When I first decided to write this series of columns on the meaning and mystery of human presence, I was thinking of the presence of a person with religious faith being present to other persons.

What the person with religious faith brings to the encounter with other persons is a special light enabling the person with religious faith to perceive others as being redeemed, as being temples of the Holy Spirit. It is as though each person has a sign on them: ”I have been bought at a great price.” I have come to think that people who are in the state of grace are like sacraments. When we meet them, I think we have an opportunity to encounter the Holy Spirit in them.

Catholics believe that there is a mystical body of Christ and that those who share in God’s life, those who are in the state of grace, are members of that body. This, I find, is an awesome truth: that limited human beings can share in God’s life. That we are the body of Christ in the world means that we are called to continue Christ’s mission, to proclaim God’s love for every person and to live as signs of that love. This would be an impossible vocation without the cross of Christ to free us and strengthen us. In his wonderful little book “Altogether Gift: A Trinitarian Spirituality,” Michael Downey encourages us to be confident in our vocation to spread Christ’s message, reminding us that the victory has already been won by Christ:

“Love’s speaking and breathing is enfleshed through the Incarnation and the cross of Christ. Here we see and are invited to participate in the self-giving of God in love, living in and from this gift, realizing that it, rather than prevailing views of power and success, is what transforms human life, history, the world. The cross is our assurance that we participate in the life and glory of God not by avoiding or bypassing the negative experiences of our lives, but by entering into and growing through them. This is the central meaning and message of the cross of Christ: light shines amidst darkness; life emerges from death; love prevails over all evil” (p. 34).

We do not create the world, but by choosing how we will be present in the world, we greatly influence what is meaningful and important to us. We are responsible for how we live and the choices we make. Serious reflection on our lives reveals that we want love to be at the center of our lives; we want to be loved, and we want to love. A life with no love would be a disaster. Downey has written the following:

“What is this strange and elusive thing we call love? Quite simply it is life pouring itself forth. To say that ‘God is love’ is to say that God is not enclosed, turned in on self. God is the life that pours itself forth: constantly, abundantly, excessively, never-to-stop-coming — as a gift. Life is altogether and abundantly a gift: a gift come freely, unexpectedly, undeservedly. This gift is constant, trustworthy, faithful. God, who is always and everywhere pouring forth, is faithful” (p. 38).

I have had the experience of teaching philosophy and preaching from a pulpit, where I am telling others what I need to hear. In trying to offer insights to those to whom I am speaking, I am frequently making statements that I need to hear. I don’t think I plan for that to happen.

When it happens, I am at least a little surprised. Recently I have been having a similar experience in writing this weekly column, especially when the column is part of a series of columns on one subject.

Once again, I don’t think I plan for that to happen. Already I think I have been influenced by writing this series of columns on the mystery of human presence. Perhaps it is inevitable that I be influenced by what I have written. If I am trying to write something that will help people, it seems normal that I be affected by what I have written. After all, I am part of the “people.”

I just thought of an area of my life in which I have been helped by reflecting on and writing about the mystery of presence. For years I have been praying centering prayer. I think some of the ideas I have presented in this column have returned to me while I have been praying, and I hope the presence of the Holy Spirit has helped me in prayer.

Looking back on the hundreds of columns I have written, I can appreciate that having the opportunity to write them has been a gift.

Father Lauder is a philosophy professor at St. John’s University, Jamaica. His new book, “The Cosmic Love Story: God and Us,” is available on Amazon.com and at Barnes & Noble.