Extraordinary Grace/Ordinary Moments

Some days there is grief in every corner of the room . You can move to another room , but you can spot grief in those corners too . So there's not a room , a safe room .

And when I find myself at sixes and sevens , on those days when I can't escape those corners , I look to some of my favorite authors , including the Jesuit Karl Rahner , who was largely the greatest influence at Vatican II , and so today I want to share some of his words with you . "O God , it seems we can lose sight of you in anything we do .

It seems we can lose sight of you in anything we do . Not even prayer or the holy sacrifice , or the quiet of the cloister , and even the great disillusion with life itself can fully safeguard us from this danger , and thus it's clear that even these sacred , non-routine things belong ultimately to our routine .

It's evident that routine is not just part of my life , not even just the greatest part , but the whole . Every day is every day . Everything I do is routine , because everything can rob me of the one and only thing I really need , which is you , my God . Rahner tells us that God comes to us continually , both directly and indirectly .

He demands of us both work and pleasure , and wills that each should not be hindered but rather strengthened by the other . Thus the interior man possesses his life in both these ways , in activity and in rest , and he is whole and undivided in each of them . For he is entirely in God when he joyfully rests and he is entirely in himself when he actively loves .

This interior man is constantly being challenged and admonished by God to renew both his rest and his work . Thus he finds justice , thus he makes his way to God with sincere love and everlasting works .

He enters into God by means of this pleasure-giving tendency to eternal rest , and while he abides in God , still he goes out to all creatures in an all-embracing love , in virtue and justice , and that is the highest stage of the interior life .

Since we do much of our grieving and much of our mourning in our interior life , it is important to pay attention to the movement of God inside of us . And Rahner goes on . --Those who do not possess both rest and work in one and the same exercise have not yet attained this kind of justice .

No , just man can be hindered in his interior recollection , for he recollects himself as much in pleasure as in activity . He is like a double mirror reflecting images on both sides . In the higher part of his spirit , he receives God together with all his gifts . In the lower , he takes in corporeal images through his senses and he closes Before you .

All multiplicity becomes one In you . All that has been scattered is reunited In your love . All that has been merely external is made again true and genuine In your love . All the diffusion of the day's chores comes home again to the evening of your unity , which is eternal life .

This love which can allow my daily routine to remain routine and still transform it into a homecoming to you , this love only you can give . So what should I form it into A homecoming to you ? This love , only you can give . So what should I form it into A homecoming to you ? This love only you can give .

So what should I say to you now , as I come to lay my everyday routine before you ? There is only one thing I can beg for , and that is your most ordinary and most .

Touch my heart with this grace , o Lord , and when I reach out in joy or in sorrow for the things of this world , grant that through them I may know and love you , their maker and final home , you who are love itself , give me the grace of love , give me yourself , so that all my days be finally empty into the one day of your eternal life .

-- And at the close , Rahner asks questions of us . He asks us to offer our daily routines to God . We could do this by praying over our daily appointment book or calendar as a sign of daily routine , or in any other way . We can write a description of the big picture life task that we're reaching for .

Is this the way of practicing the discipline of service ? Make a list of the most unremarkable , ordinary , boring things that happened today . Was this unremarkable day rather typical of your daily routine ? And Rahner closes with this direct prayer to God: "Before you , all multiplicity becomes one In you . All that has been scattered is reunited In your love .

All that has been merely external is made again true and genuine . In your love , all the diffusion of the day's chores comes home again to the evening of your unity , which is eternal life . This love which can allow my daily routine to remain routine and still transform it into a homecoming to you , this love only you can give .

So what should I say to you now as I come to lay my evening routine before you ? There is only one thing I can beg for , and that is your most ordinary and most exalted gift the grace of your love . Touch my heart with this grace , o Lord . Touch my heart with this grace , o Lord , when I reach out , in joy or in sorrow , for the things of this world .

Grant that through them I may know and love you , their Maker and final home . You who are love itself . Give me the grace of love , give me yourself , so that all my days may finally empty into the one day of your eternal life . That concludes this week's episode . You can find us on Apple , Spotify or Amazon .

Feel free to send any questions you might have about grieving to my email . In the show notes I'll try to answer any questions you have in the future . Remember I'm always available for spiritual direction by Zoom to those who are grieving . Please reach out to me . If you have this need , be safe . Travel with God always at your side . Vaya con Dios .