Our Compass In Life -- God's Will

     “Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by You, always follow Your plans, and perfectly accomplish Your holy will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever You may require of me. Help me to respond to the slightest prompting of Your grace, so that I may be Your trustworthy instrument, for Your honor. May Your will be done in time and eternity – by me, in me, and through me.  Amen.                                               St. Teresa of Avila


     When we fall in love with God, wanting to do His will becomes a priority in our lives. Desiring to please Him in all things, and carry out the plan He has for us, becomes our compass in life. Aware of God’s great love for us, we know that He always has our best interest in mind, and so we look, with eyes wide open, to follow that path.


     The first step in following God’s will, is being in relationship with Him, following His commandments, and fulfilling the duties of our vocation to the best of our ability. Next, we must make love our aim – both toward God and all those He sends into our lives. In order to do the latter, we must stay close to Him and ask that His love fill our hearts so we may give freely to others.

      We must also ask Sasha, the Holy Spirit, to nudge us, when we get distracted and are unaware of His many promptings. We can have our day all planned out when suddenly, it is heading in a completely different direction. Unaware, we can be put out . . . not realizing this is what God is calling us to do.

     Discovering God’s will at times, can present other challenges to us. We often have certain expectations of just how and when we think things should happen. And when they turn out differently, we may question God’s love for us and the wisdom of His permissive will.

     We can also be quick to tell God in our prayer of petition, just how to proceed in our own lives, as well as, in the lives of our loved ones. Although we have a limited view of reality, we still have the audacity to question the wisdom of God!

     Another problem we may encounter is our impatience when we are discerning God’s will. We expect Him to give us the answer “yesterday,” and lack the trust to know that He will respond and tell us just how to proceed. We instead, want to move quickly, thinking we are wasting time, forgetting that “patience is a virtue!”        

     St. Teresa of Avila realized that God was concerned for the salvation of souls, and knew that His will, though sometime difficult, helped one to grow in virtue and holiness. She knew of His great love for her and His desire for her to be with Him one day in heaven.

     Let us ask St. Teresa, whose feast we celebrate today, October 15, to intercede, that God’s will be done in time and eternity, -- by us, in us, and through us. Amen!