Daily Living of the Divine Indwelling

Dan Lynch
September 5, 2019

Sister Mildred, the mystic of the devotion to Our Lady of America, wrote that on the evening of August 5, 1957, “Our Lady spoke to me about the Divine Indwelling. It was her life and she lived it perfectly always conscious of His presence, never forgetting that all her greatness came from within, from Him who dwelt there, working, loving, and doing good through her. This is what Our Lady means when she speaks of reformation, renewal. It is this about which she is so concerned, namely sanctification from within. . . . She seemed anxious to impress me with some idea of the greatness of this gift of God to us, namely, His Divine Presence within our souls through sanctifying grace.”

This is the third of six articles on the Practice of the Divine Indwelling. They will be published each Thursday from the Feast of the Queenship of Mary to the 63^rd Anniversary of Our Lady of America’s first apparition on September 26.

How do we daily live the Divine Indwelling as Our Lady of America requested? Thomas à Kempis wrote in his Imitation of Christ that we should prepare our hearts for the Divine Indwelling.

The Kingdom of God is within you,” says the Lord. Turn, then, to God with all your heart. Forsake this wretched world and your soul shall find rest. Learn to despise external things, to devote yourself to those that are within, and you will see the Kingdom of God come unto you, that Kingdom which is peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, gifts not given to the impious. Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within. His visits with the inward man are frequent, His communion sweet and full of consolation, His peace great, and His intimacy wonderful indeed. Therefore, faithful soul, prepare your heart for this Bridegroom that He may come and dwell within you; He Himself says: “If any one loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him.

Renowned spiritual writer Father Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange wrote in his Three Stages of the Interior Life that we begin to live the Divine Indwelling when we stop talking to ourselves and begin to talk to God in prayer.

As soon as a man seriously seeks truth and goodness, this intimate conversation with himself tends to become conversation with God. Little by little, instead of seeking himself in everything, instead of tending more or less consciously to make himself a center, man tends to seek God in everything, and to substitute for egoism love of God and of souls in Him.

Our Lady of America asked us to live the Divine Indwelling “in such a way that the Divine Presence becomes, as it were, an intimate and necessary part of [our] life and daily living.” Jesus explains His invitation to the intimacy of the Divine Indwelling, which awaits our free welcome. He said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me.” (Rev. 3:20).

If you live with someone, you pay attention to him. You are present to him, talk to him, listen to him, keep him company. This is how we live with God and, since He is God, we do what he tells us to do. (See Jn. 2:5).  So we live the Divine Indwelling by seeking first the Kingdom of God, seeking God in everything, practicing living in His presence in an intimate way with friendly conversation with Him, and a determined focus on contemplative, internal prayer rather than external actions, which we transform into prayer by offering them to God.

Lazarus’ sister Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to Him while her sister Martha waited upon Him and complained to Jesus that Mary had left her alone to do the serving. Jesus told Martha, “You are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Lk. 10:41-42).

You may choose the better part by reading the remaining three articles in this series that will be published each Thursday until September 26. You may read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.