God Who Acts in Us

A recent longitudinal study of Catholic youth into young adulthood revealed that something like 78% of young people claim that they made a commitment to God before the age of 14.  The reasons for this commitment were not clear in the survey, but I have to believe that such a high percentage is not the result of teaching per se, because Catholic teaching of young children has never emphasized 'giving your heart to Christ' or "making a commitment to God,' as much Baptist teaching does.  In fact, my students are often confused when asked by their peer if they are 'saved.'  They are not sure what that means from their experience in the Catholic church.

What I think can account for this reporting is the fact that the Holy Spirit is at work in the hearts of young children, whether they are being formally instructed or not.  My granddaughter, who has never been taught about God and who does not attend church at all, told me last year that when the sun's rays come streaming from behind the clouds, it seems that God is "right there." 

There is something that lies at our deepest center that is like a 'bell' ringing inside of us, alerting us to truth, goodness, and beauty.  We can often tell whether someone is honest or not, though we have no words to explain what it is that is telling us not to trust another person.  What we call 'religion' is man's response to the deepest part of himself, his deep center, that we call God.  When we touch that center, we are home; we have found ourselves, and we want to find ways of expressing our deepest joy.  Some mystics, trying to find words for their experience, call it the 'inchoate memory of God's kiss as He puts our souls into our bodies."

The pre-Vatican II mass in Latin, accompanied as it was by music, incense, ritual, symbols, and quiet was the perfect setting for the soul that wanted to touch the face of God, without words, without understanding---and sometimes even without emotion.  Mysticism is knowing ourselves as rooted in God beyond explicit thought and feeling.  Mysticism is everyday contact with Someone who loved us before we were born, before we were ''good,'' before we were fully developed. 

I am not suggesting that we return to the Latin Mass, but I do believe that as we leave childhood and depend more on reason and intellect and less on "knowing that we know," we need to find ways to just be in the Presence of the God who loves us beyond all thought and reason.

My own words are becoming fewer and fewer in the face of this great mystery of Presence, and I am considering no longer writing a blog, since every 'explanation' of what I experience in God falls far short of the reality.  Maybe childhood and old age have that in common -- no words are necessary to validate the experience of God's Holy Spirit in our hearts.