Ave Maria Meditations
A soul of faith meets God not only in prayer, but seeing Him at all things, in all things it finds Him; thus it can keep itself in contact with Him even in the midst of occupations. The spirit of faith makes it penetrate the opaqueness of creatures and occurrences so that it always find God. Secondary causes become transparent to it, enable it to discover at once the first cause, God, who is present and operating everywhere.
To be able to recognize and meet God in every creature, even in the ones that hurt us, offend us, or make us suffer, and in every happening, even the most disagreeable, painful, and disturbing ones, this is a great secret of the interior life. Then the world becomes an open book, on every page of which is written in large letters the one word: God.
Before God, His will, His permission, His plans, everything else become secondary; we see how stupid it is to fix our gaze on creatures, which are, as it were, only a veil which hides the Creator. However, we need assiduous practice before we can reach such deep faith…
In the duties of my state in life or in the orders of superiors, I can see the expression of God’s will in all circumstances which cause me boredom, uneasiness, suffering, increase of labor, or change of plans. I must learn to see them as the many means which God is using to make me practice virtue, patience, generosity, chastity. My hours of prayer must serve to show me all the details of my life in the supernatural light, so I may always be able to find our Lord in them.
+Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene
