All Your Cares About the Future

“Lay all your cares about the future trustingly in God’s hands and let yourself be guided by the Lord just like a little child.” St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross

Sometimes we despair. Sometimes we ask for things from Our Lord, and we find ourselves disappointed. Sometimes we might find ourselves thanking God for NOT answering our prayers. Recently, someone I know was waiting a long time for a response and was about to give up. Their comment was that they were tired of praying for the same thing. It would be interesting to remember how many saints prayed for the same thing for years wondering when the answer would arrive. Maybe it did arrive, but we were not looking for the answer we received. I was reminded by a friend that prayers do come to fruition, just not necessarily how we want. I spoke to my friends in the Carmel regarding this and I was reminded of Guido Schaffer.

“We need to seek daily renewal through prayer saying, ‘Lord Jesus renew my life.’” Attributed to Guido Schaffer

I had heard about the story of the Brazilian, Guido Schaffer, before, but the Carmelites reminded me of him once again. He was a doctor and after his encounter with Mother Teresa’s nuns, he followed a call to the priesthood. While he was a seminarian, he went surfing with friends. He hit his head on the surfboard and drowned.  He is now 'venerable.' We could easily think what a waste or so sad, but God uses everything to bring us closer to Himself.  He would even use such a tragedy if it would bring us to believe more fully. The list of young saints could continue with many examples. I can only mention a few without doing a disservice to the others. Saint Maria Goretti died in hospital after thwarting a rape attempt. Her killer was at her canonization. Saint José Sánchez del Río died at age 14 in 1928. He was a Mexican Cristero who was killed for refusing to renounce his faith. Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto were witnesses at Fatima, and as Our Lady said to them, they would go to heaven early, they did. With our limited way of looking at things, we could think what a terrible thing. In many ways it is, but not in God’s eyes. He has other plans. We cannot know his ways.

“Jesus does not ask us to give up living, but to accept a newness and fullness of life that only He can give.” John Paul II

It is easy to make a judgment without prayer and understanding. It is easy to complain and criticize. We cannot stop there. I have waiting for many things in my life, and they surprise me when they arrive, and it sends a tingling down my spine when they do. It hits me like a ton of bricks. We cannot stop there. We are sure that God answers prayer because Christ promised us. I wonder about Guido’s life before he decided to follow a call to a vocation and then at the same time, I wonder why it happened the way it did. We need to be reminded constantly that events are not up to us. They unfold and we need to be watching, waiting and listening. We will not be disappointed.

“In prayer, the soul rises above life’s sadness.” Pier Giorgio Frassati