Holy Mystery

If we live in a world of holy mystery which is where we live, what do we do when we begin to see that world of mystery which has been hidden from us for so long?   Those who would disagree by pointing to all the terrible acts that are unleashed on society, or the powerful storms and devastating fires that bring havoc, destruction, and death may declare that if we live in a world of holy mystery, it must be a big joke.  But, of course, it is no joke.  It is reality.  The holy mystery is all around.  It is even within us.  There is no place we can go that is empty of this mystery that pervades the creation.    

It may take some of us longer to see it than others, but if we keep our eyes open and our hearts pointed toward the Creator, the moment of revelation will surely come to us.  And when it comes it may be something extraordinary such as Saul of Tarsus encountered on the Damascus Road, or some quiet moment of solitude such as the one experienced by Moses when he stood in front of the bush that burned but was not consumed.  The seeds of our search for holy mystery in the creation are planted within us at the moment of our conception.  From that moment there is within us a growing longing for the mystery which brought us into being and continues to sustain through all our days.   

Mystery, of course, is mystery.  It is not always perceived as something clearly seen.  It does not always reveal itself with the overwhelming glory of the evening sunset, or the soft splendor of light brought to us in the darkness by the rising moon.  It is simply something always present.  Some say it is hidden, yet visible.  What sounds confusing speaks more truth than the unseeing heart first perceives.  When the invisible starts breaking into the visible, there are things to see and know which are beyond the scope of what the eye can see and the ear can hear.  A new language is learned in those moments and it is the language the Holy Spirit speaks deep in our souls as He points us to the unfolding glory and mystery to be seen everywhere we turn.