The Lord Does Not Abandon Us

Our concern must be to know God’s will. We must enter that path if God wants, when God wants, how God wants.  St. Gianna Molla

I didn’t enjoy religion classes so much in elementary and high school. Sometimes they seemed so frivolous and sentimental. I am not such a sentimental person. Sometimes, Jesus was reduced to being some nice guy who went around curing everyone he met. I seemed to feel God was some distant being living in his heaven and really had nothing to do with our daily lives. A person can be wrong.

Choosing

We all have a free will and intellect. We can make choices and God gave us this grace to do so. He respects our free will. I struggle with this sometimes because it seems as though he wants something for each one of us but then he allows us to choose.

I have had to make choices and sometimes they were difficult ones. Where to live, where to work, and so on. Choices can be tough, but I would not want it any other way. If we didn’t choose, we would be puppets to someone else. At the same time, I do not want to simply do whatever I please and do things on a whim.

St Philip Neri - Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if he wants anything of you, he will fit you for the work and give you strength.

Seeking Help

I do seek the counsel of intelligent people. I do reflect before I make a big decision and sometimes, I feel like wringing my hands while trying to make the right one. What St. Philip Neri said rings true for me. I need to trust that the Lord will make crooked paths straight and use whatever decision I need to make as something for my good.

I went to visit the Carmelite Sisters who are always so kind to me. This time I went with my friends. We asked about the drop in attendance at churches in many places. With their calm demeanour and steadfast faithfulness, they told us that God will use anything and anyone He can to guide us. One sister mentioned the example of how Ste. Therese of Lisieux appeared to soldiers during World War I on the battlefields of Europe. I googled this story and found that someone had written about it in the National Catholic Register.(https://www.ncregister.com/blog/french-soldiers-tell-how-st-therese-helped-and-protected-them-in-world-war-i) I thought, how would cloistered nuns know about something like this? Of course, they would I deduced. They would know this because they have faith that the Lord is part of the world and He does not simply stand by and watch as a spectator though he does respect our free will. He manifests Himself at the appointed time and moves when the time is right.

St. Benedicta of the Cross. Edith Stein

… Just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him – really rest – and start the next day as a new life.

 St. Benedicta or more commonly known as Edith Stein died in the camps during World Way II. Her last days must have been horrible, but she maintained her faith and fidelity to our Lord. Incredible! I can only imagine the suffering that people endure – the hardships, the loneliness – yet God’s love remains. It always does.

Final Thoughts

I had a prayer answered once and to my amazement, my huge request was answered in a way I didn’t expect at all. I remember the moment I realized it was answered, I trembled somewhat, knowing full well that the Lord does respond at the appointed time.

The night is at its darkest just before dawn breaks, just before the light emerges; in the darkest moment, God intervenes and resurrects. Said Pope Francis

 There is much suffering around us. Besides the pandemic, there was suffering before and there will be suffering again. However, God does not abandon His children. Why would He? God would not have created us to simply set us adrift in some boat and fend for ourselves. We may choose to go off on our own thinking we are invincible, but we always return. We know who our maker is, who our Father is; I am sure that His will must be done.

In God’s plan, nothing happens by chance. St. John Paul II