St. Paul told the Ephesians, Try to find what is pleasing to the Lord (Eph.5:9).

      When we are spiritually immature, we imagine that God has a detailed plan for what is pleasing to the Lord—for the earth, the United States, Tuscaloosa, my family, and especially, for me—right now, at every minute. Moderate reflection will show how immature that is.

      But then, what does God want?  Cardinal Newman put it this way:  “God has created me to do some definite service, committed to me a work that He has committed to no other.” Newman could not claim that he knew what that work actually was. That didn’t trouble him, though, because he knew he is a link in a chain of persons and he could not be replaced.

      Then, he figured he was certain to be doing what is pleasing to the Lord on two conditions. First, that he keep the Commandments. And he meant Jesus’ new commandment –Love one another the way I have loved you. It’s crucial to note that Jesus loved you by loving the ones the Father put in His earthly life: the Lady Mary his mother and Joseph his father, Peter and John, and even Judas and all those enemies who crucified Him. That’s who He loved and how He loved.

      And second, the other assurance that Newman and all of us are doing what is pleasing to the Lord is that I live true to myself, living out the gifts and graces God is giving me. Newman felt reassured by the thought that “God knows what He is about.”