Father I love you. Test

Is it possible?

Can we be in loving dialogue with God, in intimate communion with Him, like a child with his or her Father? Of course we can, and we must. After all, what would be more normal for God our Creator, than to be in continuous dialogue with us, his creatures? He loves us so much, he sent his only Son to teach us and to show us.

“But, (says brother Aurelius) ‘one cannot be in prayerful dialogue with God, save when the soul alone, taking to itself nothing of the flesh, and nothing of the aims of the flesh, in prayer, speaks to God, where he only hears.” [1]

Thank God for our Brother Aurelius. This is a crucial part of his text, “Taking to itself nothing of the flesh, and nothing of the aims of the flesh,” means not having our spirit, our mind, our heart and our soul focused on anything else other than our Loving Father, his beloved Son and the Lord Holy Spirit.”

The whole of the Bible message is addressed to spirits, to you and me; it is a call for dialogue between God and your spirit and my spirit. There are hundreds of references in the Bible to spirits and Souls, texts that love souls, texts that speak of souls, that command souls, texts that warn souls etc.

            Is there communications between God and spirits? Yes indeed. He is Spirit and, not only are we spirit, but They[2] made us in Their image and likeness. What could be more natural? Here are a few examples.

Work in conflict with God’s Love.

One day, while on duty in pastoral care at the hospital, I found myself drawn to a room in the coronary care unit. The patient was a person who recently retired as a senior executive with a large public corporation. He was sitting on his bed and looking out the window. It was as though he was expecting me. Almost immediately, this soul began sharing with me how he spent all his active life looking after the affairs of the corporation.

“I never saw my children growing up.” he said. “I was never with my wife to care for her, to love her, she who has given her all for the children and me. We hardly know each other, he continued, and now she's left me. The children are gone. The corporation does not even know I exist anymore. Here I am, alone with a gold watch, trying to survive a heart attack.” Then he cried and cried and cried. A river of tears flowed from his heart.

This person made his career and his climb on the ladder of success his first priority. In so doing, he gave up a unique opportunity to love our dear Lord, to rejoice in his own blessings and to love his sweetheart and their children. During those precious and unique years, the family grew up without him. He did not share life's daily adventures with them. He was not there, to console those tender little hearts, when they were bruised on life’s bumpy roads. He chose the challenges of a career over opportunities to grow, to share, to laugh and to cry with his family. These once-in-a-lifetime family events will never take place in his life again. Instead of loving the hearts God placed in his nest, he gave everything he had and was to strangers. He made his work and his career a priority at the expense of all the others. “Man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”[3]

I forget how long I stayed with him, but it was obvious this is where our King wanted me to be. He spoke and I listened and listened and listened. It would be more accurate to say, God listened and listened and listened. He was confessing his sin. Full of sorrow, despair and confusion, he wondered, "What will happen now?” When he finished (I was very attentive to what the Holy Spirit would be telling me) I responded with only a word or two. God does not need many words to bring life into another, e.g. “Lazarus, come out!”[4] It seemed to me that his heart was filled with new hope. Perhaps it was not too late. Perhaps he could still do things with his loved one and their children. For God nothing is impossible. Perhaps he would have another opportunity to love them as his heart now yearned to do. At that moment I felt his heart was healed, his courage renewed.

A day or two later I asked about his whereabouts and was told he left the hospital. I was convinced he received a second chance. He paid a terrible price for his mistaken priority. He lost the love of God through his spouse and his children. She lost the love of God through her husband. The children lost the love of God through their father. These heavenly blessings were gone forever. The nest was now empty. Life has gone by and he was alone with his gold watch.

Unfortunately, there are many such experiences. What blindness! Who in his or her right mind would trade a lifetime of love and sharing for salary, position, a few gourmet meals and a gold watch? Satan is truly the Father of all lies. (John 8:45) This must never happen to you.

A heart filled with regrets.

Once I was with a friend who was dying. Sitting at his bedside, we talked about life and death, God and heaven, about how quickly the years fly by, how beautiful is his creation, and the unique beauty of each of his children.

Then I asked him what was he thinking of at this very moment... what was going through his mind?

Without hesitation he replied, “Gloria, my darling Gloria. I should have loved and cared for her a lot more than I did.”

Now, God is sending this person’s regret to you, that you may profit from it. Dear Child of God, you need not have this heartbreak. This day, today... is given to you to bring God's love to your darling spouse and your blessed children. With all your heart, minister God's love to them while you have this blessed opportunity.

Father, how great Thou art.

I would like to identify two types of communications between God and the spirits he created and gave life to. I was tempted to identify these communications as ordinary and extraordinary. However, they are it seems to me, simultaneously ordinary and very extraordinary.

On the one hand, we see his works. When George Beverly Shea sings “How Great Thou Art,” who can deny God's loving Presence through his works in our lives? Who can deny the presence of God’s Hands[5] in our lives?

How Great Thou Art.[6]

O Lord, my God! When I in awesome wonder.

