Fully Alive 4

“The glory of God is a human fully alive,” so said Irenaeus, and this line is both quoted and a theme for Trevor Hudson’s new book, Discovering Our Spiritual Identity: Practices for God’s Beloved.

Signpost #3: Christian faith is grounded in remembrance — remembering God’s presence in the life of Jesus, in our life, and in our day.

Trevor confesses that when he began to develop the discipline/signpost of remembering, “my awareness of the Holy One’s active presence throughout my life has been considerably strengthened.”

We all have memories, and entering into those memories invites us into a journey.

The children of Israelites were curious “they were seldom taught abstract precepts. Memories were shared with them. They were told stories of the Lord their God.” And Jesus taught us to remember him — at the Lord’s table.

Trevor advises those who are struggling in faith to “keep company with Jesus” by pondering the Gospels and listen to the remembering of Jesus in the Gospels.

But he encourages us to do more:He invites also to remember the stories of our own life. “Our lives are never secular. They are sacred journeys in which God is constantly involved, always seeking to disclose his gracious word and passionate love.” We are also to remember our pain and take that pain to the cross and into the resurrection to experience a “little Easter” in our life. Trevor also believes in journaling.

The other dimension to remember is our each day: he practices the Ignatian “examen of consciousness,” which is a way of pondering our day — asking such things as What am I thankful for? What strong moods did I experience? What attitudes behind them? For what do I need to ask forgiveness? Where do I need God’s help and guidance?