Finally, they seem to have repaired the Wireless connection and everything should run smoothly. (Hint: The key words in that sentence are italicized!) Anyway, I would now like to share with my readers a couple of paragraphs from one of the books which I am presently reading, entitled Prayer. This is a book written by a great theologian, Hans Urs van Balthasar. I have not reached very far in the book and I may not even be able to finish it (it might go way over my head!), but, nonetheless, his introductory words are full of wisdom and insight.
"Prayer... is communication, in which God's word has the initiative and we, at first, are simply listeners. Consequently, what we have to do is, first, listen to God's word and then, through that word, learn how to answer. His word is the truth make known for our sakes. There is no final, unquestionable truth in man. He is fully aware of that as he looks to God for an answer and comes closer to him. God's word is his invitation to us to enter into the truth and abide there with him. It is like a rope-ladder thrown down to us in danger of drowning, so that we can climb into the ship; or, a carpet unrolled before us leading to the Father's throne; a torch shining in the darkness of a silent and sullen world, in whose light we are no longer harassed by problems, but learn to live with them. God's word is, ultimately, himself, that in him which is most living and profound: it is his only-begotten Son, of the same nature as himself, whom he sent into the world to bring it back to him. That is why God spoke to us of his Word dwelling on earth: 'This is my beloved Son, listen to Him'.
We are harassed by the burden of living; exhausted, we look round for a place of repose, tranquillity and renewal. We would gladly rest in God and commit ourselves to him, so as to draw from him fresh strength to go on living. But we do not look for him there where he awaits us, where he is to be found, namely in his Son, who is his Word. Or else we do seek him because there are a thousand things we want to ask him, and imagine that, unless they are answered, we cannot go on living; we pester him with problems, demand answers, solutions, explanations, forgetting all the time that in his Word he has solved all questions and given us all the explanations we are capable of grasping in this life. We do not turn where God speaks, there where his word resounded in the world, a final utterance sufficient for all times, whose riches can never be exhausted."
The highlighting is my addition. It was after having read this several months ago that I began to concentrate my meditation time every morning on the Word of God which the Church presents to us for that day. This has been a tremendous help to me, and I invite you to do just that. As von Balthasar says elsewhere in the book, we will only find the real truth about ourselves in listening to Him who is Truth Himself! God bless, enjoy your day, and let the Word of God enrich your life!
Absolutely excellent !
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