It Takes a Dark Night to See Forever

Our humanness—that is, our selfish, sinful, materialistic ways—distances us from God.  And anything that is at a great distance is hard to see or to hear.  Take the stars, for example.  You need a clear, dark night to see them.  And the darker, the better.  To get things dark enough, you should really get away from all distractions (what star-buffs refer to as “light pollution.”)

That’s the essence of contemplative prayer.  It involves isolating ourselves in a quiet place, and then closing our eyes and ridding our minds of any thought.  Without any distracting thought clouding our mind’s eye, we begin to see the faint aura of the Holy Spirit from its great distance.  The more often we pursue this practice, the quicker we are able to “darken” our inner sky; and the quicker we become receptive to God’s call upon us.

Some people say God speaks to them directly…