Yearend Review: Relationship with God

I end looking back at 2014 by finally examining my most important relationship.

Earlier this year, I wanted to know God more. To do that, I resolved to really strengthen my prayer time and scripture reading. 

I would like to say I was successful but there were a lot of days when I wasn't consistent. There were times when I rushed in reading the scriptures, when I forgot to pray the Examen, when I missed going to mass on a Sunday. In short, there were way too many times that I failed in my goals.

Still, even the half-hearted attempts drew me closer to Him. It's surprising that every time we strive to know Him, we end up knowing ourselves even more; awareness of God begets awareness of self. In my case, striving to pray consistently has brought some newly found changes in me. I think and I feel that I've become more patient, more loving, perhaps more understanding. 

Again, the challenge for next year is consistency. How do I strengthen these habits? What are the ways that I can be more in tune with God? How do I recover faster from setbacks and sins?

To cap this post, someone shared to me (I don't remember who) his perspective of the Beatific vision:

The Beatific vision, as a background, is defined in the Catholic Encyclopedia as "the immediate knowledge of God which the angelic spirits and the souls of the just enjoy in Heaven. It is called "vision" to distinguish it from the mediate knowledge of God which the human mind may attain in the present life. And since in beholding God face to face the created intelligence finds perfect happiness, the vision is termed "beatific".

For us Christians, the Beatific vision is what we aspire to see. And so, in this life, we strive to become more and more like God. Eventually, we die and when we meet Him face and face, whose face is it we're going to see but ours, this time, made in His splendor and glory? 

That's one more thing to ponder upon. 

Lord, I pray that I'll be your face to the world. Amen.