On Rest in God

Thus kicks off a new series. My last series on annihilation of self came from the same book - see source below.

"Come unto Me, all you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you: and you shall find rest for your souls."

"This invitation was addressed to every man on earth; no other than Jesus Christ has ever given them such an invitation; and they have all the greatest interest in experiencing the reality of this promise. We all suffer in this world more or less, either from anxiety of mind, or sorrow of heart, or pain of body. and nevertheless we all long for rest, we seek it eagerly, and we wear ourselves out all our lives in this search without ever attaining the object of our desires. Where is rest to be found? Where shall we seek it? This is a most interesting question if ever there was one.

Some men, and in fact the greater number, seek their rest in the enjoyment of the riches and pleasures and honours of this life.

What care do they not take to secure these things for themselves, to preserve them, to increase them, and to accumulate them?

Do they really find rest in these things? No. How should rest be found in these perishing things, which cannot even satisfy the passion that desired them; in things which have no proportion with the wants of the human heart, which leave it always empty, always devoured by a still more ardent thirst; in the things that are always being disputed and envied and torn furiously by one person from another? What rest and stability can be found in things that are change itself? If the foundation upon which we build our rest is always moving, is it not a necessary consequence that we must experience the same agitation? Let every one consult himself: experience is the most positive proofs. What man ever tasted rest in the midst of the greatest treasures, the most lively pleasures, the most flattering honours? Rest is not in these things: every one knows this; and yet it is in these things that man persists in seeking it. Men exhaust themselves in desires, in projects, in enterprises, and they never succeed in finding one single moment of rest; and if they would only consult their reason, it would tell them that in this way they never can find rest. What blindness! What folly!"

Source: Manual for Interior Souls by Fr. Grou S.J. 3rd edition. London: St. Anselm's Society, Westminster, England. 1905.

Who among us can say that it is any other way with us? It is as if the good Father is speaking to me personally across space and time. I have been very fatigued as of late, both in mind and spirit. I pray God can teach this poor ignorant soul something in the writing of this series. Amen+