Meditation for December 13, God in the Soul

When St. Lucy was summoned before her judges, they asked: "Is it true that God dwells within us, as you Christians pretend?"

"Assuredly," she answered, "nothing is more true." St. Lucy died in testimony of this truth.

Have I sufficient faith to grasp the truth of such a reality?

This doctrine was the very life of St. Paul. Know you not that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (1 Cor. iii, 16.)

Jesus Himself has solemnly declared it: "If anyone love me (that is to say, is in the state of grace) my Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make our abode with him." (John xiv, 23.) Mortal sin alone can drive God from the soul.

I believe firmly in this ineffable and real Presence.

But can I be sure that this Presence exists in me?

If my conscience can testify that I have no grave sin on my soul, then I am in the state of grace. And if I am in the state of grace, God dwells in my soul. That is an absolute certitude.

"O Holy Trinity, I know that You dwell in this poor tabernacle of my soul; how I wish that this knowledge might not be arid and fruitless, but a conviction that turns to love. Grant that this sublime reality may energize my whole life."

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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)