Daily Reading
Communing with Jesus
Jesus Christ dwells deep in the heart of every person who invites him to. From that point forward he can be found deep within, and learning to commune with Jesus in your heart is the greatest treasure on this side of his return. As Jeanne Guyon instructed,
Therefore, from the very beginning you find great joy in knowing that your Lord is within you and that you can find him and enjoy him in your inmost being. ... When you are thus turned toward God, you find it easy to return there again and again. The longer you continue to turn inward to God, the nearer you are drawn to him and the more firmly you adhere to him.
By moving into that inmost sanctuary again and again, it becomes natural, even habitual to live in the presence of God. (Jeanne Guyon, Union with God)
Teresa of Avila spoke of the “garden of your heart,” a little Eden within where we go to meet with Jesus:
The beginner must realize that in order to give delight to the Lord he is starting to cultivate a garden: … Then He will often come to take delight in this garden and find His joy among these virtues. (The Complete Works of Saint Terese of Jesus)
This is the daily practice of a lovely mystic I know. She has a special room in her house devoted only to worship and prayer and communing with Jesus. She will go into that room, turn inward, and “drop into” the garden of her heart. There she is able to receive many things from Jesus: “Often we will just sit together, our backs against a tree. Just to be in his presence is everything. Sometimes he will take me to The River of Life and I will get in and just soak in the healing presence of his Life washing over me.”
Inner communion with Jesus provides so many things to his followers: consolation, healing, rejuvenation, peace, loads of playful encounters—I could go on and on. Remember, we are progressing from ordinary mystics to mature mystics over time. If all you initially experience is a sense of his love or peace, that’s wonderful! It’s so nourishing, so reassuring.
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