Sunday, July 15, 2018

Abandonment

He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. Mark 6

In this morning's Gospel Jesus instructs his Apostles to go forth trusting only that their heavenly Father will supply their needs along the way. We were reminded of these words said to be written by the 18th century French Jesuit, Jean-Pierre de Caussade:

To escape the distress caused by regret for the past or fear about the future, this is the rule to follow: leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to His good Providence, give the present wholly to His love by being faithful to His grace… In the state of abandonment the only rule is the duty of the present moment. In this the soul is light as a feather, liquid as water, simple as a child, active as a ball in receiving and following all the inspirations of grace… In a word, their disposition resembles the atmosphere, which is affected by every breeze; or water, which flows into any shaped vessel exactly filling every crevice. They are before God like a perfectly woven fabric with a clear surface; and neither think, nor seek to know what God will be pleased to trace thereon, because they have confidence in Him, they abandon themselves to Him, and, entirely absorbed by their duty, they think not of themselves, nor of what may be necessary for them, nor of how to obtain it. 

Photograph by father Emmanuel.