Did Not Recognize Him

I may seek my Creator, weeping when he is not to be found in prayer, in worship, in my daily round of activities, only to come upon him in the most unexpected of places and discover that he has been there all along.
It was I who did not recognize him.

Meet Me In The Stairwell

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news on September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.'
I held his fingers steady as he dialed.
I gave him the peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK.
I am ready to go.'

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children.
I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help.
'I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only believe in Me now.'

I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven.
He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer.
I was with the crew as they were overtaken.
I was in the very hearts of the believers there, comforting and assuring them that their faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Virginia, California, Michigan, Afghanistan.
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?

I want you to know that I saw every face.
I knew every name - though not all know Me.
Some met Me for the first time on the 86th floor.
Some sought Me with their last breath.

Some couldn't hear Me calling to them
through the smoke and flames;
'Come to Me... this way... take my hand.'
Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day.
You may not know why, but I do.
However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me?

Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end.
And I will be there for you as well.
Seek Me now while I may be found.
Then, at any moment, you know you are 'ready to go.'

I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

Seeking God

We must in all things seek God.
But we do not seek Him the way we seek a lost object, a "thing."
He is present to us in our heart, in our personal subjectivity, and to seek Him is to recognize this fact.
Yet we cannot be aware of it as a reality unless He reveals His presence to us. He does not reveal Himself simply in our own heart.
He reveals Himself to us in the Church, in the community of believers, in the koinonia of those who trust Him and love Him.
Seeking God is not just an operation of the intellect, or even a contemplative illumination of the mind.
We seek God by striving to surrender ourselves to Him whom we do not see, but Who is in all things and through all things and above all things.

Thomas Merton.

Seasons of Celebration: 223-224.

We grow and flourish in our own lives in so far as we live for others and through others.
What we ourselves lack, God has given them.
They must complete us where we are deficient.
Hence we must always remain open to one another so that we can always share with each other.

Thomas Merton

Seasons of Celebration: 229

The Merton Institute For Comtemplative Living