Present to the Presence…
Four years ago, my husband Ron and I were privileged to visit Israel. The trip was one I’d dreamed about since I was a teenager. I knew it would be more than a vacation!
Israel is over 6,000 miles from our home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The culture is vastly different. Sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures were strange. And, yet, the land felt remarkably familiar. In some unexplainable way, I sensed a belonging. Although I love my home in Idaho, there are times when I yearn to reconnect and walk on the soil of that ancient land.
A couple years after our trip, I was introduced to contemplative spiritual practices and experienced a similar connection. Difficult to articulate, I can only say I felt as if my soul had found its true home. At a contemplative prayer retreat in Manresa, Spain, Fr. Javier Melloni, a Jesuit priest, explained silent prayer as being “present to the Presence.” I understood precisely what he was saying.
This quote illustrates:
This Presence is so immense, yet so humble; awe-inspiring yet so gentle; limitless, yet so intimate, tender and personal. I know that I am known. Everything in my life is transparent in this Presence. It knows everything about me – all my weaknesses, brokenness, sinfulness – and still loves me infinitely. This Presence is healing, strengthening, refreshing – just by its Presence. It is nonjudgmental, self-giving, seeking no reward, boundless in compassion. It is like coming home to a place I should never have left, to an awareness that was somehow always there, but which I did not recognize.[i]
I do not consider my feelings weird, but rather part of the mystery that connects the spirit of this granny from Coeur d’Alene to a transcendent God. Sometimes our feeling of connectedness is ‘knowing’ beyond learning. It is instinctual, indescribable, and yet real. Kind of like the peace that transcends human understanding Paul describes in Philippians 4:7.
The photo in today’s post was taken in Israel at Caesarea National Park. It was in the region of Caesarea that Jesus had a pivotal conversation with his disciples (See Mark 8:27-30),
He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?”)They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but others, one of the prophets.” And He continued by questioning them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” (emphasis mine)
Knowledge is vital in our faith journey. I desire greater understanding of scripture and of the culture in which God has placed me.
Yet, the further I travel, the greater becomes my longing for more than knowing based on facts, reason, and apologetics. I want to confidently trust and venture into the divine mystery of being “present to the Presence!”
Blessings on your Journey…
[1] Open Mind, Open Heart, Thomas Keating