Cultivating A Close Relationship With Christ
Already this month, Indiana has recorded roughly nine inches of rain – more than twice the state’s normal July average of 4.2 inches. This can create devastating loss of crops for our farmers.
The area in which we live in, Morgantown, Ind., is very rural and beautifully landscaped with acres of fields that are plowed, planted and harvested by hard-working farmers. We may all take for granted how dependent we are on the environment and weather conditions. Working the land and providing crops is very biblical. Scripture is full of references to cultivating fertile soil, harvesting, and the importance of the living water in baptism.
The human body is designed to require the same attention we give to the land we inhabit. We must be nourished and well informed in mind, body and soul. The Church is always there to guide us. We must be willing to ask for help, and our participation as full members of the Roman Catholic Church is important -- for ourselves, and for the Body of Christ.
“All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.” This is a quote from St. Teresa of Avila, also known as St. Teresa of Jesus – a Carmelite Sister and Doctor of the Church. She authored many writings during the time of the Counter Reformation, or Catholic Revival of the Church, during the mid 1500s. The four major elements to this reform in the Church were the Ecclesiastical or structural change of formation, religious orders, spiritual movements and political dimensions.
Improvements were being made in seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life, the return of spiritual foundation to all orders of religious life, and a new spiritual movement with an emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ. The mission was to reach out to parts of the world that were predominately Catholic, and focus on a reconversion of people who were once Roman Catholic. The concerns of the 14th and 15th centuries are no different than the issues of the Church today.
A Catholic revival is the responsibility of all baptized Catholics, not just priests and those belonging to a religious order. We can learn so much from those who are canonized as saintly people. Their witness is valuable, especially in a culture that battles the structure created for the Church over 2000 years ago. The writings from St. Teresa teach us that our personal prayer life is essential to the nourishment and protection of our souls. The perfect union with God is attainable by seeking that relationship in prayer.
We call our house of prayer or retreat in Morgantown the “Interior Castle” after my favorite treatise from St. Teresa. She received a vision of the soul as a castle containing seven mansions. She understood that the journey of faith crossed through seven stages, ending in perfect union with God. Our interior journey toward union with God is enriched by the grace gained through the sacraments. In meditation and prayer our souls are placed in a quiet state capable of receiving gifts from God. Even St. Teresa was humbled and felt unworthy, but was grateful for the experience.
During this month’s storms we had several long power outages. The silence and loss of electricity gave us reason to contemplate how dependent we are on noise and our electronics. It would be sad if we only experienced intimate quiet with God when our electricity was shut off. Please do not take for granted the power received from a personal relationship with Christ.
The waters of Baptism give us grace; nurture it with love from your heart, and your roots will be firmly planted. Amen!
