Making room for God

“Blessed are the poor in spirit; the reign of God is theirs” (Mt 5:3).

The only idol, which can do hand-to-hand combat with God over our heart, is our self. Our “I” tends to become “god.” That is to say, our “I” claims and demands worship, love, admiration, dedication, and adoration on all levels, something that belongs to God alone. The two cannot rule at the same time in the same territory, in conclusion, either one retires or the other retires. “No one can be the slave of two masters” (Mt 6:24).

When our interior is liberated from interests, owner-ship, and desires, God can become present there without trouble. On the other hand, as long as our interior is occupied by selfishness and egotism, then there is no place for God. It is occupied territory.

So we come to understand that the first commandment is identical to the first Beatitude: the more we are poor, detached, and disinterested, the “more” God is God within us. The more we are “gods” to ourselves, the “less” God is God within us. The plan, then, is very clear: “He must grow greater, I must grow less” Jn 3:30).

Excerpted from the book Sensing Your Hidden Presence by Fr. Ignacio Larrañaga