Monday Musings - Being Consciously in the Presence of God

At times, we may tell ourselves it is too difficult to be conscious of and with God each day. There is not enough time, we moan, to complete the unending tasks in front of us - projects which frequently leave us feeling overburdened and exhausted with little time for our Lord. We would be mistaken.

(Image source: Wikimedia Commons)

In his classic book, The Practice of the Presence of God,  Brother Lawrence tells us that everything we do during the course of the day can place us in God's Presence if all is done for the love of God.

"I began to live," Brother Lawrence wrote, "as if there were no one save God and me in the world." As one author wrote: "Together, God and Brother Lawrence cooked meals, ran errands, scrubbed pots, and endured the scorn of the world".

St. Catherine of Siena had her "interior spiritual cell" where she could seek refuge with the Lord she loved, no matter what she might be physically doing at any given moment.

If you are not fully familiar with the practices of either of these two beacons of God's love, you would benefit greatly from spending time with both of them.

I would now like to share the insight of another spiritual writer, less well known than Brother Lawrence and dear St. Catherine of Siena, but no less deserving of your consideration.

This is how Rev. M. Raymond, a Trappist priest, in his book, God, A Woman and the Way, explains his approach:

"Relatively few are allowed to spend their whole day in a convent, monastery or church. Yet, no one should spend his day or her day, or one hour of the day, without being consciously in the presence of God. It demands an exercise of memory. It requires an effort of mind. But it can become second nature to us if we are willing to pay the price - repeated acts! 

God is within us and within every creature. Christ is in the baptized, living in those who are in grace, dead - as He was in the tomb - in those who are in mortal sin. So we can greet Him and worship Him in all our fellow beings. Even the unbaptized are His potential members. Hence, we can find God everywhere if we will but look aright."

No matter what approach or approaches we choose to follow, may we never forget that our loving Lord is always at our side.