If I Wanted the World to Change ...

As I was about to leave the chapel tonight, a friend called, and I answered.  He was concerned about my well-being, but he also wanted to talk about the words of a mystic, which he had read.  There was talk of The Chastisement.  We talked a while, and concluded with prayer --- which I resolve I shall end all my conversations with from now on.

I frown about talk about the End Times, because I firmly believe what Jesus spoke, that only the Father knows the day or the hour.  And so, I shall not worry.  I came home tonight and began reading the book I mentioned in my last blog posting, Abandonment to Divine Providence.  It gives me much pause.  I started reading Chapter 2, The Divine Action Works Unceasingly for The Sanctification of Souls.  The chapter begins: “The divine action, although only visible to the eye of faith, is everywhere and always present.  All creatures that exist are in the hands of God.”

I paused, and glanced away from the text.  And I noticed the novel I was reading, there on the coffee table: The Sins of the Wolf, by Anne Perry.  Sins of the Wolf.  And I thought about this world, and sin --- sin is only in the eye of the beholder, you know.  Only God can define what is sin, for sin is against Him, and His will for us.  We SO like to define the Gospels --- “Here’s what He really meant ---- I know (wink, wink, wink)”.  I know we live in freedom; we were created that way.  God will not force us to love Him, or to do His will.  And so, I am not putting myself in His shoes when I ask about all that is going on in the world, ask about what He feels about that, and about what I would do if I were all powerful and DID want to interfere in the world.  If I wanted the world to change, what would I do?

Of course, there is the mad little boy answer, to just knock the sandcastle down and start over again.  I have more love in my heart than that.  Definitely, if I wanted to change the world, I would first want to get its attention; I don’t think a blog posting or a tweet would do that.  But let’s say somehow I DID manage to get the attention of the world, what then?  “Now that I’ve got your attention,” …. What?  What would I say or do?  What could I do, which would cause the world to WANT TO change, in its freedom?  What would open up minds and hearts to the will of God; what would cause Abandonment to Divine Providence?  The visionaries of Medjugorje (where I visited in 1987) said that Mary told them that in their lifetime God would put a sign there, that the whole world could see.  The mystic I mentioned earlier has a connection to Medjugorje; would a sign for the whole world to see cause any wholesale changes of heart? 

I guess it is no surprise to you that I don’t know the mind of God, or at least not always, not in particular.  But I do feel that this is a time which calls for change of heart.  But what would it take to make that happen?  What would it take to change your heart, to turn to God in sincere prayer, for HIS will, not yours?  And if He should make His will known to you, what if you didn’t like it? 

If I wanted the world to change, what would I do?  The answer, obviously, is that I can’t change the world.  I can only change me. 

And sometimes that is hard.  But it is a start.