Mary Ann Richards recommended this book to me in a comment
to a posting a number of months ago, and I cannot thank her enough. It has given me many days of deep reflection
on how God works in my life.
This
book of daily reflections and prayers, in truth, can only be reviewed by each individual
reader. Like the Bible, these words
speak many universal truths, but they also speak many personal truths to each
one of us. However, I feel compelled to
write now on one particular day’s reading, the topic: Divine Simplicity (Chapter 229). This is not a commentary or review of that chapter,
but just excerpts of words which spoke so clearly to me.
God is one in His
essence and in all His perfections.
God is not composed of
goodness, beauty, wisdom, justice, but He is, at the same time, the infinitely
good, beautiful, wise, and just Being.
There is no distinction in Him between substance and quality, because
all is substance; His infinite perfections ARE His very substance. … God’s simplicity is not poverty, but
infinite riches, infinite perfections.
Consider, on the other
hand, how poor you are in virtues … how limited they are, mixed with faults …
God is simple; you are complicated!
Contemplate the Divine Simplicity and try to imitate it by means of true
simplicity of soul.
In God, being is not
distinct from acting (acting is in time; it involves change) … there is no
succession of thoughts … but one single act … (His) willing the good with the
most pure intention.
Is we wish to approach
divine simplicity, we must avoid every form of duplicity … of mind by a
passionate search for truth.
Our thought is the eye
which directs our acts; if our thoughts are simple, upright, and sincere, all
our acts will be so too.
Then we will not halt
between two sides; between love of self and love of God, between creatures and
the Creator, but we will walk on one road only, the straight road of duty, of
God’s good will and pleasure.
This chapter of the book concludes
with the beautiful prayer of St. John Eudes:
O
divine Essence, bottomless and boundless abyss of wonders! O unfathomable ocean of greatness, O Unity of
my God, O Simplicity, O Eternity without beginning and without end, to whom
everything is continually present! O
Immensity, which fills all things and contains all things! O Infinity, which embraces all imaginable
perfections. O Immutability, O
Immortality, O inaccessible Splendor! O
incomprehensible Truth, O abyss of Knowledge and Wisdom, O Truth of my God … O
divine Power, creating and sustaining all things! O divine Providence, governing all! O Justice, O Goodness, O Mercy, O Beauty, O
Glory, O Fidelity! … O great God, in You I adore all the grandeurs and
perfections which I have been contemplating, as well as all the innumerable end
inconceivable others which are, and will remain, unknown to me. I adore You, praise You, glorify and love You
for all that You are.
Beautiful.
I sometimes reflect with friends on
the complexities of this world: “How do
you decide/know what is right?” What
about this situation or that, or this intention or that? What do you do? And then I reflected on these passages and
others. Truth is simple, beautiful … is
God. God is love. What to do?
With all intention of our being, just love. Just love.
If love is truth, and truth is
simple, then it is love to seek simplicity and order from chaos. By our actions, we cannot create perfection;
we cannot solve all of the world’s problems, eliminate evils. But by our actions we can create more order,
less problems, more beauty, more love.
We need not worry about all the complexities of the world, but act with
simple love. That is uniting our will
with that of God, in a Divine Intimacy, a Divine Simplicity.
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A friend recently expressed her concern
about the immigration chaos affecting our country, and the unwanted children crossing
our borders: “Isn’t it my Christian
obligation to do something?” she asked. “Shouldn’t
I make room in my house? How can we send
them home, to poverty?”
My answer to her included comments
about the relative unhappiness of people in the United States versus peoples in
other countries: world surveys show that
even people living in what we define as poverty ---- including no big screen televisions!
--- are happier than we are. Are we really
helping the poor from other countries by bringing them here? Then I suggested that a priority for us
should be, I believe, to promote an orderly immigration process. Then we can talk about numbers of people to
bring here, and ways and means. It was a
quick answer and, I admit, not a very orderly one.
But, as I more recently read the above
words, God has helped my eyes to see clearer.
And yes, my reference to orderly immigration laws was a good basic
inclination, but her question was an immediate one, calling for immediate
action, and so a more actionable response is also required: If someone should knock at her door, then yes,
I believe, she should shelter them as she is able. But an unasked relevant question is: should
she seek them out? Look at it through another
question: If she knew where the kidnapped
girls in Africa were, should she fly to rescue them --- after all, she could
afford the trip. Why not? Or should she demand the government do
something, to “love them in her place?”
Can a government love?
No, I think, as written above,
beauty is orderly, is truth, is love. We
give love as individuals, to individuals.
A government cannot love; it CAN act in orderly ways as we direct it so
that we, for our part, our role, can love.
We cannot fill all roles in all situations at all times. With the internet today, we can see all sorts
of needs in the world, but those are things we can seek, largely in our
curiosity --- we cannot act in all of them.
We must trust that God will put into our lives those who He wishes us to
love. We cannot choose to be as God ----
at least not yet --- but by the love we show to those who enter our lives, we can
grow in holiness, becoming more like Him, until that final Divine Intimacy.
The book, Navigating The Interior Life, by Daniel Burke,
talks about the path God lays before each of us. On page 85, he comments on “the narrow path”
to heaven, which is often thought of as a difficult thing. But he sees another viewpoint: “The good thing about a narrow path is that
the narrowness provides clarity regarding the way we should go. … The spiritual
life is one of simplicity. … When we encounter complexity regarding the choices
we face, we need to be cautious. … When we walk simply and resolutely with our
God, the path before us is simple, light, and marked by a predominant peace.”
I like thinking of my spiritual path in that light, a narrow
road but a well-defined, well-lit one, with clarity as to when I am off the
road --- a Divine Simplicity. It is a
road I can walk along in peace and in joy, trusting He will show me the
way.
I don’t have to turn to Google, seeking directions.
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