Simplicity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A\nSimple Truth<\/strong>\nFriday, \u202fJuly 3, 2020<\/p>\n\n\n<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>During\nWorld War II, Jesuit priest Walter Ciszek (1904\u20131984) was accused of being a\n\u201cVatican spy.\u201d After spending five years in a Moscow prison, he was sentenced\nto fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps. He is an example of\nsomeone whose life has been pared down to the \u201cone thing necessary.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through\nthe long years of isolation and suffering, God had led me to an understanding\nof life and [God\u2019s] love that only those who have experienced it can fathom.\nGod had stripped away from me many of the external consolations, physical and\nreligious, that people rely on and had left me with a core of seemingly simple\ntruths to guide me. And yet what a profound difference they had made in my\nlife, what strength they gave me, what courage to go on! I wanted to tell\nothers about them. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nsimple soul who each day makes a morning offering of \u201call the prayers, works,\njoys, and sufferings of this day\u201d\u2014and who then acts upon it by accepting\nunquestioningly and responding lovingly to all the situations of the day as\ntruly sent by God [<em>I prefer to say\n\u201callowed\u201d although it helps many people to see all situations as \u201csent by God.\u201d\nAnd who really knows?<\/em>]\u2014has perceived with an almost childlike faith the\nprofound truth about the will of God. . . . God\u2019s will for us is clearly\nrevealed in every situation of every day, if only we could learn to view all\nthings as God sees them. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nchallenge lies in learning to accept this truth and act upon it, every moment\nof every day. The trouble is that like all great truths, it seems too simple.\nIt is there before our noses all the time, while we look elsewhere for more\nsubtle answers. It bears the hallmark of all divine truths, simplicity, and yet\nit is precisely because it seems so simple that we are prone to overlook it or\nignore it in our daily lives. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nfullest freedom I had ever known, the greatest sense of security, came from\nabandoning my will to do only the will of God. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nwhat can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a\ngift from the hands of God and strives always to do God\u2019s will? \u201cIf God is for\nus, who can stand against us?\u201d [Romans 8:31]. Nothing, not even death, can\nseparate us from God. . . . Is this too simple, or are we just afraid really to\nbelieve it, to accept it fully and in every detail of our lives, to yield\nourselves up to it in total commitment? This is the ultimate question of faith,\nand each one of us must answer it for ourselves in the quiet of our heart and\nthe depths of our soul. But to answer it in the affirmative is to know a peace,\nto discover a meaning to life, that surpasses all understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Anyone in Fr. Walter\u2019s situation could not fake such radical faith and trust. It had to be real.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-500x284.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19035\" srcset=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-500x284.png 500w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-300x171.png 300w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-768x437.png 768w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM.png 1840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simplicity A Simple Truth Friday, \u202fJuly 3, 2020 During World War II, Jesuit priest Walter Ciszek (1904\u20131984) was accused of being a \u201cVatican spy.\u201d After spending five years in a Moscow prison, he was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps. He is an example of someone whose life has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19032"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19036,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032\/revisions\/19036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n<p><em>During\nWorld War II, Jesuit priest Walter Ciszek (1904\u20131984) was accused of being a\n\u201cVatican spy.\u201d After spending five years in a Moscow prison, he was sentenced\nto fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps. He is an example of\nsomeone whose life has been pared down to the \u201cone thing necessary.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Through\nthe long years of isolation and suffering, God had led me to an understanding\nof life and [God\u2019s] love that only those who have experienced it can fathom.\nGod had stripped away from me many of the external consolations, physical and\nreligious, that people rely on and had left me with a core of seemingly simple\ntruths to guide me. And yet what a profound difference they had made in my\nlife, what strength they gave me, what courage to go on! I wanted to tell\nothers about them. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nsimple soul who each day makes a morning offering of \u201call the prayers, works,\njoys, and sufferings of this day\u201d\u2014and who then acts upon it by accepting\nunquestioningly and responding lovingly to all the situations of the day as\ntruly sent by God [<em>I prefer to say\n\u201callowed\u201d although it helps many people to see all situations as \u201csent by God.\u201d\nAnd who really knows?<\/em>]\u2014has perceived with an almost childlike faith the\nprofound truth about the will of God. . . . God\u2019s will for us is clearly\nrevealed in every situation of every day, if only we could learn to view all\nthings as God sees them. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nchallenge lies in learning to accept this truth and act upon it, every moment\nof every day. The trouble is that like all great truths, it seems too simple.\nIt is there before our noses all the time, while we look elsewhere for more\nsubtle answers. It bears the hallmark of all divine truths, simplicity, and yet\nit is precisely because it seems so simple that we are prone to overlook it or\nignore it in our daily lives. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nfullest freedom I had ever known, the greatest sense of security, came from\nabandoning my will to do only the will of God. . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For\nwhat can ultimately trouble the soul that accepts every moment of every day as a\ngift from the hands of God and strives always to do God\u2019s will? \u201cIf God is for\nus, who can stand against us?\u201d [Romans 8:31]. Nothing, not even death, can\nseparate us from God. . . . Is this too simple, or are we just afraid really to\nbelieve it, to accept it fully and in every detail of our lives, to yield\nourselves up to it in total commitment? This is the ultimate question of faith,\nand each one of us must answer it for ourselves in the quiet of our heart and\nthe depths of our soul. But to answer it in the affirmative is to know a peace,\nto discover a meaning to life, that surpasses all understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Anyone in Fr. Walter\u2019s situation could not fake such radical faith and trust. It had to be real.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-500x284.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19035\" srcset=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-500x284.png 500w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-300x171.png 300w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM-768x437.png 768w, http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Screen-Shot-2020-07-03-at-9.57.52-AM.png 1840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Simplicity A Simple Truth Friday, \u202fJuly 3, 2020 During World War II, Jesuit priest Walter Ciszek (1904\u20131984) was accused of being a \u201cVatican spy.\u201d After spending five years in a Moscow prison, he was sentenced to fifteen years of hard labor in Siberian prison camps. He is an example of someone whose life has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19032"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19036,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19032\/revisions\/19036"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}