IF WE TRULY SEEK
"What are you looking for?" – Jn. 1:38
When Jesus asks, “What are you seeking?” and ultimately “Whom are you seeking?” we might well answer “God” or “my true self,” for there I am the dwelling of the three-personed God. This is to live a holy life, as we are called by God and graced by God to live. And God will bring that call and grace to fruition if we truly seek. Jeremiah speaks for God when he assures Israel and us: “When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).
The Second Vatican Council devoted an entire chapter of its principal document, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium), to the universal call to holiness – every person is called to live a holy life. “Holy” is sometimes used as if holiness cuts one off from other people. The reverse is true: holiness is our fundamental vocation, and it binds us most deeply to others – to all others.
The life of seeking is a lifetime’s vocation. It is meant as a time to grow, to deepen, to be purified, to overflow to others and for others. The Cloud of Unknowing says this: “If you wish to keep growing you must nourish in your heart the lively longing for God. Though this loving desire is certainly God’s gift, it is up to you to nurture it.”
Adapted from Jeremy Hall, OSB