca enans and execses can savemsel een mse m anus, bsessns, depessns, sadness, anxetes and eas T AVOIDAB

FOC OF AGING (en wtten), expans wat t d,w t ace and slve a e ces wc make man eee,suc as useessness, mptence, stude, sckness, d aeand dea

C) F mans eatnsp wt es, n te mdst any cmmuny, be t mamny, amy, wk anyte up, e k ented COM IT M (tcm-n) deas wt espect, undestandn, veness, cm

331



municaion, accpanc, dao and wa o do wdffcul prsons

n addion o s, Inaco arraaa wro ror books: TE PR MAN OF NAZARET (forcom

in), TE SIENCE OF MARY and TE ROTER OFASSSI (forcomn) Ts ooks offr oally orinaland appaln pons of w on r ousandn fursof crsian tradon: sus, Saor, Virin Mary andSain Francs of Assis

Alou auor s a Caoic wrir, is mssa is

aid for any Crisan, any blr and simply, for anyman and woman as prod n many countris. As a marof fac, many psycooss rcommnd Inacio ar-raaas books o r pans.

A smony abou SESING YOR IEN PRESENCE:

A ctriig bk m th rst i N itrstd i

hristia sirituaity ad its rati t ctmra rbmsca ard t miss this witss t th wr ivig aith ihrist udd a its i rayr (ndic Groscl, O.FM Cap)

332



Seleced Bibliogay

Adam Kar e Son o o New ork: mage Book Doubeda 1960.

Beano Grge. e netes New ork: Maa1965

Bonhoefer Deih ettes an aes om son dted bberhard Bethage New ork: Maman 195

Butmann Rudof Jesus an the Wo Tranated b LouePetbone Sth. New ork: Srbner 1958

aherine of Sena e Daoues o St Cathene o Sena.Tranated b Algar Thorod Rokford Ilno TANBook 196

Dehanet JM. Chstan oa raaed b Roland Hdmarh New ork: Harper & Row 960

Faer Re. Au Geer dtor. Vatan Coun : TheCona an ost Con Douments (udg auum etSes and eet tats) Northport : otelo Pubhng o 195

Fran of A Sant ans o sss Wtns an EayBoahes Ensh Omnus o the Soues o the e o St

ans. dted b Maron A. Habg. hago: FraHerad Pre 9

Fro rih. e At o on New ork: Harper & Row956

erea Joahm e Cent essae o the N TestamentNew ork: Srber 965

John of the ro. e Coete Wo o St ohn o the Coss(nludg sent o ount ne) Tranated ad edted

333



by eran Kavanaugh, D and Oio Rodguez, OCD.Washington, D.C: Inste of Caeite Studies, 1973

Kasper, Water Jesus the Christ. New York Pauist Press, 977

Kazantzaks, Nios Saint Francis New York Touchstone

Books, Simon&

Suster,197

Kng, Hans. On Being a Christn New York Image Books,Doubeday, 1976

Nietzsche, Fedich Tus Spoke Zarathustra. Transated byWater Kafann New York Ving Penguin, 978

Tayor, Rev omas N Saint Tse of Lisieux: Te Little Flower of Jesus. New York PJ Keedy, 1926

Teresa of Avia Te Interior stle Transated by E. AsonPeers New York Image Books, Doubeday, 972

- Te Way of Perfection Transated by E lison Peers NewYork mage Books, Doubeday, 972

Documents

Sensing Your Hidden Presence_ Toward Intimacy With God - Ignacio Larranaga