Consider all the worlds thy hands have made,

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,

Thy pow'r throughout the universe displayed.

Refrain:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee.

How great thou art, how great thou art!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee.

How great thou art, how great thou art!

When through the woods and forest glades I wander.

And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees;

When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur.

And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,

Refrain:

On the other hand, what could be more normal for our Creator and Savior than he who is Spirit and Truth, to be in constant communion with us, his creatures? How great a thing it is, that God almighty, creator of everything that is, who was, who is and who shall be, should be with us and should have time for us. Which of us has not cried aloud to God that he may hear us?

A spirit who listened to God and what happened to her because of this.

One day while I was raking the fall leaves, a neighbor crossed the street to speak with me.

“Raymond,” she said, “week after week as I saw you cutting the grass or working on the lawn, I wanted to come and speak with you, but never had the courage until today.

You know Raymond that (Name) my husband is very ill. Because he is paralyzed, I have been caring for him these many years. What you do not know is that although I go to church, I have not received the sacraments for over 28 years. You see Raymond, “Name” and I are not married. He was already married when we decided to live together. A short while later he became paralyzed and I have been looking after him ever since.

Raymond, we would like to be at peace with God and I do not know whom to turn to or how to go about it. As I saw you each day working around the house or coming and going, I felt that I should speak to you and ask you for your help. Raymond, I apologize for bringing my troubles to you, but I do not know what to do or where to go.”

In my heart, I leaped for joy. This wonderful, gentle soul, mustering all her courage (and it took a great deal) was asking God to help her and her husband return to His family again. How they must have suffered all the years they were separated from Him.

I told her I would be happy to help. I thanked our dear Lord for directing his loved one to me that I may be of service to Him and to her. I thanked Him for the trust he placed in me, that he might bring his Love to them.

During the next while, I met with the bishop and discussed the situation with him, getting his advice on what could be done. I then went to a very special priest, one full of compassion and tenderness. Eventually I introduced him to them. After a few visits, they received the sacrament of reconciliation. God came to these Souls with all his love and understanding. Her partner received the sacrament for the sick as well.

Her partner’s wife had passed away some years ago. Because of his paralysis and extremely poor health, they were living all these many years not as husband and wife but as one caring for the other. Because of this, the sacrament of marriage was no longer an issue.

They invited me to bring them the Eucharist, a sacrament they had not received for years. We agreed that this wonderful event would take place in their home two days before Christmas. For the occasion, she invited a close friend to be with them. That evening, our dear Lord came into their hearts sacramentally for the first time in 28 years.

“If my father and my mother desert me, Yahweh will care for me still.[7]”

It was so very long ago when they last heard these beautiful words, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” [8]

This was a Christmas like no other. Whereas earlier the home was somber and overcast, it was now bright and alive. The sound of Christmas carols had a new dimension of heavenly joy.

Receiving our dear Lord into their hearts after such a long absence brought excitement and tears to these two very tired souls. It was as if we were with the shepherds that eventful night two thousand years ago, when a great throng of the heavenly host sang, “Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace to men who enjoy his favor.[9]” Peace was now a resident in this household.

After communion, we celebrated and rejoiced with a small Christmas party. A year later he passed away.

When God spoke to this person, she could have easily said,

“Ah, what’s the use?”

“Why bother?”

“Too many years have gone by.”

But, she did not. In response to the Spirit’s urgings, she said, “Yes.” And she crossed over to talk to me. This soul heard God's voice, she saw me and she came. God chose to work through me, her neighbor, so that she would not be fearful. She could talk to me with ease and in confidence, and, thank God I was faithful to his wishes for these two lonely lost souls.

“And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as Yahweh our God is to us whenever we call him?[10]” You must never forget this. We live in the Kingdom of God. Each one of us is a spirit made in his image and likeness. God and his love surround each one of us.

God can heal every wound. At the right moment he will invite you to come to Him, and like this soul, the next move will be up to you. The salvation of each of our souls is in our very own hands. Would you be so foolish as to think you can save your own soul?

There is no doubt that many of us (most of us?) do not live as spirits, but as consumers, as travelers, as workers, as students, and so on. Yet, the most important, the greatest gift God has given to us is our spirit. And, we hardly ever make decisions that consider first and foremost the health of our spirit; the effect such and such a decision will or will not have between our spirit and God. Will this or that decision impact on my eternity? For God's sake, for your sake, for your neighbor's sake, do not shrug off God's loving words when he speaks to your spirit and to you through other spirits.

A spirit who heard his Father calling Him Home.

 One day while on duty in the hospital's pastoral care department, the Sister in charge came to me and said,

“Deacon Raymond, Mr. --- in room --- has not been to church for 32 years. Yesterday he received the sacrament of reconciliation and now he wishes to receive communion. Would you like to bring him the holy Eucharist?”

