the most beautiful Friend

At last! It is my joy and delight to write to you about the most beautiful Soul Friend anyone could ever possibly have. No matter what your state in life, how you were raised, what you have done, or where you are now, the amazing thing about this Friend is that He available to all of us, all of the time, 24/7, no matter what.

I fall painfully short in being able to adequately write to you about this Friend because, try as I may, I only type in human and He is divine-- beyond all telling, in any language.

I wish I could arrange a bouquet of His beauty or concoct a fragrance of His sweetness-- something that would capture your eye and intoxicate your soul; an elixir that would be so addictive that you could never escape its effects, nor ever want to.

But I cannot. Only He can do all of that for you. We do get a glimpse of who He is and all He longs to do for us in His Word. It is there that we can begin to discover His friendship and guidance:

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

He is called Wonder-Counselor. Wisdom. Beauty. Peace. He is all that we can ever hope to find. He is the source of all Goodness and the WellSpring of Life.

He promises us that He will guide us and help us through all of life’s journey:

I will instruct you and show you the way you should walk, give you counsel with my eye upon you. Psalm 32:8

He promises to give us wisdom if we will only ask:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and he will be given it. James 1:5

He promises to never leave or forsake us:

“I will never forsake you or abandon you.” Thus we may say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

When we are afraid or don’t know what to do, He says this:

Do not fear: I am with you; do not be anxious: I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand...

For I am the LORD, your God, who grasp your right hand; it is I who say to you, Do not fear, I will help you. Isaiah 41:10,13

What an amazing Soul Friend He is. So many of the great saints wrote of Him with such beautiful passion. I have found that the more time I take to sit and be with Him, the more passionate I become about Him. The more passionate I become about Him, the easier it is to abandon myself to Him and His Holy will and to hear Him speak to me and to guide me.

It is somewhat like a mathematical equation: He fills me with Himself, well beyond the measure of what I am able to give Him of myself each day. And because it is celestial math, no matter how hard I try, the equation always adds up in my favor. Day after day, I find myself a debtor to His grace, mercy and love. Oh happy debt! It would take me all of eternity to try to repay Him for these graces. But alas...He already paid the debt that I owe and He freely gives all grace to me. I am not ashamed to say, I am the most delighted of all recipients.

This prayer is called Prayer for Obtaining Holy Self-Abandonment and we utter it to our truest and most holy Anam Cara. I pray that He will become your closest, most intimate Friend and the Guide and Counselor of your soul, and that you realize that you are the delight of His.

O my God, when will it please you

to give me the grace of remaining habitually

in that union of my will with your adorable will,

in which, without our saying anything, all is said,

and in which we do everything by letting you act.

In this perfect union of wills we perform immense tasks

because we work more in conformity with your

good pleasure;

and yet we are dispensed from all toil

because we place the care of everything in your hands,

and think of nothing but of reposing completely in you--

a delightful state which

even in the absence of all feelings of faith

gives the soul an interior and altogether spiritual relish.

Let me say then unceasingly

through the habitual disposition of my heart.

“Fiat!” Yes, my God, yes,

everything that you please.

May your holy desires be fulfilled in everything.

I give up my own which are blind,

perverse and corrupted by that miserable self-love

which is the mortal enemy of your grace and pure love,

of your glory and my own sanctification.”

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, SJ

Taken from: Hearts on Fire, Praying with Jesuits, p 65