Many of us have had the experience of feeling met by God in music, in the voice of a friend, in the sound of waves or birdsong. And we perhaps have learned to see God present with us in the beauty of a flower or a stream or a loved one’s face. But what about the other senses? We describe something that smells or tastes delicious as “heavenly”, but what if there is an element of not only gratitude for the gift of that thing we are savoring, but an actual experience of God in it? St. Ignatius encouraged his community to “find God in all things”, no less in a juicy berry than in the chanted psalms. How might God be present to you today in every single one of your senses? Take some time to tune into your sense of touch today and notice God-with-you there…with the things you see and hear and smell and taste. As you sit down to a cup of tea or coffee (or other beverage of choice), be present to the experience, letting it not just be something that energizes you for the day’s tasks but a place of meeting between your embodied soul and God. How do each of these senses allow you to open to a God-with-you? The psalmist describes it this way: “Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls.” Our deep calling out to the Deep as we are moved by resonant reverberations in our world. What if that is part of the intentional design of things—for us to experience God in the ordinary “stuff” of our lives? What does that open up for you as you cozy up in a blanket, or take a bite of fruit (or chocolate: “divine”!), or sit outside with the wind blowing across your skin, or scratch your pup behind the ears? Perhaps this season of Ordinary Time (/extraordinary Pentecostide) could be a space to tune into those experiences, opening to how God is with-you in every single bit of your experience—even the more difficult places. Pause and name something of your experience with each of the five senses; how might God be present to you in those things, right now in this ordinary moment?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-06-14 14:32:03 UTC