It is not our perfection (good deeds) which dazzle God since He is surrounded by shining angels. No! It is our misery, our poverty, our avowed unworthiness which draws down his mercy upon us and brings his Father’s mercy upon us and brings along us His Father’s attention.                  -Dom Marmion

 (Dom Marmion was a Benedictine Irish monk and the third Abbot of Maredsous Abbey in Belgium. Pope Saint John Paul II beatified Dom Columba Marmion in 2000. He is the author of more than twenty books on spirituality..).

Salesian Perfection, God’s attention Plus More!

 Salesian Spirituality concerns itself with the present moment and the goings on within that present moment and their importance. This is especially true if the days typically unfurl in frenzied preoccupation: the next meeting to attend, errands to be done, dinner to be prepared, and a hundred other tasks that crowd a well-organized day.

 The often-quoted Buddhist monk, Thich Nihat Hanh, points out that we are great at planning and willing to sacrifice today to save for cars and houses for tomorrow, “but we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in this present moment: the only moment there is to be alive!” He exhorts us to utilize the Buddhist practice of mindfulness, being fully and consciously aware (or mindful) of this present moment.

 How? By briefly pulling us out of our daily frenzy and helping reorient us to the present. When we get it right as Thich Nihat Hanh puts it, “Every breath we take, every step we take can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity!”

 By learning from the past and envisioning the future, we can live in the present, challenging life’s desires and learning to master them. To do this we need some form of quiet reflection.

 As our life develops and its challenges continue, we might ask: What’s the purpose of my human life? Every person in the world is put together by praising, revering, and living according to the will of God. In this way, they will safely reach the Reign of God.

This is the original purpose of each human life. Every other thing on the face of the earth thing is meant to help each person understand the original purpose that God has buried deep within each of us.

The only thing that makes sense in life is that every person uses everything that helps him or her realize that life’s original purpose lies deep within. It turns us from everything that alienates us from fulfilling our original purpose: to go home to God bringing as many as we can with us!

Life is like riding a bicycle, to keep your balance you have to keep moving. Albert Einstein