Trust

"Entrust yourself entirely to God. He is a Father and a most loving Father at that, who would rather let heaven and earth collapse than abandon anyone who trusted in him." - St. Paul of the Cross

Recently, since it was Christmas, I was hosting family. I normally do not go to mass Christmas eve since it can be very crowded. I usually go in the morning. I do not do well with so many people around. There is a church nearby my home that had a mass at 7 pm. I knew the priest there and asked how early I should go. He said it would not be crowded. Instead, I was edified. We barely got a seat. During mass I saw people from the RCIA, a doctor I knew and an old friend. It was quite the reunion and even my family and friends were surprised. We can always be surprised. Also, at the end of a recent trip, we arrived at the airport and saw that the earlier flight home was delayed. We asked if we could be put on it. Without hesitation the group I was with got our new boarding passes. It turned out that the last scheduled flight we were on was eventually canceled. We made it home. The flight we were on, needed to do a go-around. It was a little scary, but I remembered the words of the Carmelite Sisters – Trust God. I did.

“A humble soul does not trust itself, but places all its confidence in God.” St. Faustina

St. Marguerite Bourgeoys struck me lately. After visiting Montreal for the umpteenth time, we stopped in at Notre Dame de Bon Secours. There was a history of St. Marguerite. People were visiting, donating money and admiring the place. A simple woman in the 1600s in what was then New France and now Quebec gave her life to build a society. Her community was given a stable to begin classes; she helped Jeanne Mance build a hospital and sent her sisters to start classes. She was canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul. Sometimes we think of saints as people who lived long ago and did great things, who might not have any meaning for us today. This is not the case. Just after Christmas there are the feast days of St. Stephen and the beloved St. John. They are certainly not irrelevant. Pier Giorgio Frassati was not a miracle worker in the sense that he could do such amazing things. Instead, he worked with the poor without telling anyone. Only after he died, his family learned of his greatness. Let us try to wait to pay attention to the great things other people do around us. We need to appreciate the good.

Prayer is the best weapon we possess. It is the key that opens the heart of God. Padre Pio.

How often do we think we have the answer to everything. We think that we can do anything, and we do not trust anyone it seems. However, the saints, our experience and our friends show us something different. Yes, many people might oppose us. This is not important. It is important that we continue to be witnesses that there is something greater around us. There is more than what we do. I enjoy my work but to live to work is certainly not enough for us. There is never enough in this world. We need to put our trust in Christ. He is the answer. Christmas eve afternoon I needed to run and get a few things. I grabbed what was needed from the store quickly while I had to negotiate my way around the gift card rack which was full of people wondering what gift card they needed to buy. Is this important? Maybe it isn’t. Reaching out might be better at this time of the year than buying something that many of us already have. We need to be open to new possibilities or else we will be stuck. Our Lord wants much more for us.

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.” St. Gianna Molla