The reality of the Divine Indwelling implies something that many of us, including myself, might find difficult to believe at times. It is this: you and I are already one with God and united to God. Yes, it is true. Those of us who are baptized and living in a state of grace are right now one with God and united to him! Does that mean that we are perfect and canonizable saints at this moment in time? No, most of us, especially myself, are not. Does it mean that we have reached transforming union and have climbed the heights of prayer and the spiritual life? No, most likely, we have not. However, we must remember that holiness occurs and increases in us through surrender and sinking deeper into the life of God, which we already have by virtue of our Baptism.
Allow me to use the following analogy to help illustrate this point more clearly. When we were baptized it was as if we were placed in the ocean, (the ocean being a metaphor for God). To grow in holiness, we don’t have to go looking for the ocean because we are already in it. On the contrary, what we must do is sink deeper into the ocean by surrendering ourselves more acutely to its mystery and beauty and trusting more deeply in its providence and love. We must hope and believe that this ocean, God, is goodness, truth, and love itself, and therefore, there is no other place that I belong, and that when I allow myself to rest here, in this ocean, i.e., God, I lack absolutely nothing. St. Paul articulates this truth to the Corinthians in this way: “I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge…so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift” (1 Corinthians 1:4-7)
I’m sure most of us, again including myself, often feel that we are lacking much in our relationship with God. What St. Paul is alluding to here is the fact that the Christian life, because of the reality of the Divine Indwelling, is more about unpacking than packing. It is more about getting rid of things than acquiring things, because we already have, not what is most necessary, but who is most necessary, namely God.
Whenever I travel, whether it is a short flight or a long one, there always appears to be one person whose suitcase is too big to fit in the overhead compartment. They always spend a few minutes desperately trying to force this oversized suitcase into a space in which it just can’t fit. Why are they attempting to place a suitcase in a space that they–and everyone else–knows is too big? Because they want to take more stuff, and most likely, they believe they need all this stuff for wherever their destination is. The bigger suitcase appears as the solution to fulfill their plans and desires. The only problem is however, it is too big for the space that is provided for luggage.
This I believe, is very similar to our relationship with God. We almost naturally think that to grow in holiness we need more “stuff”: more books, retreats, medals, prayer cards, rosaries, pilgrimages, etc. Though all these things are helpful, they are not a necessity. The truth is, we don’t need more stuff, both in life and in our spiritual life, because God has given us his very life and presence in Baptism. Therefore, we have everything we need.
What we need to do, however, is two things. First, we need to believe this truth in the depths of our hearts. Second, we need to get rid of all the stuff that is blocking or preventing us from experiencing more deeply God’s life in us. Hence, we need to get rid of the things (attitudes, behaviors, relationships, desires, etc.) that are prohibiting us from experiencing the life of the Trinity within us. This, in short, is ultimately the work of the spiritual life: an emptying of self, to be filled completely and totally with the life of God.
In conclusion, discovering and realizing the presence of God within us is of the utmost importance. Without trying to sound overly dramatic, I would venture to say that it really is a matter of life and death, spiritual life and death. If we don’t know where God is, we will look for him and hope for him in places very far away from us and not find him. For if we can’t find God within ourselves, how we will find him in other people, and in life itself? We will become naturally frustrated, confused, and angry and most likely we will begin to manipulate life, people, circumstances, and even ourselves, to try and create some kind of tangible experience, feeling, and knowledge of God. Yet as tempting as this might be at times, it never produces fruit that lasts. In, fact the more we search for God “out there,” the more we believe that God lives in some distant land far away from us, the more alone we will feel, because we will constantly be missing God, who lives inside of us.
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