Spirituality: “Epiphany Grace” by Pope Francis

What other reward can God give to those who seek him, if not to let himself be found? … [The religious person] strives to see signs of God in the daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the seasons, in the fruitfulness of the earth, and in the movement of the cosmos. God is light and he can be found also by those who seek him with a sincere heart.

An image of this seeking can be seen in the Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star (cf., Matthew 2:1-12). For them God’s light appeared as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of God’s patience with our eyes which need to grow accustomed to his brightness. 

[The religious person] is a wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led, to come out of himself and to find the God of perpetual surprises. This respect on God’s part for our human eyes shows us that when we draw near to God, our human lights are not dissolved in the immensity of his light, as a star is engulfed by the dawn, but shine all the more brightly the closer they approach the primordial fire, like a mirror which reflects light. 

Christian faith in Jesus, the one Savior of the world, proclaims that all God’s light is concentrated in him, in his “luminous life” which discloses the origin and end of history. There is no human experience, no journey of man to God, which cannot be taken up, illumined, and purified by this light. The more Christians immerse themselves in the circle of Christ’s light, the more capable they become of understanding and accompanying the path of every man and women towards God.

Because faith is a way, it also has to do with the lives of those men and women who, though not believers, nonetheless desire to believe and continue to seek. To the extent that they are sincerely open to love and set out with whatever light they can find, they are already, even without knowing it, on the path leading to faith. They strive to act as if God existed, at times because they realize how important he is for finding a sure compass for our life in common or because they experience a desire for light amid darkness, but also because in perceiving life’s grandeur and beauty they intuit that the presence of God would make it all the more beautiful.

Source: Magnificat, January 2015, pp. 68-69.