In Our Experience, We Need to Trust

“I believe that God helps those who set out to do great things for His sake and never fails those who trust in Him alone.” St. Teresa of Avila

I try to write my articles from experience. Sometimes my experiences are not so interesting. However, every experience we have if we judge it, can teach us something. Recently, I watched someone I know well suffer from a psychotic episode. It was sad and horrific to witness. The readings, “Ask and you shall receive,” rang a bit hollow when I heard it that day. It is easy to think Christ is some magical genie who will make the path easier for us but that is not correct. It is easy to forget that Christ really is in charge.

“What really matters in life is that we are loved by Christ and that we love Him in return.” St. John Paul II

What is our starting point? This is so important. We do not and cannot begin our journey with ourselves, but with Christ. I was recounting the story of Carlo Acutis whose feast day was October 11th, when someone at the table shed a tear. I was surprised and asked why. The answer was why he is not so well-known. I continued talking about him and telling everyone how hs mother told people that he was not some perfect child. Of course he wasn’t! He was human and we are reminded by the Church that saints are not perfect; they strive to be. There is a big difference.

“So, you have failed? You cannot fail. You have not failed; you have gained experience. Forward!” St. Josemaria Escriva

St. Leopold Mandic hoped so much to end the division between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches. Instead, he was sent to Italy and heard confessions for hours a day. Recently, I was in Padua, and I made a point to visit his church and shrine. What a remarkable life! His expectations for his life were certainly not God’s. We have our own ideas about what we want – God has His. It is important to listen and be silent. The hand of God will move when the time is right. It is difficult to remember this, but it is true. We live in a noisy world full of distractions. We are not here to make a statement but to live our lives with Christ. Recently, we had a parish assembly with our new pastor, and he wanted to listen to ideas about what we want in a parish. The priest is alone in the church, and we need to support him. St. Bridget of Sweden is the patron saint of Sweden. She has also been called the patron saint of failures, because so many things that she set out to accomplish were never completed during her lifetime. Did a saint want to be the patron of failure? Likely not.

“Faith lifts the staggering soul on one side, hope supports it on the other – experience says it must and love says let it be.” St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

The road is long. The road can be arduous, but we do not quit although it is easy to want to. Sometimes it would be easy to just say thanks but no thanks. It is important to keep going and trust. God does not abandon His children. We need to stay faithful, and this begins with prayer. Saint after saint reminds us of this. Let us remind each other.

“Whenever the Spirit intervenes, he leaves people astonished. He brings about events of amazing newness; he radically changes persons and history.” St. John Paul II