Simone Weil wrote: “All the natural movements of the soul are controlled by laws analogous to the laws of physical gravity. Grace is the only exception. We must always expect things to happen in conformity with the laws of gravity unless there is supernatural intervention.”

Gravity is absorption, expansion, swelling, acquisition; it is emptiness seeking to be filled. This is the natural course of things, in the spiritual world as in the physical. In our human nature, we seek to pull toward ourselves all that we can—possessions, food, praise or recognition, other people. And we are in competition to gather the most mass, always gauging our progress by the size of those around us.

Some will collect as much of one type of thing as they can, such as wealth or experiences, while others will try for a little of everything in the name of being well-rounded. And there are a number of curious cases, as one with an eating disorder may push away food, but only to make room for the love that she believes she will get from being thin. All gravity.

But grace is the exception to all of this. It is an unnatural force: one from fairy tales, which would have us clinging to the grass as a ceiling or to a tree as a chandelier, in order to keep from tumbling upward, and from being pulled away from this world and its unfulfilling way of living.

Gravity is “I”, or self. Grace is “you”. It’s the force that causes me to push away from myself for the good of others. To shrink in size against the inclination to accumulate; to decrease, in order that He may increase. To humble myself, to quietly withdraw my name as a contender in the game played by the world, which is won or lost depending on so many worthless accomplishments.

The core of the earth is molten. Every action of mine which resists gravity contributes to this: ascending stairs or jumping, of course—but even standing, sitting, or really, doing anything else but falling. The energy from the resistance is transferred to the center of the earth, where it becomes heat, and the earth rages inwardly for my defiance of it.

So it is with spiritual gravity. Grace is a willful vacuum, and nature abhors it for that reason. It’s easier to give in and play the game, but we’ll set our minds on things above, where our sights will be higher and our goals loftier. May the earth burn up for our resistance to its gravity, and may we build our foundations solidly so that they will survive when that day comes.