We often permit ourselves to live within what is only immediately obvious to us, what only lies upon the surface of things. We walk about this world and nature becomes an ordinary background rather than a marvel of life, people become mere objects with which we interact rather than wonders to be discovered, the human experience becomes banal and uninspiring rather than a mystery. Too often we resist looking into the depth of something, delving into its magnificence beyond the immediate, the exterior. Yet, it is there, nonetheless, if only we would accept the invitation to examine it, to experience it. Christ has offered us such an invitation with that proclamation, “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It is a welcoming to explore divine mystery amid the seemingly ordinary.
We Catholics, though, seem to lose sight of this from time to time, for we are enveloped in this kingdom regularly, often forgetting to marvel in it. Whenever we attend mass and receive the mystery of Christ’s Body and Blood in the Eucharist, the kingdom is at hand. Whenever our souls are regenerating by grace in Confession, the kingdom is at hand. Whenever we are present at the pouring out of Christ’s Spirit in Confirmation, the kingdom is at hand. Whenever we witness the transformation of the soul in Baptism, the kingdom is at hand. Let us never take for granted all the ways that we are party to the divine penetrating the human and raising it into life, freedom, grace, and concord. In these moments of sacrament and prayer let us always peer into this glory vigorously and cherish its magnificence and mystery, whispering to our souls this joyful reminder, “the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment