Yearning for God
by Fr.Gus Carter
11/27/05

Perhaps in the last year many have asked, "Where was God in the disastrous sunamis, hurricanes and earthquakes?" The liturgical year of the Church reminds us of God's work among us for the salvation of souls. Advent recalls for us the yearning of the Jewish people for the Messiah. St. Augustine wrote of human destiny: "Our hearts, 0, God were made for Thee, and they shall not rest until they rest in Thee. " Yearning for God is a blessing in itself. The human problem is that we seek to fill our need for God by all kinds of trivial things in our quest for riches, power and honors. We forget what really fills and satisfies our hearts.

When individuals fail in their seeking for happiness, many say, "Where is God?" Such were the generations to whom the prophet Isaiah spoke. God tells them that they were never abandoned by heaven; God was right beside them, waiting for them to respond. In the prayer found in the passage we have read from Isaiah today the people recognized that they are not only God's children, they are also his servants. In their sorrow about what seemed their distance from God the people realized that they will know God's presence is doing the will of God.

St. Catherine of Sienna said, "The way to heaven is heaven." She found in her service of God, the nearness of God. St. Paul told the Corinthians, "In Christ you are enriched in every way... the testimony of Christ was confirmed among you so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift." To strengthen their faith and to increase their humility, God's grace sometimes made the Lord seem distant from the great saints. They came to realize all the more their need for God. This gave them great consolation. They were able to trust in the Lord in their darkest moments. St. Therese of Lisieux was able to thank God for her faith in times when God seemed absent in her life. Yearning for God is one the important signs that God is present in our lives.

The saddest thing is when people stop thinking of God. The watchfulness Jesus recommends is looking for sings of God's presence in our lives. We are greatly blessed if we see signs of God's presence in the good deeds of those around us. We are being watchful if we see signs of God's bounty and beauty and graciousness in the beauty of nature.

St. Therese showed us that we can be aware of God and express our love for God in the daily rounds of our lives. She swept floors conscientiously as a way of expressing her love for God. So much of our daily work does help others in some way. We can do our work faithfully as a way of being watchful for the Lord. We are carrying out the command to love.
Many who overlook God's presence find their lives meaningless. They come to think of their lives as treadmills on which they go from one task to the next in a kind of mindless way. Those who seek to serve God in their daily routines find meaning in all that they do.

Watchfulness is not only a command of Jesus, it is good advice from one who loves us. Our God does not want us to miss the signs of divine love that really fills our lives if we would just try to see.
Advent is a time to remember what a great grace it is to yearn for God who loves us. C. S. Lewis wrote that yearning for God is more satisfying than any other satisfaction. As we look forward to the glory of Christmas and the tenderness surrounding Jesus' crib, we can pray St. Augustine's pray found in his "Confessions:" "0 Lord, you offer yourself, lovable and longed for, that I may thrust myself away from evil and choose you. "