Learning to walk in the spontaneity of the Holy Spirit requires a two-fold cycle of human interiority. First, we must be open to learning from and experiencing reality in all its potential, constantly seeking to understand and grow. Such an attitude of receptivity requires that we learn to look at and reflect both on the sacred scripture and the activity of God’s truth as it unfolds in our daily lives. The second part of this cycle involves that we must also hold in our awareness the explosive potential of mystery, and so while cultivating our abilities of knowing, we must also cultivate our sense of unknowing.
The path of unknowing is the path to true humility because it teaches us to accept that our perceptions are limited. By unknowing, we realize that we are ultimately unable to grasp the fullness of reality, and that to believe we have it all figured out constitutes the heights of pride and sin. Thus, we must constantly be on guard against the seductions of the Devil who entices us to turn our individual perspective into our own personal God. Instead of giving into the temptation of viewing ourselves as the center of reality, we must constantly die to self.
This allows us to stand in awe before the mystery that is the other. To be in communion with God and neighbor, we must embrace this profound mystery with complete abandonment. We must allow the Holy Spirit to move us beyond our limited ways of viewing reality so as to be drawn up into a reality that goes beyond words and concepts. It is in this way that true love is discovered. Through unknowing, we learn to move beyond surface perceptions and encounter the fire of Divine love hidden beneath.
By embracing this path, we are able to walk constantly with the love of God held before our gaze. Instead of paying attention to surface emotions and the ever changing rhythms of our interior life, we learn to discover the still point of God’s continuous presence. This becomes an anchor for our spiritual life in both the good days and the bad, and it gives us the confidence to know that at every moment we are infinitely loved.
Thus, we must learn to let our meditation move between knowing and unknowing. We must give each its season in a delicate dance of listening to and discovering God’s will. Learning to move between knowing and unknowing is the essence of our spontaneity in the Holy Spirit, a spontaneity which opens us to the creativity that God intended.
I’m finally caught up on reading your postings for the last few days. This particular quote: “Instead of giving into the temptation of viewing ourselves as the center of reality, we must constantly die to self,” says it all for me. There are many times I don’t even notice the seduction of egoism. These posts are very helpful in centering myself back to God and others. Thank you for the spiritual direction you provide in them.
Another incite full post. We are grateful to have you at our parish, St. Bernadette.
But even more important, we must learn to acknowledge that the creation is full of mystery; we will never entirely understand it. We must abandon arrogance and stand in awe. We must recover the sense of the majesty of creation, and the ability to be worshipful in its presence.