We Lack Nothing

“Whoever has God, lacks nothing. God alone is enough.” St. Teresa of Avila

I am always struck by the readings of Easter morning. The words keep me thinking. And the witness of Mary Magdalene, so distraught when she could not find Jesus’ body; ‘Where have you put him?’; this strikes us! She was so determined to find the body, but He was not there; He had risen as he promised. The apostles must have felt so alone at the crucifixion thinking that all their life was now in vain. It was not! Christ really had risen from the dead. It can be scary sometimes as we wonder where our lives must be moving and to whom and to where are we moving? That is for God to reveal to us.

“Remember that you are never alone. Christ is with you every day on your journey, every day or your lives.” St. John Paul II

I was speaking to a dear priest friend of mine. I had read about the Servant of God, Walter J. Ciszek. He was a Jesuit who spent 23 years locked away in a Russian prison. His work with Russians left him vulnerable since he had had such an influence in people’s lives. He was arrested and sent to prison. There he ministered to the prisoners. This did not make his day any easier or any less exhausting. He wanted his freedom. He continued to be a priest despite his limitations and circumstances. He was brought out of prison without even knowing that forces were working to bring him to the USA. He spent his last years working at Fordham University. His case has been brought forward for canonization. While I was talking to my priest friend about it, I was wondering why I do not have that kind of faith. He reassured me that I did. I often wonder how some people whom God chooses, can be so determined.

“The fullest freedom I had ever known, the greatest sense of security, came from abandoning my will to do only the will of God.” Walter Ciszek

What do we want? In the movement, Communion and Liberation, Giussani often spoke about vocation. What do we want and what does God want from our lives? His will, not ours, needs to be first but that is not so easy for stubborn and hard-headed people as us. Throughout the centuries, people have died for their faith, and we remain apathetic. It is important that we return with that fortitude to continue working towards something more. What we are living is not enough until we are with God. I was recently in awe once I read about how many people are entering the Church this Easter in secular countries such as France and Belgium and even in places like Quebec. Surely, this cannot be our efforts. God is moving His people to come home. I see the crowds in parishes increase these last months. I see young people at daily mass. Are we living anything to show them something more? If we are not, let us begin.

“With God, every moment is the moment of beginning again.” Catherine Doherty