No one man walks alone on the face of the Earth. Once God revealed Himself fully in His Son Jesus Christ, never again is He or can He be absent from our concrete reality. On the Contrary, He would act against Himself and stop being whom He is; Neither would that font of Supreme Good, proclaim indifference in relation to the concrete living of each one of His sons.

In the same way, man also can proclaim a pretense of independence from God and to live as if He did not exist. However, in fact, the Lord never abandons Him. In truth, neither is the man able to live in a way that is independent from God, he continues to walk “in the shadow of His presence”, even when he insists in living on a kind of “eclipse from what is Above”: the rays of the sun from the King of Kings cannot shine shine apparently with the same intensity in the life of those that open themselves consciously and voluntarily to His presence, but continue to be a certain presence that freely is nourished on each stop on the road to Him.

All of us run the imminent risk of this happening: from one hour to another, the palpable certainty of being submerged in God and being governed by Him can give way to this eclipse, that calls into question all certainty, and in its place, brings the distinct impression of being swamped by an abyss that makes the path that leads to understand the action of God in our history, virtually impassable.

How can we prevent ourselves from being fooled by these impressions and then base our own road on a more secure Earth? The Lord himself can respond to this question when he alerts the pharisees that they pay the tithe but turn their backs upon justice and love. “It was necessary to practice these things, without, ignoring the others.” (Lk 11:42)

We are only able to confront tribulation without despairing or giving up,and live with God the delights of being with God of sensitive way, if we maintain always before the eyes of the soul  the reminder that such conditions are another thing, different ways to demonstrate temporal inexpressible reality that is the saving action of God. This means that neither one nor the other thing should be repositories of our hopes. Our focus, our goal should be to walk and be with Jesus forever in any situation.

If we live by the Spirit, let us walk also in accord with the Spirit. (Gal 5:25), says St. Paul. The authenticity of our being men and women of the Spirit is attested through the availability of continuing to walk, maybe fast, maybe slower. The walk of faith does not have a speed. The important thing is not to cool the certainty of which God is always with us!

We ask the help of the Lord:

Lord, I renounce all mistakes which may occur, all illusion and false spirituality that may be allowed to bring fleeting impressions.

Teach my heart to encounter only in You secure ground!

I desire to continue walking. Warm my heart! That my eyes may be able to fix themselves on You, the only goal of my walk, my only hope. Amen!

Your Brother,

Leonardo Meira
Canção Nova (New Song) Community

translated from Portuguese