Be Not Afraid. Don’t Worry, Be Happy. Take It Easy. Hakuna Matata. (Okay, maybe scratch the Disney phrase). But in Mark here, Matthew there or in Luke and John galore, Our Lord takes great pains to remind me often and anon to ditch the anxiety already and bask in his grace. With the dawning of a new day, cometh the vital gospel reminder like the gentle rain that droppeth from heaven. A variation of worry less and trust more. And the Lord knows that I need it badly. “Worry Warts ‘r’ Us” would be the name of my store, if an enterprising bent was my allotted portion, which it definitely is not.
Our Weakness
The indomitable St. Paul talks about the thorn in his side in the precursor to the main course. Three times he begged the Lord to remove it, who replied, and I paraphrase, “No”.. And if the great man can glory in his weakness, so should I, yes oh yes. Yet, time and again finds yours truly down in the dumps when I inevitably falter in the daily ask of spreading sweetness and light. But it is inevitable, right? There’s always going to be omissions or commissions. Today has its own share of evil and I’m hard pressed to get through to day’s end without a mishap or more. And when it happens, like St. Paul, I need but breathe a short prayer of thanks to God for His love and forgiveness and move along, Jack, nothing to see here.
Our Lord is so counter cultural! In a world of perfectionists (self most decidedly included), there is no room for admitting one’s faults and imperfections or if at all, it’s always with a passel of if’s, ands, or’s, buts and if onlies, right? Well, we definitely shouldn’t toe the egotistical line, for pride will only cause us to walk hunched with backs bent and looking downward, so vividly portrayed in Dante’s Divine Comedy. A little humility in contrast, makes us irresistible to God. How difficult it is to say “I’m sorry” and mean it genuinely!! Yet, woe to us if we don’t form this pretty little habit – at the least, a lengthy sojourn in Purgatorio beckons!
The Lord’s Grace
If we can only take ourselves less seriously and blithely trample on our ego, wouldn’t it be a step towards Paradise? For me and consequently, for my neighbor. Jesus reminds us of His Providence. Nothing can we do on our own, everything we possess comes from Him and in the Final Act, returns to Him. All that would remain is God alone. May we cling to Him and bank on Him. St. Ignatius reminds us to cultivate gratitude first and foremost and if we do nothing but thank Him, it is sufficient. Nothing comes to us except by the Grace of God. June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart. As my good pastor recounted, it is not a valentine heart, rather it’s a heart crowned with thorns. And for you and me, He paid the ultimate price. It’s about time we cued up some grateful humility in response. He’s got this! I can relax but – perhaps a quick visit to the confessional beforehand? For in cleaning up our act (an ongoing enterprise) will doubtless make us better conduits of His amazing grace.
I needed to hear this today. I am down in the dumps, everything I am praying for is not going my way. I am having obstructions/obstacles in all forms and directions. I am beginning to loose my faith in my prayers. Initially, today I did not want to read this reflection, but then I wanted to hang on to hope, I opened the email, the reflection today was the perfect reflection for my soul. God got my back, I have to shake the fear off. Thank you!!!!!
I needed to hear this today. I am down in the dumps, everything I am praying for is not going my way. I am having obstructions/obstacles in all forms and directions. I am beginning to loose my faith in my prayers. Initially I did not want to read this reflection, but then I wanted to hang on to hope, I opened the email, the reflection today was the perfect reflection for my soul. God got my back, I have to shake the fear off. Thank you!!!!!