A Voice From Within

“…he who knows not himself cannot truly know me and my justice. Would you have me show you how much the world is in error concerning my mysteries? Then open the eye of your understanding and look at me.”

(from The Letter of Catherine of Siena on which her dialogue is based)

When Pope John Paul II took his final journey to his own death, he meditated upon the Stations of the Cross. In recalling Christ’s courageous act of dying, perhaps he found strength to face his own act of dying. As he took his last breath, his soul reached out from within him to our Lord Jesus Christ, who was forced to walk a miserable road to his death on a cross.

The Christian walk is a hard one. We ignore the fact that the world is temporary, and that the soul is eternal. With our backs to the Lord, we waste an awful lot of time on the fruits of this world. Our sinful state keeps us occupied on our humanness, rather than on the Lord dwelling within us, who made us and loves us. Some people go through their entire lives and never listen to that outcry from within them. Quite a few go to great lengths to block it out, and some even project onto others so they don’t have to face it. That outcry is their soul longing for The Lord, but trapped by a will which lacks true knowledge of itself. Our souls are inconsolable, except for the Lord.

A few months ago I provided music for a day of reflection. I love being a part of these events, because I learn so much. Fr. John discussed with us the saving power of our Lord as he walked his way of the Cross. He reminded us that it wasn’t just Christ’s death that saved us. It was how he lived his dying. We know the story—leaders saturated with pride sent Christ to his death, deaf to the voice within them, and refusing to see themselves for what they really were. All of that pain, hurt, betrayal, humiliation, the horror that is a crucifixion, went to the cross with Him, and he let it all die with Him. “Forgive them,” He said, “for they know not what they do.”

If our God is a just God, then His justice must be mercy.

Lord Almighty, Father of justice and mercy, help us overcome whatever obstacles that prevent us from wanting to know our true selves. Let us hear that voice within that longs for the Love and Peace that is You. In your great mercy, fill us with a desire to know ourselves as we truly are--as your creation, here to love and serve You, to love and serve each other. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ. AMEN.