Light in Darkness

“The most beautiful act of faith is the one made in darkness, in sacrifice and with extreme effort.” St. Padre Pio

Recently, things have not been going well. I was somewhat at a loss as to what to do about it. It is easy to simply give up and not care. Society prefers mediocrity. God does not. I was given a religious medallion by someone who saw that I was somewhat distraught. From that moment, things have moved in quite a positive direction. I have been receiving good news all around me. It was a little unnerving. I contacted my friends in the Carmel cloister about it, and I was reassured that God really does love us all. He manifests it in various ways, but we need to pay attention. I was feeling overwhelmed in a negative way, but then it all turned to being overwhelmed in a positive way. I was not sure about what to do about it. The answer from the Carmel – thank God in all His glory.

Pope Leo XIV recently told religious about the marvelous adventure of following Christ more closely. "To place these side by side and recall them together at this moment," Pope Leo marveled, "helps us to appreciate the richness of our being a community—especially as religious—engaged in the same marvelous adventure of 'following Christ more closely.'”

Some examples for us to follow include St. Mary Magdalene  de’ Pazzi. Born Catherine, she changed her name once she entered the convent. She was from a noble family and, theoretically, she should have married into wealth, but she chose another road. She made her first communion and one month later, made a vow of chastity. She entered the Carmelite monastery in Florence. Soon after, she faced death, so she made her vows from a bed. She experienced ecstasy for 40 mornings afterwards. The extraordinary was ordinary for this saint. She read the thoughts of others and predicted future events. During her lifetime, Mary Magdalene appeared to several persons in distant places and cured a number of sick people. One would assume that her life was rich and full of faith. However, she experienced desolation often. Many saints would say the same thing. Another saint who piqued my curiosity was St. Noel Chabanel. He was a Jesuit priest and North American martyr who worked with the Indigenous people – the Hurons. Many of the missionaries empathized with First Nations people but not St. Noel. Initially, he was unimpressed. It would have been a terrific challenge just to have come across the ocean in this period, then by canoe into what would become Canada and the USA.  He had difficulty with their traditions and language, and the environment was nearly savage. Instead of surrendering to his repugnance, he promised not to give up. He stayed with God and the mission for which he was sent. We need to do the same. It is easy to give up. We cannot.  

“Unfurl the sails and let God steer us where He will.” St. Bede

This is easier said than done. I had taken my students to see the movie Cabrini. Many were not Catholic but that was not important. We went. They asked me about the challenges St. Francesca Cabrini had. I replied how God asked for perseverance, and He will answer in His time, not ours. Each saint can attest to that. Sometimes we want to throw in the towel, but we cannot. I was thinking about the gospel reading recently about Jesus’ visit to Mary and Martha. Martha wanted help, yet Mary sat and listened. We do not know what our Lord was saying, but obviously it was important. Mary chose the better part – so should we.

“Give something, however small to the one in need. For it is not small to the one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.” St. Gregory Nazianzen