This is what God's Coming in grace means--a soul in the state of grace
is the host of the Blessed Trinity, neither more nor less. "_We_ will
come to Him and will make our abode with him," (St. John XIV. 23) and
from the moment that grace enters, the soul becomes the abode of God the
Father, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost.
It was at the moment of Baptism that our souls were raised to the
dignity of being hosts of God Himself. What happened then? God added to
the natural gifts with which He had endowed man _super_natural ones,
summed up in the gift of grace. What is that? A participation in His own
life, something which makes us "partakers of the _Divine_ nature." (2
Pet. I. 4). He created man thus in the beginning, for He meant man
always to possess supernatural as well as natural gifts. He meant always
to live with man and talk and walk with him in the paradise of his soul;
but Adam chased out the Divine Guest and lost this miraculous privilege
for all his children. God, however, could not rest content to be outside
the souls which He had created solely that He might live in them, and He
devised a way (the first Coming of Christ) by which He might get back to
the dwelling which He cherished so much. We need not follow the
beautiful story of the Redemption through all its wondrous steps, we
know it well enough; we will take it up at Baptism, when the divine gift
of life which Adam lost was restored to the soul, when God came back to
His chosen dwelling, and the soul regained its responsible position of
host to the Blessed Trinity. When Satan had noticed that the soul was
left exposed, that it was a human soul only, with nothing divine about
it, he naturally had taken possession, as he does of all empty houses;
(St. Matt. XII. 44) so at Baptism the Priest said: "Depart from him,
thou unclean spirit, and give place to the Holy Ghost." Where the Holy
Ghost is, there are also the Father and the Son. The Blessed Trinity,
then, waits to take possession of each soul, waits to come back to Its
own, waits to restore the privilege that man had at the beginning.
Thus the new creation takes place, and the soul is no longer a human
soul only, but divine, for the Divine Life within has made it one with
Itself. Does man realize this privilege and rise to it? No! For the
greater part of Christians we are obliged to say: No. As soon as they
come to years of discretion, they invite back the unclean spirit and
chase out their Divine Guest. What base ingratitude! And what folly!
But God, who is rich in mercy is not repelled by such conduct; His one
thought is to go back to His Temple which has been so profaned, and the
scheme of Redemption included a method, (the Sacrament of Penance,)
whereby, if man would, he could drive out the devil and invite back the
Divine Guest. Is God angry? Does He upbraid? Does He allude to the past
and throw doubts on the future? No, He _loves_, and all He asks in
return is love. Such is our Guest!
Now what is my side of this great question? I am, or if I am not, I can
be, a Temple of God. God is living within me. How much do I think about
it? I often talk about recalling the Presence of God, but it is His
Presence _within_ me that I have to recall. I make Acts of Contrition,
of Love. To Whom? To the God within me. Do not let me forget that my
heart is an altar where I can, whenever I will, adore God. He is there
to walk with me and talk to me as He did to Adam of old. He wants me to
live side by side with Him, and talk to Him as naturally as I do to my
friend.
Let me try this Advent, as one of the best ways of preparing for the
Coming of Christ at Christmas, and for His Coming in judgment, to
_realize_ what the supernatural life means, what _God in me_ means, what
it means to be the host always of God Himself. The realization will
transform my life, will alter my point of view, will change me from a
mediocre Christian into one who is filled with a great idea and who is
occupied with it every moment of his time--an idea which is ever
stimulating him to aim higher. _God in me_--then I am never alone, my
life is intimately bound up with God's life. I am a partaker of His
nature. O my God, forgive me for having thought of it so little; help me
to _rise_ to my great privileges. I thank Thee for letting a few streaks
of Thy Divine Light reach my dark soul, and by the time that the Sun of
Justice has risen in all His splendour this Advent, may my soul be
flooded with the new light which the realization of the Divine Presence
within it, will surely bring.
_Colloquy_ with God within me.
_Resolution._ To realize this truth to-day, and every day more and more.
_Spiritual Bouquet._ "We will come to Him and make our abode with Him."