Richard Renshaw, CSC, Welland, ON

Over the years I have had several occasions to present a question to young people in their mid-to-late teens: Have you ever experienced God? The answer has always been unanimous: No! Yet, if I presented this same question to older Catholics, I would expect to get some qualified positive answers. In any case, for me, this raises a number of further questions.

Of course, few people have direct visions of God, except perhaps for some in dreams. And that is quite understandable. The difficulty is that in today’s world, our collective culture would count as real only those experiences where we actually see, touch, taste, hear or smell something. God doesn’t quite fit that!

Certainly, our knowing begins with sensory experiences. Most of us can distinguish between oak and pine panelling. We do so by observing the grain, the colour and the heft. However, a scientist, with a little smile, might well observe that actually the planks are “really” made up of millions of atoms with their nuclei and swirling electrons. Most of that solid plank then is really just space. While we know this is true and we try to imagine it, we prefer ultimately to deal with the grain, colour and heft. That’s much more practical, at least for everyday life! And, it’s not that we are wrong; we just haven’t really considered the whole reality.

And here lies both the problem and the clue for understanding our experience of God. Experiencing God, in my view, does indeed start with very concrete moments like a vibrant liturgy, some beautiful music or a magnificent scene in nature, without overlooking also those extraordinary experiences of people suffering deeply and bravely. However, the experience of God demands we dig in deeper because it is not just a matter of looking harder but of considering more in depth.

Now, for those of us who have been gifted with faith, there is a way of getting into our experience that leads us to discover how it is God who gifts our lives with love, beauty and meaning. The path I want to talk about might run its course in seconds or it can take a lifetime. It is always the same path. Moreover, it is not a path entirely unknown to us.

Beyond the sights, sounds and smells of life, there is a matter of trying to analyze, define, identify their causes. It is a matter of taking time to sort things out.

The process begins with an experience that calls us up short, touches something in our heart and raises a big question. It is pretty much always the same question: What is this? Nor does the answer always come easily. We search for clues, as when we are doing a crossword puzzle. And when we get a clue, then we often struggle to put a name to it.

The name gives it an identity; it identifies the source of the experience. For example, for a long time, people thought the world was flat. As a result, they were hesitant to venture out on the ocean lest they fall off the edge. But someone noticed that ships gradually sank below the horizon when they left port. It was a clue. They figured out eventually that the earth might indeed be round (crazy as that might seem), and finally Magellan verified that by sailing right round.

Once we follow the clues and get the insight we are halfway there. For, indeed, there is more. We have to ask ourselves whether we got it right. Sometimes a word fits into the spaces in the puzzle but ultimately isn’t the right word. So, we have to check and then, when everything lines up, we can say with confidence that we “got it right.” Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

The experience of God is indeed like a puzzle that invites a search for clues. Yet, when it comes to the question of God, it can be a challenge, especially in our modern culture which isn’t particular adept at heading off looking for the kinds of clues that would lead us to identify God! The clue we are looking for is not some additional piece but rather a matter of getting hold of what is already present but hidden.

To say with conviction, including all its consequences, that it is God who is at the root of our human experience, is a tremendous challenge. Moreover, for those who exclude the possibility that God could be part of the picture, the answer is pretty much disqualified from the outset. The clue won’t be some additional element of sensory experience we add to what is already there.

Still, what is, I think, helpful is to know that there is a path, that it is always available, and that it can lead us to some pretty remarkable discoveries in life. We just need to be paying attention, willing to ask questions, look for clues and follow our insights.

Searching for God is not, of course like looking for the wizard in the forest who can whip up marvels. It is much more subtle. It is an answer to a question, an insight into something that puzzles us, a grasp of meaning.

The results can change our way of relating to the world around us. It can revolutionize our lives.