I was away on vacation and then doing the proverbial catching up after vacation, and consequently neglecting this blog. Now I’m back.

Last week I read a very thought provoking–and hope provoking–piece in Magnificat by Msgr. Romano Guardini. The beginning may not sound hopeful–hang in there with it.

In the condemnation of the heart, it is God himself who condemns. Wrong has been done to him. Wrong has been done to the gentle and holy life that he has awakened in the heart, to the holy trust that binds him to his child. How can man’s self-defense reach these depths.

What possible help is there? John says, “If our heart condemns, us, God is greater than our heart.” Do you observe that this answer comes from the same depths as the condemnation itself? The answer is not: “You have done right. Your intentions were good. Be of good cheer.” No, the answer is: “God is greater than your heart.”

Your heart is great. That is the first thing, and it is amazing that that should be said at all. But God is still greater. The heart that has been lost is great. But God is greater. The heaviness of the heart to which wrong has been done is so great that it must sink. God is the sea of greatness where everything heavy is made light. The wrong that has been done to life is great. God is the Creator, and God is life and grace. He is greater than everything. The holiness to which wrong has been done partakes of the dignity of God. His trust has been infringed. That is terrible. But he himself, his magnanimity, his creative love, is greater than all this wrong. John does not say, “Cheer up, it isn’t so bad after all.” He does not say, “Don’t take life so seriously.” God says, “Give these things their full weight. Then I will come to you. I am God.”

And when he comes, the creature will become clear to itself. Its self-importance will be dissolved, and everything will be fulfilled.