Seeking the Face of God

Romano Guardini wrote so often about prayer that it almost seemed his obsession. However, his search for God led him to suggest paths for the less spiritually intense, too.

 When Guardini is in his world of prayer, he is far above the average
man or woman who seeks unión with God. But every once in a while he writes something that is easy to understand but profound and helpful to those who want to pray.

He says in one of his books that though the human person is a mystery, every person has an interior face, and not only an external face.  We seek that true image in ourselves and in those we love when we want to know someone.  Guardini says that when we pray, the unión of each of us with God is simply looking at and knowing Him whom we love.  He looks at us, too and we learn about His love.

 Someone once described her prayer life to me by saying:  ''He looks at me and I look at Him -- and we talk.''

Another searcher whom I know well describes a desire for prayer in this way:  ´´I can´t wait to get to heaven and sit down and have a cup of coffee with God.''

There is no one path to prayer.  Each person has to find his/her own way.  I think, though, that there are certain common elements to prayer: When we pray--

 There should be a ceasing of our tasks and we should make a space for quiet.

Then, too, the desire for prayer should come from an expectant heart. 

Always, we should seek God  through Our Lord Jesús Christ.  It is He who leads us to the Father.

Prayer is not always easy.  Don´t give up!

There are worse obsessions than seeking God relentlessly.



 

Rain Forest, Cloud Forest in Costa Rica.

I can´t imagine a heavier rain than we are experiencing right now at 5 pm on a mountain in Monteverde, Costa Rica. Hey! I´m supposed to be in the mist of a Cloud Forest, not a monsoon!

It´s raining as if all the springs of heaven suddenly overflowed at the same time, torrential, with no wind driving this rain. It is the sound of a waterfall, millions of drops hitting the ground, trees and houses, all the drops joining to make one great enduring roar. It´s a downpour.

The sky is light gray, not black at all.  I remember skies and rains like this when I lived in the Florida Panhandle.  The sky would open and it just poured.  ''The bottom fell out,'' the people would say afterwards.

There´s no lightning and just an occasional rumble from the sky. The bottom has been falling out for about forty-five minutes.

I´m sitting in Monteverde Inn at this public computer in a room with huge picture windows on three sides.  I´m the only tourist here and the family that runs the place is down the side of the mountain in their little cottage about a block away. Eventually, I´ll make a run for my room which is about a hundred yards dash to the West.

This immense amount of water is flowing down the mountain into streams which are now rivers, and rivers which are now overflowing and moving fast and out to the Pacific an hour away.

My serene vacation gives way to this storm and reminds me that soon I will leave the mountain quiet.
Storms are a part of life, too. I´m even starting to like this one.

On a Mountain in Costa Rica.

Perspective is important.  Little kids look up in more ways than one to big people.  For some youth, adults are simply people who move through their periferies with little or no relation to their interests. Artists are acutely aware of a particular perspective which draws attention to the point of a painting, for example.

Today,  I'm on a mountain in Costa Rica typing this.  My view is down, down toward the blue-gray bay of the Pacific lying far out from this mountain with its eternal mists and rich, green forests.

My viewpoint is changed, literally but more than that, I've snatched an opportunity to change my attitude, too. I'm not sure what´s happening but I think it is something good.  Life is simple here with no TV or radio, no traffic, no duties other than the need to pray, and essentially no distractions.

It´s been easy to pray on top of this mountain.  Nothing Sinai like happening, I'm just naturally more unencumbered here.

In four days, I will come down the mountain with my physical perspective changed and my soul challenged to see people and my life from a fresh viewpoint.

This is all about amazing grace, isn´t it?

 ´´How great is your name, O Lord, our God, throughout all the earth!

Vacation, Stress and Freedom.

A vacation can cause a lot of stress. You think about where you might want to go. You check out the
planes, trains and automobiles, hotels, motels and attractions related to your target dream site. Then financial realities must be taken into account.

For me it comes down to looking for a quiet place where I can read, pray and walk. Well, what did you expect for a guy at this stage of my life?

Beyond that, I think of what the root of the word vacation denotes: "Vacat" means you're free  --
free of regular duties, free of seeing regular people, free of regular daily routine.  The English word "vacate" gets to the essence of vacationing: You must leave, go away, get out.

By the way, my friends and family get a reprieve from me, too.  I believe that "absence does make the heart grow fonder." That, of course, works both ways.  I'll be happy to see you again.

When I come back from my vacation (I leave tomorrow.) I hope my empty mind will be filled with some new ideas. I hope my prayer life, too, will be refreshed. 

Where ever I go I expect a loving God will find me and I will find Him.