To: You, From: God
For years, I began my mornings with the same devotional: Divine Intimacy. It’s an incredible book that I’ve experienced so much fruit from. In short, it’s a collection of meditations on the interior life for every day of the liturgical year, compiled in the 1950s by a priest who drew on the wisdom of great Carmelite saints like St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
This book taught me so much about prayer.
Ironically, today’s reflection isn’t about that book. In fact, I recently stopped praying with it. In my own spiritual life, I try to be slow in making changes—otherwise, I’d end up bouncing around, chasing after every new shiny devotion.
But for about a year, it had been on my heart to replace Divine Intimacy with something different: the Gospels.
Why? Well, that’s a longer story for another time. But eventually, with the guidance of my spiritual director, I made the switch.
The shift has brought many new fruits and insights, and a lot of what I’m sharing in these emails comes from those reflections. But on a big-picture level, the most profound realization has been something simple: the sheer existence of the Gospels. I know, thank you, Captain Obvious. But take a moment to really think about it.
We have a whole book—a living Word—about God, about our place in the world, about our Creator’s love for us. And even more astounding, we have His direct words. We can read about His life on earth, what He said, and what He did.
But it’s not like reading the biography of Ben Franklin or some historical figure. This book was written not just about Him, but for us. Every word applies to our lives not by coincidence, but by intention. The Gospels were given to us so that we might come to know, love, and follow Him.
How amazing is that?