Living With Reverence

On the Journey Towards Living With Reverence

written by JAN DAVIS

Reverence usually resides in quiet places.
It plays with a newborn baby and it holds the hand of an old man.
It is found in awe, it participates in ritual, it gazes at a rose.
The object of reverence would open us to the transcendent.
It is not something within our power to change or control and is not a human product.
It is not fully comprehended, even by experts.
The posture of reverence is seen in Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son - the touch, the knowing of God's first love.
It is in holding what is dear.
Rather than trying to manipulate our environment, in the presence of reverence we allow ourselves to truly encounter the other in mystery.

I remember once walking into a very old, small cathedral.
I smelled the accumulated candle wax and lingering incense.
I sensed that it had long been a prayed-in place. I could almost hear the subtle echoes of ancient prayers.
It awakened my yearning for knowing my place as a human being among the community of worshipers.

The face of reverence is our own self-portrait.
We look at ourselves and know the tender place within where the Divine dwells.
The key is to feel the reverence go deep and to give it away at the same time.

- JAN DAVIS is a wife, mother, and grandmother. Her Doctor of Ministry is in proclamation and worship, and she leads retreats and parish missions. Jan is a Benedictine Oblate and spiritual director in San Antonio, Texas.