‘Ubi Caritas Deus ibi Est’
The main block to many peoples faith is their own image of God. Down through time God has been given many faces and persona’s to go with them. One’s faith is both real (a reality that is God’s existence) yet personal. Mary may be x, y and z but her personal relationships with others make her a mother, a sister, a daughter, a wife etc. and so all the persona’s that go along with these. It’s the same with God. There is a reality which is God. For Christians this reality is that God is Love. Yet Christians would be foolish not to acknowledge their own relationship and so view of God.Traditional images of God vary from that of a Judge to Santa Claus (there to give).
Our faith is in something solid and so in acknowledging the reality that is God we must also acknowledge that God is not always what we want…God is always what we need (but that’s for another blog!). For me God is a friend….someone I can trust and rely on, someone to love and to hate…but not to fear. I’ve been angry with God on many occasions and I think that’s okay. It shows our relationship is real.
As God is Love what I see as God always comes back to Love. This is our belief as a Church and so my views of God are both communal and personal…yet both are linked…both are the same reality, just different ways of looking at that reality.
People often struggle with God as something they can’t see but for me this couldn’t be further from the truth. God can be seen in nature…, in the face of a newborn baby…, in those around us and in Love itself. “Wherever two or more gather in my name” points towards more than just those who meet to praise God but to those families and friends filled with love for one another. Where (true)Love is… God is - Ubi Caritas Deus ibi Est. To love and be loved is to pray with your heart, mind, body and soul…It’s to pray with all of your being.
Monday, July 9th, 2007 and is filed under Prayer & the Christian life.
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