To Witness Your Work Wonder and Wisdom Lead Me Spring of Spirit’s Gift
~Thomas C. Maples
Cultivating Holy Wonder: The Psychology of Spiritual Awe
“We shall not cease from exploration / And the end of all our exploring / Will be to arrive where we started / And know the place for the first time.”
— T.S. Eliot, from Little Gidding (in Four Quartets)
To cultivate holy wonder… What spiritual awe will bloom as we witness God’s Work?
In modern life, we often find science confusing. It can seem that experimenters are tempted to “meet the observer’s subjective end,” rather than simply being present with the data set obtained. While this is not true of all good scientists, much of how science is conducted for the masses feels like a means of manipulating variables to “socialize consciousness toward its ends.”
It seems these days that we may all be part of a larger social experiment—but to what end? The good news is, we are all pilgrims on a collective journey, yet it is also a highly individual path we walk. We must learn to adapt, to honor, and to find true presence along this path that God places before us.
That path may be winding, and there may be significant hurdles. Yet, in witnessing the wonder in the wisdom we attain, I cannot help but believe that a profound spiritual process unfolds, where we are called to the Spring of the Spirit’s Gifts.
For those pilgrims ready to embark on such a path, the result may be a psychological and spiritual transformation, as we learn to truly witness God’s Work with openness and reverence.
This morning I woke up with my son to witness a lunar miracle: that force of nature called an eclipse of the moon. My son is growing up. At almost 13 years old, he has developed his interests, and astronomy is definitely one of them. Yet, in watching the moon turn its crimson best, I cannot help but think: What is the miracle? Is it the beauty of nature that called us up at 3 am, or the time I got to spend with my son, witnessing his gifts flowering forward?
Pope Paul VI once said in Evangelii Nuntiandi:
“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
What beauty there is to witness, not only that which is in nature, but also that nature that is inherently ours. I speak of the “star” that is born when we learn to harness the power of love and see the transformative power that being a witness to God’s creation manifests. As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once stated:
“The day will come when, after harnessing the ether, the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
I wonder if our world can use a little fire like that? At least that is what came to mind for me this morning as I witnessed God’s externally and internally driven miracle in action, learning that kernel of truth from Saint Teresa of Calcutta: we must simply love our family as a beacon to truly change the world.
Wonder and Wisdom to Lead
Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light for my path.
Wisdom is earned, not learned. Yet, with age, I cannot help but be drawn back to the beauty that arises as the winter nights give way to the dawn of spring morning dew. We, like the earth, cycle. To be wise is to approach the world with knowledge based in wonder and awe.
This simply cannot occur when one is trapped in the plight of the ego, which knows only its own bounds. Within those walled cells, ritual often overtakes wonder, stripping the average adult of the glory found in marveling wondrously at the eclipsing moon.
But there is a spirit in human beings,
the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
To be a witness to the awe of God’s work is to see both sides of the universal problem. There is dark and light, just as the moon and earth are illuminated on one side while a shadow is cast on the side that does not receive the sun’s warming gift. While the “hearty stock” of the finely aged vine takes years to produce the fruits of our wisdom, we cannot reach the Spirit’s Gift without this cultivating process.
Personal Reflections: The Alchemy of Experience
Wisdom is the integration of the shadows that drive our personal and collective plight toward unity. E Pluribus Unum. This is not just a Latin phrase on the back of American currency; it stands for the foundation of the West’s spiritual belief: Out of many, One.
The Greatest Commandment
Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
~Mark 12:29-31
While there are many sides to an argument, there is an underlying plight to strive toward love and unity—to love that “neighboring” aspect of the darker side of things. It is in those shadows that God’s holistic nature is shown. We cannot taste the Spring of Spirit’s Gift without first taking part in the “Dark Night of Awe” that creates a unified sense of wonder.
The journey of the pilgrim is often a thirsty one. We wander through the “many”—the distractions of the ego and the shadows of our own history. Yet, the destination has always been unity: the One.
The Arrival at the Source
To reach the Spring of Spirit’s Gift is to arrive at the point where the “many” aspects of our lives converge into a singular sense of flowing grace: Uni-Verse (One Verse). If Wonder was the invitation and Wisdom was the winding path, Spring is the restorative peace that embraces the weary pilgrim. It is the “living water” promised to those who have endured the aridity of the “Dark Night of Awe.”
To Witness God’s Work Integrate the Whole
The “Alchemy of Experience” turns the lead of our struggles into the gold of a unified witness. When we finally stand at the Spring, we realize that:
The Lunar Miracle was a reflection of the One Light.
The Son’s Growth is a testament to the One Life.
The Discovery of Fire is the warmth of the One Love.
Out of Many Instruments, One-Verse.
As you conclude this stage of your journey, look back at the path God placed before you. The hurdles were not obstacles; they were the terrain that directed your feet. Move from a passive observer to an active Witness. Drink deeply from the Spring of Spirit’s Gift, for you are a beacon of the One Lord, reflecting His work to a world parched for unity.
A Final Reflection for the Pilgrim
As you conclude this stage of your journey, look back at the path God placed before you. The hurdles were not obstacles to the Spring; they were the very terrain that directed your feet toward it. Hopefully, you have moved from a passive observer to an active Witness.
You have allowed Wonder and Wisdom to lead you. Now, drink deeply from the Spring of Spirit’s Gift, for you are no longer just a traveler; you are a beacon of the One Lord, reflecting His work to a world that is parched for unity.
Bibliography
Aeschylus.Agamemnon. (For the concept of Pathei Mathos).
De Saint-Exupéry, Antoine. (1943). The Little Prince. Reynal & Hitchcock.
Eliot, T.S. (1943). “Little Gidding” from Four Quartets. Faber and Faber.
Montessori, Maria. (1949). The Absorbent Mind. Adyar.
Pope Paul VI. (1975). Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World).
Teilhard de Chardin, Pierre. (1975). Toward the Future. Translated by René Hague. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
The Holy Bible.New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE).
