"Running faster than grace"

[water]

In the 9th letter of the book “The Practice of the Presence of God and the Spiritual Maxims”, brother Lawrence wrote:

“She seems to me full of good will, but she would go faster than grace. One does not become holy all at once.”

Does anyone ever run out of patience and want God to change him/her so quickly? Does anyone ever get frustrated because he/she commits the same sins over and over again despite of confessions and Holy Mass?

If he does, he is probably, as Brother Lawrence says, “running faster than grace”.

 

[ncjohn]

Hmm…not me, having become perfect in every way. Why would I want God to change me? http://bestsmileys.com/angles/14.gif

One thing I have found though is that even on those occasions when I try to outrun grace, it always still seems to catch up with me.

What an awesome God!

 

[Trishie]

I tried for that, to convince God to make me good and holy all at once! It didn’t happen! It still hasn’t. Have I back-slid, I don’t know, but I sure am not converted yet! I wrote, patiently/impatiently, still trying to convince Him…

Conversion: Your way
God, if You wish, You can cure and convert me instantly. All goodness comes from You, so any ‘merit’ of my life is already part of Your holiness. Therefore, so that no moment of my life is wasted in sin or emptiness, please transform me with Your holiness now, as a channel of grace to others and a delight to Yourself!

That You do not hasten to grant this prayer reminds me that You are God who creates in gradual progression, moulding Your masterpieces, no one like any other. You hold each creature in profound love that touches and moves each instant of life!

Help me to accept the quiet evolution of my life to wholeness as You seek my cooperation, while respecting my free will. Your wisdom neither transforms souls on demand nor coerces the unwilling person. Like the greatest silversmith, Your love delicately forms each tiny second and each unique shape of holiness and wholeness in our lives. That is Your glory in us, to form us in our prayerful obedience to the fire of love and the sharp tools of effort and tribulation.

God please grant me patient faith to accept Your fashioning. Yet, if anyone can persuade You to purify and sanctify all in my life from this instant, please let it be so! If not for me, please grant it to my dear ones, to some other soul.

 

[water]

One thing I have found though is that even on those occasions when I try to outrun grace, it always still seems to catch up with me.

What an awesome God!

That is very true too!

I tried for that, to convince God to make me good and holy all at once! It didn’t happen! It still hasn’t. Have I back-slid, I don’t know, but I sure am not converted yet! I wrote, patiently/impatiently, still trying to convince Him…

Conversion: Your way

Thanks Trishie. It is quiet beautiful!