If we find ourselves in
a malaise with God we do well to seek the company of a tabernacle. Those who
know God more deeply come to know a recurring attraction for him in the
Eucharist. They come to know as well their own poverty while praying before the
Eucharist. His disguised appearance in the Sacrament lifts the cover of poverty
from their own soul. In the presence of his poverty, their own poverty no
longer intimidates. They sense intuitively that it draws and even seduces his
love.
Poverty may first enter our lives only by accepting our insignificance in the setting in which we live. We ought to observe the workings of divine providence in this regard. Any experience of being left alone, disregarded, forgotten – if it does not isolate the soul and make it retreat inwardly – invites a recognition. Our unimportance to others can combine with a fruitful realization. The more we disappear from the attention of others, the more we are watched by God in a different manner.
Photograph by Brother Brian. Lines from Contemplative Provocations, by Father Donald Haggerty.