Father Vince's Spiritual Reflections

I would like to share with you some spiritual reflections called “nuggets” that have sustained me over the years, especially when my formal prayer doesn’t seem to be working. God wants you to be happy. Are you? God loves you unconditionally. Do you believe that? Unless you are free, you cannot say “yes”. The only message of the Gospel is that God loves us; there are no strings, just joy in the Good News. God’s love is a completely free gift; accept the gift now or later. Can you imagine a loving God demanding you come to Mass every Sunday under pain of mortal sin? No one has seen God, so how can we reject a God we have not seen? He can’t recall your least failure; love keeps no records; there are no books in heaven. Nothing can separate my love from you. We can be absolutely certain of God’s love. Moments of pain challenge, and moments of joy celebrate. You can be certain of your children’s love, if you observe the two following precepts: Never abandon them and accept their freedom. Understanding is the very best form of forgiveness.

When I understand the programming and conditioning of the person offending me, I realize that there is nothing to forgive, because I would have responded the same way given the circumstances. Understanding permits forgiveness. Once you understand, you realize there is nothing to forgive.

I can continue to mention more Nuggets to you. They are from the tapes of Jim Dolan, SJ. I have used these nuggets as a springboard in my prayer life. I use these nuggets to revitalize my prayer life. I have found so often, that my prayer life has been too intellectual, but listening to these nuggets, I have learned to trust my own intuition, and live in the now, by simply learning to trust.

So I invite you to see what are your insights and what are your nuggets when you take time out to be present in the Lord. Your annual retreat is approaching in May and that may be a good time to practice this new style of prayer, to reexamine your prayer life and find a style of prayer that works for you.

Peace and joy always,

Father Vince

Fr. Vince O'Brien, S.J. is the Chaplain for SDC. He can be contacted at: Manresa Hall, 261 City Line Avenue, Merion Station, PA 19066 or (610) 660-1406.