Most of the time, we divorce our spiritual life from our
secular one. We might set aside time for prayer each day and go to Church on
Sundays, but it is often very difficult to see ourselves perpetually in the
presence of God. St. Paul, in his letter to the Church in Philippi, offers us a
way to meditate continually on the things of God.
“Finally brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if
there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians
4:8).
Even in our world wrought with pain and suffering, it is yet
possible to see God’s hand in our lives and in His creation. As I do my day to
day tasks do I fix my gaze solely on what is true, honorable, just, pure,
lovely, gracious, excellent, and worthy of praise? We are all called to
holiness but not all in the same way. In addition, the world, since it was
created by God, still reflects the beauty of God, if only imperfectly and
indirectly. When we meditate on what is good and pure, we avoid sin which draws
us away from God who is true Goodness and Purity. Many of us (myself included)
have an overactive imagination. This imagination can lead us to sin, but it can
also draw us closer to God and His Will. We must not imagine ourselves away
from the reality of suffering in the world, but we must use our imagination to
seek what is just and beautiful so that we can have the hope necessary in us to heal the suffering around us. We must not
fall into despair but persevere to the end.
