Meditation for February 12, The Difficulty of Prayer

In spite of all my efforts, prayer always remains a laborious task. One reason is that earth is earth; the happiness of being face to face with Truth is reserved for a future time.

God wishes us to grope for our way here below, He is a hidden God. At times He acts toward us like a mother, who stands behind the door watch­ing her little son reach for her with outstretched arms, unable to embrace her. The child suffers keenly because of its unfulfilled longing, but the mother's love for it is just as deep during the separation as in a loving embrace. The earth is above all else the land of outstretched arms groping for a God who incessantly eludes our grasp.

St. Bernard suggests another example (Sermon 54):

"If a child asks his father for some bread, he gives it willingly. But when the child wants a knife to cut the bread, the father even at the risk of seeming harsh, refuses it for fear that the child might hurt itself. God acts in a similar way toward us; He gives us bread already cut, and as it seems, does not wish to raise us to a higher type of prayer lest we be tempted to vanity, believing ourselves already advanced in the ways of God and esteeming ourselves better than our brethren."

"O my God, I am willing to seek You in darkness.... I know that all You send is best for me. You wish to keep me in aridity until the last day of my life, I submit. I desire You and not the pleasure of enjoying You. Help me to perse­vere in spite of the darkness and the night."
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Adapted from Meditations for Religious
by Father Raoul Plus, S.J. (© 1939, Frederick Pustet Co.)