This Week’s Reflection: On Seeking and Falling in Love

This week, I thought I would let St. Josemaría Escrivá speak for himself. One of the things that has attracted me the most to St. Josemaría has been his practical advice and spiritual practices. I especially liked this reflection on the “stages” to identify ourselves with Christ. The four stages are: 1) Seeking Christ, 2) Finding Him, 3) Getting to know Him and 4) Loving Him. I have to say that in my spiritual life I have found that sometimes I am in stage 3, but sometimes I go all the way to stage 1, but then to stage 4. All emphasis is mine.

Interior life is strengthened by a daily struggle in your practices of piety, which you should fulfill – or rather which you should live – lovingly, for the path we travel as children of God is a path of Love. (The Forge, 83)

I have distinguished as it were four stages in our effort to identify ourselves with Christ: seeking him, finding him, getting to know him, loving him. It may seem clear to you that you are only at the first stage. Seek him then, hungrily; seek him within yourselves with all your strength. If you act with determination, I am ready to guarantee that you have already found him, and have begun to get to know him and to love him, and to hold your conversation in heaven (Phil 3:20).

Try to commit yourself to a plan of life and to keep to it: a few minutes of mental prayer, Holy Mass — daily, if you can manage it — and frequent Communion; regular recourse to the Holy Sacrament of Forgiveness — even though your conscience does not accuse you of mortal sin; visiting Jesus in the Tabernacle; praying and contemplating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and so many other marvelous devotions you know or can learn…

Please don’t forget that the important thing does not lie in doing many things; limit yourself, generously, to those you can fulfill each day, whether or not you happen to feel like doing them. These pious practices will lead you, almost without your realizing it, to contemplative prayer. Your soul will pour forth more acts of love, aspirations, acts of thanksgiving, acts of atonement, spiritual communions. And this will happen while you go about your ordinary duties, when you answer the telephone, get on to a bus, open or close a door, pass in front of a church, when you begin a new task, during it and when you have finished it: you will find yourself referring everything you do to your Father God. (Friends of God, 300 and 149)