I sense keenly how Your divine Blood is circulating in my heart; I have not the least doubt that Your most pure love has entered my heart with Your most sacred Blood. I am aware that You are dwelling in me, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, or rather I am aware that it is I who am living in You, O incomprehensible God! I am aware that I am dissolving in You like a drop in an ocean. I am aware that You are within me and all about me, that You are in all things that surround me, in all that happens to me. O my God, I have come to know You within my heart, and I have loved You above all things that exist on earth or in heaven. Our hearts have a mutual understanding, and no one of humankind will comprehend this. —Diary of Sr. Faustina 478
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In Christianity our humanity is not something to be transcended, but a state that is yet to be achieved. In the Incarnation of Jesus Christ we are shown what it is like to live a life of true love and compassion for all. He bore all that we could do to him, yet he also forgave all. That is a true human act. The mystics from all traditions speak of a union with God and often use the analogy of a drop of water becoming one with the ocean. It does not mean loss of identify, but a letting go of all resistance to becoming one with what we are actually made for.
Our ideas of self and of person-hood are limited by our senses, our culture and how we react to the world around us in fear or anger or anxiety. Sr. Faustina speaks in very down to earth terms when seeking to convey her relationship with Christ Jesus. She speaks of his heart, his blood flowing through her body. She sees God’s presence not only within, but in all things that surround her. This allows love and trust to flower since she has learned to deal with her fears. Fear can protect us; we live in a dangerous world. God need not be feared; he does not devour or manipulate, or use, nor objectify us. When we understand that we are truly seen fully yet loved, it is then that our journey towards union with God begins. Fear is useless, what is needed is trust.
It is a hard road this death to self. The deeper in we go, the stronger the battle; for healing demands self knowledge at ever deeper levels. It is not magic, it is based on a loving relationship with God, which demands self awareness and a deepening consciousness of who we are and who God is. We have to unlearn many things in order to grow in our love and trust of God. We have to outgrow childish understandings of God, to understand what it means to walk the road of unknowing…..this has to be experienced in order to be understood.
Br. Mark Dohle, OCSO
Holy Spirit Monastery
