Radiation

The love of God is continuous and indivisible.  It radiates from on high, through our prayer and contemplation, straight into action, as a single love for God, for mankind, and for the entire creation.
                      ---paraphrased from a reading on Prayer by Hans Urs von Balthasar

As Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 3, we cannot tell where the love of God comes from, or where it is going.  Once it touches us, it begins to flow through us, outward to the people and the world around us.  Far from making us want to retire from the world, the love of God propels us forward with a new kind of energy that does not come from us, but from the Spirit dwelling within us. 

We see in ourselves a new "thing;" a new compassion for others, even for those we do not know.  We experience a new kind of openness to other people, now that we are no longer afraid of being hurt.  Everything becomes "one:" our prayer, our daily tasks, our gifts, our desires and energies---all coming from God and returning to His kingdom on earth.  We receive from God everything we need for our mission---the wisdom, the practical knowledge, and the desire to accomplish what He has sent us to do. 

The love of God sends us forth; we do not go of ourselves, but from Him.  Jesus said, "As the Father has sent me, so also I send you."  And occasionally, we catch a glimpse of what that means:  we "happen" to be in the right place at the right time; we suddenly know something we did  not know we knew; we are motivated to give a gift we had no previous intention of giving.  The Spirit of God moves in us and through us to repair and reconcile the world to God.

Knowing the radiation that comes from God through us, our first and most important task of each day should be to come into contact with the Source of that love which alone has the power and energy to transform not only our own lives but the lives of those around us.