In no way do I seek perfection inquisitively, but I probe into the spirit of Jesus and fix my eyes on His deeds as summarized in the Gospel. Even if I live a thousand years, I would not exhaust what is contained there.–Sr. Faustina’s diary 510
When the reality of Jesus becomes actual, when the depth of his love starts to soften my often hard heart, it is then that the stories that are related in the Gospels become more important than merely quoting verses and arguing. How did Jesus see others, how did he relate to those that others only held in contempt? With his eyes he saw into the depths of the human heart and only felt compassion for them. True he had harsh words, but only used to break through blindness. They were not spoken out of a desire to humiliate or to control. The mystery of who Jesus is can only be understood at ever deeper levels by deeply pondering his relationships with others. It is then that he becomes alive and we begin to see his face on all we come in contact with. It is not always easy, but grace slowly draws us into deeper freedom and we understand what it means to be free from the burden of hatred, anger and judging. True there is struggle, but once we give ourselves over to seeking God, no matter whom we are, grace begins its work. We learn to trust and to not believe our inner voices that seek to reaffirm their control over us. Once we understand how we are loved as shown in the Gospels, we can begin to love ourselves a Jesus commanded us to do….then love of others follows. It is then that we begin to understand that it is true that the Spirit of God does pray in and through us. We learn of our connection and oneness with all others, for we share in the very inner heart of God.
