Continue to Trust

“O soul, steeped in darkness, do not despair, All is not yet lost. Come and confide in your God, who is love and mercy.” St. Faustina

I was narrowly in a bad accident recently. In the end nothing happened but it could have been terrible. Some angel must have guided my car that moment. I arrived home wondering that the whole evening could have been totally different. Instead, I continued on normally. I listened to some spiritual readings online to calm my nerves. Recently, we were scheduled to attend a few activities together with a group. Interestingly, someone could not make up their minds about which to attend. The reality was that they did not want to miss out on something, so they waited for the better offer to come and it never did. After some reflection, it occurred to me that no moment is lost. That moment in a potential accident or the time of not attending something, could all be used by God as a moment of drawing us closer to Him. It might be intimidating to be drawn closer to Our Lord, but it is the safest place to be, despite its challenges.

“There is nothing the devil fears so much, or tries to hinder as prayer.” St. Philip Neri

All the saints suffered challenges, obstacles and doubts. They were human of course, but they did not surrender to these challenges. I am always a little fascinated with St. Jane Frances de Chantal. After living a beautiful married life, suddenly her husband died while hunting. She questioned why God allowed this. Trusting in God’s divine will, she met St. Francis de Sales and she listened to his direction. “I’ve had these temptations for 41 years now; do you think I’m going to give up after all this time? Absolutely not. I’ll never stop hoping in God,” she declared. She practiced patience and consistency. St. Polycarp of Smyrna was one early Christian who had the pleasure of hearing from the Apostles about Jesus. It must have been amazing to listen to this, and his heart must have burned with joy. He was killed by first being burned, but when that did not work, he was stabbed. The beauty surrounding this event was that he had prayed for his accusers, those he knew in the Church at the time and for the Church itself. It is through the martyrs’ blood that the Church was born. This would lead to people like St. Anthony of Padua, whose Sanctuary in Italy I had the pleasure of visiting many times. These are great people we need to emulate. We cannot get stuck in our soup.

“The more ready you are to give yourself to God and to others, the more you discover the authentic meaning of life.” St. John Paul II

Doubt can freeze us. We dwell on anger, fear, frustration but only through Christ can all these flaws heal. We cannot stay in our self-pity. The Apostles were so afraid of the authorities, but Christ sent the Holy Spirit to them. The martyrs were not afraid – or maybe they were but they did not stop at that point. They trusted! We need to do the same.

“Do not be afraid! Accept the invitation of the Church and of Christ the Lord!” Pope Leo XIV— Regina Caeli, May 11, 2025.