Embracing the infinite mystery of God

One thing is to have the mental concept that fire burns, but it is something quite different to thrust your hand into flames and experience that fire really does burn. One thing is to have the idea that water satisfies thirst, and another is to drink a glass of cool water on a warm summer afternoon and experience that water quenches thirst. Theoretically we may know that a certain symphony is magnificent, but it is something very different to be moved to tears as we listen to it. We know that God is love because we learned it in catechism, but it is altogether different to vibrate with emotion before an infinitely loving and beloved presence.

One thing is the word God, and another thing is God himself. One thing is the word love, and another thing is love. God is not a theory or theology. He is a concrete person, and a person is known through a personal relationship. This personal relationship confers that knowledge (gained through experience) “that surpasses all understanding”. If we do not dive headfirst into the sea of God, we will never know who God is.

No one has the right to talk about God if they do not talk with God. Otherwise, we would be transformed into hollow gongs or simply playing empty word games. This helps explain why there is often a lot of productivity and brilliant statistical data in the Church, but it is also obvious to the eye that such productivity is not proportional to true fruitfulness. Productivity depends upon human efforts, and is an activity which is measurable and can be reduced to numbers and statistics. Fruitfulness, on the other hand, depends upon God himself: He is the sole author of grace, grace which is spread through humble servants and true friends of the Lord.

Extracted from the book “Journey towards God” by father Ignacio Larrañaga