How to find God’s presence, according to Mother Angelica

We do not negate our faculties to find the Absolute; we use them …

We know, as the Compendium of the Catechism tells us already in the second paragraph, that man cannot escape his desire for God. It’s written in us in our creation, and “even if this desire is often ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness for which he never stops searching.”

But even if we’re not ignoring this desire, and are in fact trying to answer it, sometimes it feels difficult to find the presence of God.

Mother Angelica, a Poor Clare of Perpetual Adoration, and the founder of EWTN, has some advice in her book On Suffering and Burnout.

Check it out:

We need to be quiet and let His Presence penetrate our being by giving Him our wills – and total selves.

In the consciousness of the Silence, we must raise our minds to the Trinity living in our souls.

We listen to the Silent Presence of the Father, and say, “Lord Father, beget Jesus in me.’

We listen to the Silent Presence of the Eternal Word, and say, “Lord Jesus, bear fruit in me.”

We listen to the Silent Presence of the Eternal Spirit, and say, “Lord Spirit, transform me into Jesus.”

And then, when we have listened and become more conscious of Their Presence working the wonders of Their Grace, we can listen to that Presence with our hearts, and say,

Lord Father, I glorify Thy Majesty.

Lord Jesus, I adore Thy Divinity,

Lord Spirit, I praise Thy Sovereignty.

Our consciousness of His Presence must not be negative or void. It must be ever moving, reaching, touching, searching and attaining the Creator of our being, the Redeemer of our souls and Love of our lives. We do not negate our faculties to find the Absolute; we use them to become aware of our Father, Savior, and Lover.