The Harried Mystic

There is much in this Psalm but verses 19-20 especially grab my attention.

To know ” the Law” ( His statutes and judgments) is to be mindful of His movement in and among us. Keeping watch is at heart an act of devotion. Yet the distractions are legion and we miss what we are not looking for. We can go days, weeks, months and even years blind to the miraculous Presence unfolding right before our eyes.

Lisa Randall, elementary particle physicist at MIT, has spoken of the essential human quality of not seeing and so assuming that what isn’t seen just isn’t there.

We struggle to believe in what we cannot discern with our five senses. “Dark matter,” so called, comes to mind. It is passing through us and is all around us constantly but, as it is ” transparent matter,” as Randall puts it, it eludes detection. Yet, visible matter is only 5% of the stuff of the universe!

Scientists must train to see the invisible by creative means including mathematical constructs. The musings of theoretical physics have conjured up multiple dimensions well beyond the observable three, and multiple universes ( infinities within infinities) and the maths involved have revealed possibilities that go well beyond what we would ever be able to directly perceive. What does not seem obvious is, simply “not obvious to us, ” says Randall.

The same applies to the way theology works to extend our reach into Mystery. Our speculations and scholarship give us eyes to see with our imaginations. We excavate meaning and attend to nuances and in doing so live our Faith ever more richly and deeply.

And so, I pray:

Spirit of Love, Matrix of all Being, you give me eyes to see and ears to hear. With so many distractions, I surely miss much. Bless me with the grace to keep watch.

Let us keep vigil for the divine movements that ebb and flow in perpetual currents all around us and within us.

© The Harried Mystic, 2019 and Br. Anton, TSSF. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.