Understanding 

   “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 9) 

   On the feast of St. Nicholas in 1273 St. Thomas was celebrating Mass when he received a revelation that so affected Him that he wrote and dictated no more, leaving his magnificent work “Summa Theologiae” unfinished.  When asked why, he replied, “All I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me.”

   If one of the greatest theologians in the history of the Church can make such a statement, how can I, simple man that I am, ever expect to understand the heights and depths of God and His will.  It’s almost enough to make me want to give up trying to understand.  But seeking greater understanding is, I believe, what God asks of me even though I will never fully grasp the ways of God.

   The fact that I can’t, and never will in this lifetime, understand God and all His ways increases my faith and trust in Him.  If I believe, then I must trust even when I don’t know the answers.  I must have faith that the will of God is always for the best even when I suffer the trials and burdens of this earthy life.

   “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has the human heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor 2: 9).  One day, in the life to come, maybe I will understand but I suspect that I won’t care.  What will it matter if I fully grasp all of God’s ways when I am living in the love and mercy He has for all those who believe?  The experience will outweigh all need for understanding.