May 16, 2014 Friday: 4th Week of Easter A

In this month of May, the month dedicated to Blessed Mother, we implore our Heavenly Mother to teach us how to see the beauty where beauty seems absent. In a way, as we thumb through each beads of the Rosary, we are imploring her to teach us to see the beauty in disappointments, to see the beauty in losing a loved one, and to see the beauty in dying.

The mystery of recognizing the beauty in all the events of our lives is hidden in the Blessed Mother’s ‘Yes’ to God’s invitation to be the mother of Jesus. How we are afraid to say ‘yes’ to God to allow Him to take possession of our life. Yet it is when we say ‘yes’ to God like Blessed Mother, we give God the permission to unfold the adventure of grace that awaits us.

For most of our lives we have struggled to find God, to know God, to love God. We have tried hard to follow the guidelines of the spiritual life—pray always, work for others, read the Scriptures—and to avoid the many temptations to dissipate ourselves. We have failed many times but always tried again, even when we were close to despair.

Now we wonder whether we have sufficiently realized that during all this time God has been trying to find us, to know us, and to love us. The question is not “How are we to find God?” but “How will we let ourselves be found by him?” The question is not “How are we to know God?” but “How are we to let ourselves be known by God?” And, finally, the question is not “How are we to love God?” but “How are we to let ourselves be loved by God?” God is looking into the distance for us, trying to find us, and longing to bring us home.” When we allow God to find us, we begin to see the beauty that is hidden in our ordinary daily lives.