In Umbris Sancti Petri

Hello to you the reader. We appreciate you taking the time to keep up with our adventures in the shadows of Saint Peter. This is my first blog and I hope you find it worth reading. (I certainly found it worth writing.)

Much of this site is devoted to giving you the reader an idea of what seminary is like in the shadows of Saint Peter. I plan to continue that mission, but specifically in the area of spirituality. In what I write, I hope to convey something of the spiritual insights that I receive here in Rome, this historically Catholic city. And so, I begin today with a few paragraphs on God’s Love:

A priest said something very profound to me today: “God is far more interested in us than we are in Him.”

Now, for anyone who has ever felt guilty for not having a strong prayer life or not living faithfully to the Gospel, this is a no brainer. Of course God is more interested in us than we are in him, because so often we tend to not be interested in Him at all.

However, this was not how the priest meant it. He meant rather that in those times that we are most in touch with the presence of the Lord in our lives and our prayer life is strongest, even then, God is more interested in us than we are in Him. This can be surprisingly true and very humbling. During times of great consolation and spiritual fruit we can catch ourselves on a sort of spiritual high-horse, thinking that it is during times like these that we are showing our love for God. This much is true, that we are showing our love for God, but what is mind blowing is that when we are doing our very best, when we are striving and succeeding in growing closer to God, we still do not come close to the striving that He has for us. He wants us, very much, and it is a testament to His love that He maintains our freewill, allowing us to be apart from Him if we so chose. When we do start to realize how much we need Him, and how much we want to be one with Him, this is truly a Grace, but our striving for Him pales in comparison to His striving for us.

I say this is humbling because who are we to be striven for in such a manner, especially by God? We are a corrupted and fallen people, no? And yet, “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.” We do not deserve such love, and yet it is given and given freely.

Actually, it kind of annoys me that I can so often take God’s love for granted—it is the greatest love in existence. It is Love itself, and it is only on certain (though not rare) occasions, as when I heard the words of this priest, that I am reminded of just how incredible God’s love really is. It’s just too easy to forget it. This is why I want to be a priest—to remind people of the “love amazing” that neither songs nor anything else can ever repay.