Fragments

If your body is not your temple, your heart is not in it.

Whether the size of a mountain or a mustard seed, faith is always a leap, never a sure step. Moreover, great faith cannot exist without equally great doubt, since doubt is precisely what is overcome by the leap of faith; the greater the leap, the greater the doubt overcome. Faith does not grow, it dwindles, as certainty is approached, so that if we were to wait for our faith to be certain, we would be waiting for it to be consumed and replaced by certainty, which is something other than itself. Rather, we are called to go by moonlight, and not to wait for dawn before setting on our way. It is, after all, the sunrise that we are going out to meet.

Fear darkens that which knowledge had brought to light. It is a kind of "second doubt", which occurs even in the midst of certainty, when the intellect is satisfied, but the will still has need of faith.

In order to be certain of the reality of God, we have to observe his movements in the higher chambers of the heart. Before he will show himself, we must spend a night in the tower of this dark, neglected building. If we hesitate, our indecision is not intellectual, but purely of the will, for we know perfectly well the direction we should take. Who among us has not overheard the spirit of Christ, pacing and dragging a cross, somewhere in his own breast? Or who is not haunted by the specter of his highest ideal, whatever form it takes? Much daring is required to encounter what is closest. It is the fear of powerlessness which causes us to pause before the entrance; for our will would surely be seduced and overcome in the presence of the Most Beloved One. Moreover, it is pride which causes us to fear this loss of power, and not to yield in the name of one admittedly greater than ourselves. Love is only possible when we are humble, for it is when we are humble that we allow ourselves to be led and ruled by love. We must dare to lose ourselves to discover him.

The Holy Spirit moves within us as more or less subtle promptings in the direction of God. It arises from the deep core of our being to remind us of the present moment, -- and of the Divine Presence, the Shekhinah, which infuses all things. It is calm, strong, compassionate, spontaneous, gentle, and detached. It receives with humility all that happens, and has no interest apart from the glorification of God in every moment; to sing the praises of the good, to inspire what is good, and call him "Lord" who is the source and fountain of goods.