“To depart from You is to die; to return to You is to rise; to dwell with You is to live.” (St. Augustine)
Our spiritual life dies when we stray from the path with God and turn once more to the promises of this world. The life of grace that has always sustained us begins to fade from our souls. The immediate, tender, and natural closeness of God—which gives true meaning to life—wanes. This is also true, to a certain extent, when we have been given a calling by our Father that we neglect and then lose. The grace‑filled surge we received through the call of our heavenly Father weakens, and even if we remain faithful to the commandments in the rest of our lives, something unfulfilled still remains in the soul!
How different it becomes when a person returns to God, who has always called out to him and waited for him. St. Augustine calls this “resurrection.” Life returns to them. Just as Jesus raised the dead in the Gospel, so the spiritual life of the soul returns—joy comes back, the “taste of our heavenly Father” lifts the soul up again, and there is grateful jubilation at being allowed to live once more through God’s grace! If someone is granted the gift of returning to his vocation, he will thank the Lord on his knees and do everything the Lord asks of him with the greatest willingness.
True life unfolds now—dwelling with the Lord and His dwelling within us. Everything is nourished and blessed by God, so that we may complete the race. Life in the truth delights our soul; it blossoms and has come home!