Who is this?

Who? What? When? Why? Where? How? These are the questions we often ask and which writers use to be sure they have covered all the bases. These queries also apply when contemplating ourselves; our answers are the waypoints giving us not so much as where to go but rather where we are.

What are we if we don’t ask those questions about ourselves? For instance, ask the question why is there evil? As Christians, we know what binds us together; we are aware because we ask ourselves what lies within us to keep us in God’s shadow. It is love.

The antithesis of love and our spiritual search is in the confusion and puzzlement of Herod, king of Judea. His search was to eliminate anyone who spoke of this Other as king. Herod wants to see Him but never really sees. Herod’s ‘poor eyesight’ may have some familiarity. We, too, can be blinded and not see what is before us.

We forget we are made in the image and likeness of God regardless of our sins or weaknesses. If we walk away and never give our spiritual life another thought, God is with us just as we carry our parents within ourselves.

From the book of the prophet Haggai, God’s word challenges us to reflect on our experiences. We bring food to the table but are never satisfied; we clothe ourselves yet are cold. We are to consider our ways.

From Pope Francis’ Veritatis Gaudium:

The joy of truth … expresses the restlessness of the human heart until it encounters and dwells within God’s Light and shares that Light with all people.

This joy of Truth is ours. Never give up the search.

Prayer:

I will bless the Lord at all times; praise of him is always in my mouth. In the Lord, my soul shall make its boast; The humble shall hear and be glad. (From Psalm 34 adapted by Bernard J. Camiré SSS in Praise God In His Holy Place. Emmanuel Publishing, 2019, page 10).