Dear reader, imagine yourself in the arms of a person with whom you are deeply in love. Then, for 32 years you chose to close your heart to that love. For most of your adult life you rejected his or her loving exhortations, choosing instead to live in cold indifference to her supplications. Now, as if awakening from a terrible nightmare, 32 years later you find yourself face to face with that loving heart, still there... still waiting for you.

For 32 years this person said, “No!” to God's love. Now, because of a miraculous, “Yes!” because of our Lord’s forgiving heart, his own dead heart is now alive once more. Now, 32 years later, the cherished memories of that first love are resurrected into a full, living, vibrant reality in his life once more. His heart will again beat as it did during those tender moments 32 years ago. The emotional impact of such a reunion staggers one's imagination.

The next day I went to his room. I did not know who was more nervous, him or me. I asked our dearest Mother Mary to help me be a dependable minister for our dear Lord, to let me help Him seal this loving reconciliation with his gift of himself. Excitement filled my heart. During the introductions we both felt the eternal dimension of the moment envelop us. The event so overwhelmed me, I could not read all the preparatory prayers.

I told him how happy I was to be with him at this very special time in his life. Taking the pix from the table I opened it, removed the sacred Host, held it up, met him in the very depths of his soul and said,

“(Name) behold the Lamb of God, he who takes away the sins of the world.”

At this point, tears started to run down his cheeks. I responded for him, “Lord, I am not worthy to receive you...” but could not finish. My heart was overwhelmed.

After being away for a lifetime, he was once more back in his Lord’s loving embrace. He closed his eyes and embraced his King. In this loving reunion, he was now oblivious to my presence.

"At the favorable time, I will answer you; on the day of salvation I will help you." sayeth the Lord our God.[11]

There was nothing else for me to do but to leave him and Jesus together in their special personal love for each other. On his bedside table, I left a picture of our dear Mother Mary. I had written a prayer on the back, a prayer of thanksgiving for him to give her. After 32 years of being away from Mother Mary, sometimes it is not easy to find words to express what we want to say. Two days later he returned to his heavenly home.

Dear Brother/Sister in Christ, none of this would have happened had his spirit not said, “Yes!” to the Holy Spirit. None of this would have happened, had he not accepted the Holy Spirit’s invitation through the resurrecting sacrament of reconciliation. “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”[12] This is but one example of God's presence, his healing, life-giving love for you and me, in his wonderful sacrament of reconciliation.

Ministering with the Holy Spirit.

There are many times when God speaks to us through others, indeed God speaks through “men and events.”[13]

One day I received a telephone call from a friend, to tell me a certain out-of-town cousin was hospitalized in our city. I did not know him that well, we had always lived far away from one another, but we had met a few times. The first thing that came to my mind was that, through this friend, God was talking to me and I had to follow-up on this matter. This was on a Thursday evening.

Friday, Florence and I went to the hospital to visit him and to bring him a box of chocolates. When we saw his condition however, we were shocked. He had a cancerous tumor on his brain, and could only talk in fits and spurts. He was constantly losing control over his body movements. We stayed with him for about half an hour. During the course of our conversation, I asked him,

“Peter, I do not know your wife that well, what is her name?”

“Margaret.” he replied.

I blessed him, then made arrangements for him to receive the sacrament of the sick. He was not able to receive it that day, but did receive it the following day on Saturday. On Monday he died.

Florence and I went to his funeral. At the funeral parlor, I asked my friend if I could meet Peter’s wife.

“Peter has not lived with his wife for years.” she replied.

“The lady he was living with is seated right there,” she said as she nodded in her direction.

“What's her name?” I asked?

“Elizabeth.” she replied.

“But, he told me her name was Margaret.” I said.

“That is his wife’s name. He left her years ago and raised a family with Elizabeth.” she replied.

“Margaret remained faithful to him all these years.”  she added.

“What a wonderful gift this is for Margaret.” I replied.

I walked over to Margaret and asked if I could speak with her after the funeral mass the next day. She agreed.

The next day after mass and after the lunch sponsored by the parish community, I found Margaret, and told her about our visit to Peter at the General Hospital.

“Margaret,” I said.

“When I asked Peter the name of his wife, he replied, “Margaret.” He did not say “Elizabeth.” he said, “Margaret.” So you see Margaret, in his heart, you were always Peter’s wife, though he was living with another these many years.

Though you were apart all this time, Peter has always known you as his wife. Margaret, Peter left this world with your name as his wife on his lips.  Notwithstanding everything that has happened, there should be nothing but peace in your heart. Peter remained steadfast in your love and your marriage vows. What a wonderful gift God has given you.”

Peter affirmed his relationship with his true wife, and Margaret was liberated from a terrible heartbreak. How consoling it is to be God’s instrument in bringing peace and healing to his children.  The more you are concerned, about your Father’s business, the more he will entrust to you, the more God’s loving presence will be at work and the more the Kingdom will be visible to you.

God brought this healing and reconciliation about, when He spoke to me through my friend. We have to listen and hear what is really taking place.