by Fr Dn Charles Joiner –
In the beginning of our spiritual journey we realize that we lack an inner peace, and realize that the way we are seeking to find it only seems to bring more turmoil. We have a feeling that God is distant from us and that our inner being is seeking a peace it cannot find. This motivates us to renew, or even begin for the first time, our search for God, and a deep inner spiritual peace only He can bring. This effort is brought about by our conscience and engages our will to take actions that will help us change our way life.
We seek spiritual books to read, we seek out a spiritual father to teach us the way, and we begin to attend worship services more regularly. With our sincerity in this effort, we are properly guided and encouraged to also actively participate in the sacramental life of the Church, primarily Confession and Holy Communion. We learn about, and begin, the ascetic disciplines of fasting and daily prayer, and learn how to properly prepare to receive Holy Communion regularly.
Through our participation in the Sacraments, our self-knowledge increases, and we become aware of how often we miss the mark in fulfilling God’s commandments. With this increased knowledge we receive the gift of God’s grace, the Holy Spirit, which begins to work from within us.
Saint Theophan the Recluse put it this way: “If all goes well, a man who seeks after God will, upon reflection, decide to give up distractions and a life lived in self-denial, inspired by fear of God and by his conscience. In answer to this decision the grace of God which until now has acted from without, enters within through the sacraments; the spirit of man, previously important, now becomes full strength.”
We begin our Christian journey with the insight that we are separated from God and an awareness that our soul seeks an inner peace that only comes from the Holy Spirit working from within our being. We read and get advice from a spiritual doctor, most commonly our parish priest, and begin to nurture our soul through the sacramental life in the Church.
We experience this sacramental way of life as the spiritual medicine that brings God’s Grace, Christ Himself, and the Holy Spirit, to grow within us. It is this spiritual force that warms our heart, purifies it, brings us into a closer relationship with God, and develops an unshakable inner peace. We discover that this is a peace that is not disturbed by the trials and tribulations of our earthly life.
Reference: Saint Theophan the Recluse in The Art of Prayer, p 167
