You and I Both

In today's reflection of Fr. Johnny (Have My Eyes Seen Your Salvation?), he talks about how we see God's salvation - a "dream-come-true" or "a fulfillment of a promise."

In that way, he uses Jason Mraz' lyrics from "You and I Both" as a suggestion of how it could have been Simeon's Canticle "when he gets to cradle the Christ Child in his arms after waiting for years for some kind of sign of the salvation of Israel," and continues to suggest that we, too, can sing this song of love.

"Cause you and I both love
What you and I spoke of,
And others just read of.
Others only read of the love,
the love that I love."

I love the feeling of basking in his love.

But the truth is, reality bites. Life isn't a fairy tale. How we wish it is.

Yes, it isn't always how we dream of; it isn't always good or fair. Life sometimes can be so hard and lonely, constantly challenging us to the ends of our wits and patience.

My friends, believe me when I say we shouldn't fret. Though it can be that difficult to understand, you're not alone. Even though you think everyone around you doesn't care, He does.

My point is, if you really want to experience fulfillment and a dream-come-true, the best way is to develop an attitude of prayer. That's the best way to experience love.

Fr. Go continues with this wonderful thought about how spiritual life is 50% searching, and 50% remembering. I couldn't agree more.

Sometimes I suspect that the spiritual life is really 50% searching and 50% remembering. It's 50% searching because a lot of our prayer is really spent looking for God in the world, in the events in our lives, in the people around us, and in our hearts. It's not easy because as the mystics tell us, God is "a God who hides," and for most of us, it's especially hard to find him when things go wrong.

But the spiritual life is also 50% remembering. It's also about remembering every good gift God has given us and every promise he has kept. These are the times when we actually have seen or touched and lived what "others just read of." Prayer is also recalling all our "good times" with God, gathering our memories of the times when we have sensed God's presence and nearness in our lives, in big ways and small, times when he has saved us from danger (or sometimes from ourselves!). These are the times when we have seen God's work of salvation in us.