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In
Search of the Spirit
A
monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office
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November 2004
Fall Into Grace
By
Father Steve Pawelk
As the leaves drift onto the ground and swirl in the autumn winds, I wonder what else must die, drift and be blown clear for Grace to emerge. Each month you are given an invitation to search for the Spirit, yet the Spirit is like the wind--felt, but not seen; sometimes strong, sometimes gentle.
Look at the things of autumn: the moving branches of trees, the leaves rustling in the yard or against the windows, the stillness of the air. The Spirit is like that, too. We need to notice how our presence is moving others, how our actions are rustling our surroundings, how still is our heart.
There seems to be no one way to discern the Spirit's presence. It is just a matter of patience and awareness, trust and dedication. The Spirit moves as it will.
The hardest part, however, of making room for the Spirit and following its promptings is the dying. Because I have seen many autumns and many springs, I know the brown, dead leaves that cover the earth will be replaced by new, green ones covering the branches next year. Though, as I watch things change and die, it is easy to forget my experience and to weep at my loss.
Yet, because the leaves are gone from the trees, I find I can now see just how vast the forest is. I can get a clearer perspective on the size and majesty of a mountain that was hidden by the woods in the summertime. The gracefulness of God's creation gently settles around me and in me.
So, too, as we die to some dreams and ambitions, other talents become clearer. As we shed our illusions and human desires, God's world and his way are exposed. Our search for the Spirit depends on an ability to see and listen without fear. The gifts of the Spirit are within us. The fruits of the Spirit are everywhere.
I am reminded of two scriptures:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit" (John 12: 24).
"The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven'" (Mark 4:11-12).
Jesus is using irony in the second quote to invite us to open our eyes to see anew and to open our ears to hear afresh. The Spirit awaits you. As you shed the leaves of this year, may you be exposed to a new future. Freely fall into grace.
