Ironic isn’t it? We live in the country that is the most prosperous in human history yet at the same time our country is filled with people struggling to find contentment. No doubt the media has a vested interest in stirring our need to have more and improved “things.” Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous thrived in the TV ratings race for years by tempting us with images of people who have amassed wealth and fame. And in doing so they taught us that contentment comes through acquisitions and accomplishments. We bought it. Unfortunately, if the truth were known, the lesson we were taught is really not true (i.e., the rich and the famous suffer from discontent too).

Solomon of the Old Testament, whose possessions and accomplishments would impress even Robin Leach, at the pinnacle of his wealth and fame described the pursuit as vanity and striving after the wind. Wealth and fame can not fill what the French mathematician Pascal described as the “God-shaped vacuum” within each of us. They understood with the Apostle Paul that contentment is learned rather than purchased.

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether ill fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:11-13)

Paul understood that true contentment comes from trust in a God who is loving, sovereign and wise. In fact, if we believe that God is loving, sovereign and wise (all three) it is only logical that we be content in any circumstance. However, two out of three attributes won’t do.

For example, a God who is loving and wise but not sovereign would want the best for us and know what’s best for us but would be unable to accomplish his desire for us. Similarly, a God who is loving and sovereign but not wise would want to do the best for us and have the power to accomplish it if He could figure out what He should do. Finally, a God who is wise and sovereign but not loving would both know the best for us and be able to accomplish it yet would lack the motivation to act on our behalf.

Paul, convinced that God was all three (loving, sovereign and wise) obtained a contentment unaffected by the winds of circumstance. He understood that true and lasting contentment comes through a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul, formerly an enemy of Jesus Christ, came to understand that God in sending His Son to provide for mankind’s forgiveness was unmistakable proof that He is loving, sovereign and wise. If we, with Paul, believe God has done the very best for us (sending Christ) surely we can trust Him to provide the rest we need.

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)

I invite your personal observations regarding this principle

Careful what you ask for, Doc ;-)

God's Will and Living the Present Moment

by Brian J. Kopp, DPM

There is a SUPERB little book, considered one of the ten greatest Christian spiritual writings of all time, called "Abandonment to Divine Providence" by Fr. Jean Pierre de Caussade. Other translations are titled "Self Abandonment to Divine Providence" and "The Sacrament of the Present Moment." It is thought that St. Therese based some of her thoughts on abandonment on his writings.

I cannot recommend de Caussade highly enough. His book deals with how to be holy by simply accepting the duties of one's state in life as God's Holy Will for you in the present moment.

The only Grace God gives us is the Grace to live in the present moment. The past is gone, and if confessed, the sins of our past are forgiven and forgotten by God. We only have the Grace from God to live the present moment. We do not have the Grace right now to deal with tomorrow or next week or next year. God will give us that Grace when that moment comes. If we keep reliving the past, or try to deal with tomorrow's troubles today, we will fail and fall, because all we have is the Grace necessary for this present moment.

Satan defeats us by causing us to regret the past and worry about the future, when all we have the Grace for is the present. Of course that Grace is sufficient to overcome any temptation or deal with any hardship or suffering, if only we abandon ourselves to the Grace of God's Divine Providence that He makes available at every moment.

De Caussade's primary point is, then, that all that is necessary to become a saint (it is understood of course that the faithful must first observe the laws of the church and the commandments) is to live our daily lives in complete and utter abandonment to God's Will made manifest in our duty and state in life. That Will is revealed to us by our the duties, joys, and sufferings of the present moment. Of course, God never actively wills us suffering or evil, but sometimes His permissive will allows suffering (a result of Original Sin) for our own sanctification and salvation as well as the salvation of all sinners.

If we accept all these as a sublime gift from God, not fighting or rejecting them constantly or always regretting the past or fearing the future, then we will indeed be saints, because that is all that God asks of any of His children. A saint may therefore be a wife living a hidden life of chores and changing dirty diapers, or it may be a life of one called to extraordinary duties such as Mother Theresa, but if both equally abandon themselves to the duties of their state in life they are equally saints in God's eyes.

So forget the past, whose sins are forgiven and forgotten, don't worry about the future, because you do not at present have the Grace necessary to deal with it, and live in complete abandonment the duties, joys and sufferings of the present moment, which is nothing more or less than God revealing to you His Holy Will. Use to their fullest those gifts of wisdom and intellect God has bestowed upon you. (And don't look for signs in the sky from God for direction---he gave us a brain and expects us to make use of it.)

God asks nothing more than this, and if we do it we will indeed be saints. Of course, it is very simple. But just because something is simple that does not mean it is always easy. The Cross is simple, but it was not easy.

How could I possibly satisfy myself in the Lord if He is unable to completely satisfy Himself in His desires for Himself-my God is Sovereign? "Our God [is] in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased."
Where would my foundation be in Lord if He did not prize Himself above all things-my God is Wise? "When he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him." [and again] "therefore God, [even] thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."
How could I possibly delight myself in the Lord if He does not foremost delight in Himself-my God is Love? "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, [in whom] my soul delighteth"
My hope--The Lord values the display of His worth and glory above all things; I can rest knowing that there is nothing more to be desired than the Lord-my God is Sovereign.
My hope--The Lord values the display of His worth and glory above all things; I can satisfy myself in My God who delights in the display of His own radiant splendor-my God is Wise.
My hope--The Lord values the display of His worth and glory above all things; with the zeal that He delights to display His worth and glory My God pursues me as an object of His mercy-my God is Love.

We can remain in the city and remain unsatisfied in that which cannot satisfy or we can "go forth to Him outside the camp and acquaint ourselves with His sorrows;" to Him who will not only elevate us to the maximum of our joy, but also that "His joy might remain in us, and [that] our joy might be full" so that we should be elevated to have the maximum of His joy.

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