God’s Deep Respect

I am very fond of this saying by the English mystic, Julian of Norwich: “See what deep respect God has for his creation”. The Virgin Mary could have said ‘no’, and the course of history would have been different. But God had known for all eternity that she would say ‘yes’, and would give her unconditional assent. God gives this same deep respect to us; He does not insist; He never forces you. He suggests something to you. You can say ‘no’. This is not an error, you will not succumb to mortal sin and you will remain in a state of grace, but you will have deprived yourself of a marvellous adventure. And this sort of thing happens to us all the time. If God allows us in, one of the pains of Purgatory will be to have passed by so many invitations to Divine Grace, issued with the softness of the breeze that Elijah heard on the mountain when God was near.