How to converse continually and familiarly with God - 3

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is sweet! Our God dwelleth in the heights of Heaven, and yet He disdains not to occupy Himself day and night with His faithful servants in their cottages or their cells. There He bestows on them His Divine consolations which surpass all the delights the world can give. Never, then, forget God’s sweet presence.

I. By reason of His immensity, our God is in every place; but there are two places above all where He has His own peculiar dwelling. One is the highest Heaven, where He is present by that glory which He communicates to the Blessed; the other is upon earth, within the humble soul that loves Him: Who dwelleth with a contrite and humble spirit-(Is. lvii. 15). He, then, our God, dwelleth in the heights of Heaven; and yet He disdains not to occupy Himself day and night with His faithful servants in their cottages or their cells. And there He bestows on them His divine consolations, each one of which surpasses all the delights the world can give, and which he only does not desire who has no experience of them: Oh, taste and see that the Lord is sweet-(Ps. xxxiii. 9).

Friends in this world have hours in which they converse together, and other times during which they are apart; but between God and you, if you wish, there shall never be one hour of separation: Thou shalt rest, and thy sleep shall be sweet .. . the Lord will be at thy side -(Prov. iii. 24). You may sleep, and God will place Himself at your side, and watch with you continually: I will repose myself with him, and he shall be a comfort in my cares and grief-(Wis. viii. 9-16). When you take your rest the Lord departs not from your pillow; He continues thinking always of you, that when you wake in the night He may speak to you by His inspirations, and receive from you some act of love, of oblation, of thanksgiving; so as to keep up even in those hours His gracious and sweet converse with you. Sometimes also He will speak to you in your sleep, and cause you to hear His voice, that on waking you may put in practice what He has spoken: I will speak to him in a dream -(Num. xii. 6).

He is there also in the morning, to hear from you some word of affection, of confidence; to be the depository of your first thoughts, and of all the actions which you promise to perform that day to please Him; of all the griefs, too, which you offer to endure willingly for His glory and love. But as He fails not to present Himself to you at the moment of your waking, fail not you, on your part, to give Him immediately a look of love, and to rejoice when your God announces to you the glad tidings that He is not far from you, as once He was by reason of your sins; but that He loves you, and would be beloved by you: and at that same moment He gives you the gracious precept, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart-(Deut. vi. 5).

II. Never, then, forget God’s sweet presence, as do the greater part of men. Speak to Him as often as you can; for He does not grow weary of this or disdain it, as do the lords of the earth. If you love Him, you will not be at a loss what to say to Him. Tell Him all that occurs to you about yourself and your affairs, as you would tell it to a dear friend. Look not upon Him as a haughty sovereign who will only converse with the great, and on great matters. He, our God, delights to abase Himself to converse with us, loves to have us communicate to Him our smallest daily concerns. He loves you as much, and has as much care for you, as if He had none others to think of but yourself. He is as entirely devoted to your interests as though the only end of His providence were to succour you, of His almighty power to aid you, of His mercy and goodness to take pity on you, to do you good, and gain by the delicate touches of His kindness your confidence and love. Manifest, then, to Him freely all your state of mind, and pray to Him to guide you to accomplish perfectly His holy will. And let all your desires and plans be simply bent to discover His good pleasure, and do what is agreeable to His divine Heart: Commit thy way to the Lord-(Ps. xxxvi. v.). And desire of him to direct thy ways, and that all thy counsels may abide in him-(Tob. iv. 20).

Say not: But where is the need of disclosing to God all my wants, if He already sees and knows them better than I? True, He knows them; but God makes as if He knew not the necessities about which you do not speak to Him, and for which you seek not His aid. Our Saviour knew well that Lazarus was dead, and yet He acted as if He knew it not, until Mary Magdalen had told Him of it, and then He comforted her by raising her brother to life again.