God does not ask us to dwell on the past or worry over the future. He simply invites us to embrace His will as it is revealed in the duties and opportunities of the present moment—with peace, confidence, and trust.
The Only Duty: The Present Moment
God requires of the soul only the accomplishment of the present duty. He forbids all disturbing thoughts about the past, all preoccupation about the future.
Thus the soul should confine herself to recognizing the Will of God as it is presented to her and acting in conformity.
God takes my hand; He walks beside me. I have only to accommodate myself to His step, without looking back, without peering anxiously into the future, without desiring to walk more quickly or more slowly than my Divine Guide. Tenuisti manum dexteram meam et in voluntate tua deduxisti me—“Thou hast held me by my right hand, and by thy will thou hast conducted me.” (Psalm 72:24). Thus He will go with me to the very end of my journey.
The Peaceful Soul Responds in Love
The soul, therefore, ought to cast aside all disquietude, ought to study to discern the Will of God at each moment. As soon as she has discerned it, she should give herself to God by an act of love and of conformity.
God has been pleased to make our part in the work of sanctification so easy! And yet, in this very simple matter, certain souls manage to create difficulties for themselves.
They are ready to do the Will of God when they see it; but how are they to recognize it? And their mind, with a kind of fever, seizes upon this object of the present moment, examines it, turns it about again and again, scrutinizes it, weighs it, analyzes it, to make very sure that it contains the Divine Will. And the more they disturb themselves, the more they doubt; the more they doubt, the more they wish to examine. Thus tormented, the soul falls into scruples; and the more she tries to extricate herself, the more she becomes entangled.
Let Peace Be Your Guide
Poor scrupulous Soul, learn to serve God in peace and tranquillity!
The obligation of the present moment ceases to be a duty for thee when thou dost not recognize it. If thy mind does not perceive it, for thee it is no longer the Will of God. It is not necessary to devote long efforts to this examination. A second suffices, time to look toward God. Conscience will give the answer. If it is affirmative, the will accepts it; if the answer is negative, the will gives up the idea; if it is doubtful, the will goes on without being disturbed.
When God wishes to give us a command, He does so clearly. He does not desire us to be troubled; for trouble is a cloud that hides Him from our view.
Poor souls subject to scruples sometimes lose considerable time asking themselves which actions are most pleasing to God. Shall they devote their free time to reading rather than meditation, to manual labor rather than study? Shall they please God more by burying themselves in solitude, or by conversing about spiritual things, by leading a life of contemplation, or by spending themselves in the service of their neighbor?
Poor Soul, it is vain for thee to ask thyself these questions. Let thy confessor, thy director, solve them. Do not dwell upon them. Do what is commanded at the present moment. If nothing is prescribed, do what at first sight seems best. Stop short of all further examination and all disquietude. God especially desires that the soul should lose neither its time nor its interior repose. Peace of heart is so great a treasure that God will change His order rather than cause a soul to lose tranquillity.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Gift of Oneself: Surrendering Oneself to God as a Way of Life by The Reverend Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R. which is available from TAN Books.
