In The Deep Waters

(Picture found here)

“For me, the ability to choose rightly is always dependent on prayer. Prayer and sacraments. This gives me the interior sense that I will be guided and helped by Christ, as long as I desire to do God’s Holy Will (even if I am sometimes confused about what that is in practical terms). At a deep level, it is about conformity to Christ, a constant patterning of one’s life on what Jesus teaches us, and shows us, about what it is to be a true man. This conformity will inevitably lead us to tests and troubles. It means we must pass through seasons of impossible barriers and temptations. It means we will suffer at times, even to the point of feeling the ‘dark night of the soul.’ But if we persevere, every temptation and every other kind of difficulty enables us to face the next ones with more confidence and hope. Gradually, over time, in the deep waters of the soul, we come to know that Jesus is with us. Always He is with us, especially when we are carrying a cross and feel nothing but desolation. We will know this, if we do not let ourselves lose heart, if we do not seek false consolations or lies to make the conscience silent. If we keep faithful, then slowly, quietly, Jesus begins to bring forth new life in us, and through us He gives new life for others. This is fruitfulness.

...[This path] is normal Christianity; it is for all of us...”

~Michael O’Brien