Norris: Responding to Mystery
“Mary proceeds—as we must do in life—making her commitment without knowing much about what it will entail or where it will lead. I treasure the story because it forces me to ask: When the mystery of God’s love breaks through into my consciousness, do I run from it? Do I ask of it what it cannot answer? Shrugging, do I retreat into facile cliches, the popular but false wisdom of what “we all know”? Or am I virgin enough to respond from my deepest, truest self, and say something new, a “yes” that will change me forever?”—Kathleen Norris in Amazing Grace.
annunciation. Fra Angelico
The heart of spiritual direction and spiritual life indeed responds to the mystery. Certainly, Mary is our icon for responding to a mystery to her and all of us to this day. First of all, we must be open to the presence of a call to the unknown. I have always wondered about all the young women Gabriel visited who said, “Let me think about it,” “Come back later,” “This is not a good time for me to do this,” “No, definitely, not!” “You must be kidding!”
There is no doubt that our answers to the mystery will change us forever. My experience is that we can learn to respond to the unknown first in small ways, so that when a more significant call to the mystery comes, we are ready. This is the practice of awareness and openness. However, we must also be open to going off or temporarily abandoning our agenda and listening to the interruptions in our lives. The mystery is all around us, in every wakening moment, in Nature, and young children, in older adults, often in those in need and poverty, especially in our interruptions.
Taking time to be in silence or with others in need, or being outdoors each day, can expose us to the mystery of a world greater than ourselves. Spending time with young children can connect us to joy and love without conditions. Some of the most spiritual people I know are older men and women, who know better than any of us how little control we have in our lives, and have accepted it and made peace with it. The people I sit with who come to our food pantry often talk about how blessed their lives are. They see blessings in every offering.
“Let it be with me according to your word” (Luke 1:38) could be one of our best mantras for Advent and the rest of our lives.
Joanna joannaseibert.com
