The Quest to find God
This was the thought I was working on as I was flying back to Saint Louis from a home visit. How is it that we find God in our lives? On the flight, as I was reflecting, I encountered what many who fly have probably experienced. There was a baby who just would not stop crying. And that is when the question of my reflection became real. Where was God in the midst of this crying baby?
See the first thoughts in my head were not about the quest to find God. No, they were a bit of annoyance, then frustration. But then I thought, where exactly is God in this situation? For the mother or father of this child probably was not any happier than I was about the crying baby. The slight irritation I was feeling was little compared to what I perceived the mother was feeling.
And so rather than complain to myself or get frustrated, I thought about where God was in the midst of all of this. What was God calling me to do? And so the grace of God moved me to pray for this mother. I asked God to give her patience, to comfort her child, to be a good mom. I prayed for the baby that whatever was annoying this child might be relieved.
I thought of how broken is the world in which we live. And how petty my frustration was compared to what was occurring around the world. What were the stories of the people on the plane? Were there those passengers who were flying to or from something sad or difficult? I thought to myself, how can I make real the quest to find God?
As we find ourselves at the beginning of a New Year, how will you make real the quest to find God? In what ways will you seek God this year? What star will you follow to find the Christ child, the savior of the world, who longs to help you to know that God loves you more than you will ever know?
I would like to offer a few suggestions to help you in the quest to find God. First, consider the resources present on this website. There are the homilies I record. There is the Friar Book Club. There is the daily reflection (at least for 2022) Spend 5 with Jesus.
There are external links I would like to suggest as well. Perhaps you could get into the habit of reading the daily Mass readings. There is The Bible in a Year podcast which is starting again. In about twenty to thirty minutes a day you can hear a section of the bible, and a short commentary by Father Mike Schmitz. It is even available in Spanish with Fr. Sergio Serrano, OP.
What if the quest for God brought you to seeking to go to Mass on one other day than Sunday. Or maybe you could find a place where adoration of the blessed sacrament could put you into the presence of Jesus for silent prayer, allowing Jesus to touch your heart. Maybe you could make an effort to celebrate the sacrament of confession more often. To find these places for you, there is a website that list these opportunities.
As the magi discovered, the quest to find God is really about God finding us. All we really need to do is to make ourselves ready to be found.
