Steadfast

"If we are steadfast in our faith in Christ and in our love for Him, we win the victory He has won, we receive what He has promised." St. Cyril of Jerusalem

When we make promises, it is important that we keep them. Recently, I found out that promises made to me were kept, when I thought they hadn’t been. It is a great feeling to realize this. I have read and listened to Abraham being told by God that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars, but Abraham did not see his children yet. He and Sarah eventually did have a son, but they did not count the number of people who came after. Spiritual parenting is a real thing. We make promises to each other daily; but do we keep them? In this age of cell phones, when we promise to meet someone, if we are late, we send a text, and all is forgiven. Before, when we met someone, we had to be there. We should try to return to that kind of commitment.

"God is faithful.” St. Leo the Great

We can be certain that God is faithful to His promises. Sometimes certainty eludes us but God's fathfulness is sure. Recently, the feast of St. Agnes inspired me to think about promises. She made a promise to God never to stain her purity. Her love for the Lord was great and she hated sin even more than death! Men wanted to marry her, but she would say, “Jesus Christ is my only Spouse.” This was commitment. St. Therese of Lisieux promised to spend her heaven doing good upon earth. I would submit that she is keeping that promise. Once, John Paul II was asked by a journalist what he did in his free time. John Paul’s answer, in his usual wit, was that all his time is free. The saints use their time to fulfill the promise they made to Christ. We need to do the same.

“The world never gives you anything except promises; God alone delivers.” St. Charbel

We are promised many things by people, by society, by our work and by our family. Humans can easily disappoint us. But we continue to pray for each of us to fulfill the promises we make, not only to each other but to Our Lord. There are many needs around us. We cannot close our eyes and hearts to others even though it might be the easy road. The road less traveled is the one for us. We need to be aware and try to understand what our purpose is and maybe, just possibly, the promises we make will be easier to fulfill.

“Cling to God and leave all the rest to Him: He will not let you perish. Your soul is very dear to Him, He wishes to save it.” St. Margaret Mary Alacoque