Presence of God

O Holy Spirit, teach me the nothingness of earthly things.

Meditation

I. By the gifts of fear, fortitude, piety, and counsel, the Holy Spirit regulates our moral life; whereas, by the other gifts—knowledge, understanding, and wisdom—He governs our theological life more directly, that is, our relations with God. The first four gifts perfect the moral virtues especially; the last three perfect the theological virtues. They are the so-called gifts of the contemplative life, that is, of the life of prayer and union with God.

In our ascent toward God we find one great obstacle : creatures which impress and allure us by their attractions, tempting us to stop at them and thus drawing us away from God, the infinite good, who transcends human experience. It is not easy for us who live in the realm of sense to believe that God is all, that He is the only good, the only happiness, and to place our hope in Him alone, while He is veiled from sight. We find it difficult to believe that creatures are nothing, to be convinced of their vanity, while they present themselves to us so alluringly. It is true that faith comes to our aid, and in its light we have often reflected on these truths, yet in practice, our reasonings have often failed. Confronted with the attractions of creatures, we forget and perhaps even betray our Creator. Therefore we need more powerful help, a divine light, which illumines from within, without the need of passing through our reasonings, so limited and rude : it is this light that the Holy Spirit infuses into our soul by means of the gift of knowledge. This gift does not make us reason on the vanity of things; but it gives us a living, concrete experience of them, an intuition so clear that it admits no doubt. Under the influence of this gift, Francis of Assisi suddenly left his merry companions to espouse Lady Poverty, and when his indignant father drove him out of his house, he exclaimed in the fervor of his spirit, "Henceforth I will not call Peter Bernardone my father, but our Father who is in heaven!"

Under the impulse of this gift, Teresa of Avila wrote these words : "All things pass, God never changes. He who has God, finds he lacks nothing : God alone suffices"; and the dying words of Blessed Maria Bertilla were : "One must work only forJesus. All else is nothing."

II. Inspired by the gift of knowledge, St. John of the Cross traced the famous way of the "nothing," the way which, leaving aside all created goods, goes quickly and directly up the mount of perfection, on whose summit the soul finds God. "Nothing, nothing," the saint repeats, "neither this, nor that, neither the goods of earth, nor the goods of heaven," that is, not even spiritual joys and consolations, but God alone. So much renunciation, so much sacrifice, so much stripping of self terrifies poor human nature. But the soul illumined by the Holy Spirit understands: nothing at all, because "all is vanity, except to love God and serve Him alone" (Imit. I, 1,3). In the measure that the gift of knowledge develops in the soul, it understands and tastes the "nothingness" of creatures, which makes it relish the "all" of God and feel the need of escaping from creatures to plunge into Him. This is the first step toward contemplation.

"All the being of creation, then, compared with the infinite Being of God, is nothing" (J.C. AS I, 4,4). The wonders of creation are nothing, the most marvelous works of human genius are nothing, the knowledge possessed by the most learned men is nothing : God is the only reality, and it is He who gives value to all things, either because they are the works of His hand, or because they are works done by man for His glory.

In the midst of our most beautiful undertakings and our solicitude for earthly things, the Holy Spirit reminds us of the words ofJesus : "For what shall profit it a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his soul?" (Mc. 8, 36). And again, "Thou art careful and art troubled about many things : but one thing is necessary" (Lc. 10, 41-42). Thus He teaches that our adherence to God is what is essential; all the rest is accessory and very often fruitless.

In evaluating the beauty of created things, the gift of knowledge, while revealing the essential nothingness of these things, does not deny the relative perfections to be found in them, but shows them only as vestiges, reflections of the infinite perfection of God. It is this light that changes creatures from an obstacle into a ladder leading us to God, because "the soul is strongly moved to love her Beloved, her God, by the consideration of the creatures, seeing that these are things that have been made by His own hand" (J.C. SC, 4,3).

When a soul is profoundly enlightened by the gift of knowledge, creatures no longer hinder its ascent to God, for whether considering their nothingness or the beauty with which God has endowed them, whether in giving them up or in using them through necessity, they always urge the soul on to God, inspiring it to seek Him and love Him, the one infinitely beautiful Being.

Colloquy

"My God, here on earth all is vanity. What can I seek and desire to find here below where nothing is pure? All is vain, uncertain, and deceptive, except to love You, O Lord, and do good works. But I cannot love You perfectly unless I despise myself and the world.

"O my soul, do not think it hard to leave your friends and acquaintances; they often stand in the way of divine consolations. Where are the companions with whom you played and laughed? I do not know; they went away and abandoned me. And where are the things you were interested in yesterday? They have vanished. Everything has gone. Then only he who serves You, O Lord, is wise, because he despises the earthly life with all its charms.

"Keep me, O my God, from seeking the joys of the world. I conjure you, remove from my heart every attachment to earthly vanities. Lift me up to the height of the Cross; grant that I may follow You wherever You precede me. Poor and stripped of all, an exile on earth, and unknown, I willingly remain with You" (Thomas a Kempis).

"Remove from me, O my God, everything that leads me away from You; give me everything that will bring me nearer to You. Enrapture me, so that I will live wholly and always for You" (St. Nicholas of Flue).

"O Lord, grant that the sweet, burning power of Your love may draw my heart away from all earthly delights, so that I may die for love of You as You deigned to die for love ofme" (St. Francis of Assisi).