“Think of God in a very big way. And if you do, that’s too small! You can’t think of anything more wonderful than this God. And you can’t figure out anything about God without a special grace. … God is so marvelously good, there is no word for it. So gentle. So considerate. So kind, so tender – so everything marvelous. That is God. And whatever you say is far less than it is. As Paul says, ‘It hasn’t crossed the imagination of any human being what God has prepared for those who love him.’” ~ Father Thomas Keating, speaking at the annual conference of Contemplative Outreach, Snowmass, CO, October 2012

Scripture does not contain all that God is. Nor does nature, or philosophy, or religion, or the human imagination. As human beings, we can only know God in small ways, and yet we can open our hearts to a deeper and holier experience of God through contemplation, prayer, and trusting our own sense of wonder and awe in the face of Ultimate Mystery! The God we imagine we know is always going to be smaller than the God whose steadfast love will ultimately have the last word in this world of incredible beauty and needless suffering.

Words and photo (c) 2012 Mark Lloyd Richardson