Accepting Suffering

Recently, a prayer I’ve prayed for years was answered.  Someone was seeking to change their life as I had prayed they should.  But I’ve come to know this person better over the years, and I suddenly realized: They may try to do what I prayed for, but they are unlikely to succeed.  They do not have within them the fortitude (nor faith) to succeed in those efforts.  And likely, their failure will leave them that much more depressed at their life’s situation.  God could see the result of what I prayed for, but I continued to nag Him.  And, finally, He gave me what I prayed for --- which He may still make good out of, because He is God and can do all things, but my prayer for this person has now changed:  I now pray he comes to know God more, and be who God would will him to be.

That is a prayer for God’s will, not mine.

I was praying The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of Mary this morning.  From the Prophecy of Simeon to the Flight to Egypt, and to the Passion, death and burial of her Son, Mary was there and in great sorrow.  I read meditations about her sorrows, and about what she was thinking, and it suddenly struck me:  Not once does she cry out “God, don’t let this happen; stop this suffering!”  Never does she plead for God to do something else.  She accepts her suffering, and that of her Son.  She trusts there is a reason God would allow this.  She trusts.  When the angel says to flee to Egypt because Herod wants to kill Jesus she says: “Even though God has power over everything, He wants us to flee with Jesus, His Son.  God will show us the way, and we shall arrive without being caught by the enemy.”  She could have thought or said many things, but she trusted.

How many of my prayers are for specific things?  God do this or give me that or heal this person.  How many of my prayers are even contrary to Scripture, like Romans Chapter 1, because that is not how I want things to be.  Believing and living many of the words of Scripture means I or others have to suffer in some way, and I don’t want that, so I pray for the suffering to end.  I pray for God to deny Himself and His Word, for what I want, because I think is a loving thing to do.  I make up reasons why Scripture must be wrong, to be against what I want.  Scripture also has words about God saying on Judgement Day: “I don’t know you,” no matter how much I followed the Commandments or Scripture --- in my way.

We have many friends on earth, but in eternity even marriage won’t exist.  We can’t let our priorities for earthly happiness, friendships, prevent us from the eternal life Jesus died to offer us.  We need to pray, to grow in intimate prayer with Jesus, to tell Him our concerns, even with His words in Scripture.  We need to trust He can make good out of all suffering, things that aren’t as we’d like, and ask for His love and mercy, on us, our friends, and our country.  And follow The Way, as Mary did.

And along the way, we need to accept the suffering that accompanies the path to His Eternal Happiness, where there will never be suffering again.

These are difficult times, in the world, in our country, in our families, among our friends.  Jesus, I trust in You.  Have mercy on our country, those you bring into our lives, and us.  My Jesus, I trust I You.

Pray The Rosary

 Our Bible Study group reflected on MT 22:1-14, the parable which compares the kingdom of heaven to a king who gave a feast for his son’s wedding, only all who had been invited were “not interested,” and mistreated the king’s servants.  So, the king destroyed those ungrateful people.  Then he invited all he found on the street corners, “bad and good alike” to the feast.

Our study group reflected on why people today aren’t interested in heaven, or they assume they don’t have to prepare for it.  We talked about what we could do to get more people interested in heaven.  I think witness by our actions, and then trust in God’s work, was where we ended up.

After that Zoom-meeting, I went to my parish in Ann Arbor.  After the noon mass, they distribute communion outside the church to those at risk, reluctant to enter due to the Covid crisis.  I received communion and took hosts for friends who are homebound.  The deacon walks right up to the car and places the hosts in the pyx I brought, to minimize contact.  I then drove to the back of the church lot, received communion – the Body and Blood of Christ, and prayed.

But when I was ready to leave, I glanced back at the church entrance.  There, standing alone by the road, was the deacon, waiting for more cars to come.  And then it hit me:  This is just like the parable.  God is here, inviting, waiting.  There should be a line of cars miles long to come and receive Him, to come to His feast, but few came.  And I felt the sadness, and anger, of the king in the parable.

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Today was the anniversary date of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima in 1917.  Mary told the children she was appearing to, that the miracle would happen on that date, and the word spread far and wide. Over 50,000 people came from all over Portugal.  Many came to mock; they expected no miracle.  But they all saw the sun change, and the ground dry up instantly from the storm.  Most people, however, don’t know the rest of the Fatima story.

In 1910, the government of Portugal outlawed all religion.  Thousands of priests were executed.  Churches were destroyed.  Public worship was forbidden.  The government declared: “There is no God”

I wonder how different Portugal then was from our country now.  No one cares about heaven.  No one comes to receive the God who waits for them.  And God is struck from the Pledge of Allegiance --- we won’t  profess that we are a country under Him. 

When Mary spoke to the children at Fatima on the day of the huge miracle, she told them to pray the rosary every day, for God’s mercy.

I’m sure she’d give the same advice today.

Who Prays For Me?

 I received a card from a local parish yesterday, and opened it in shock.  A mass was being offered for me --- and I am not dead, yet.  I have had people pray for me, and been included in group intentions or masses, like: ”for all our sponsors and donors”, but never a mass specifically offered for me.  Besides the shock, there was a sadness, for I have been avoiding indoor Sunday masses due to the Covid risk.  I probably wouldn’t attend that mass being offered for me, but then I remembered that this particular parish is having parking lot masses on Sundays through the end of October, and the mass will be offered on the last Sunday of October.  So, I can attend!!

God is so good.

I titled this blog posting “Who Prays For Me?” because I wanted YOU to know YOU are prayed for, even as I will be prayed for in a couple of weeks.  Every day, many times a day, I offer my prayers, my sufferings, for you, often naming you.  I always pray for God’s Mercy on this country and this election, but I also pray for all those people who God has put in my life, who cross my path, like YOU.  There is a reason our paths have crossed.  I pray His Will, His Mercy, be done for you.

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I attended a retreat these last three days, virtually, on-line.  It was put on at my parish in Ann Arbor by the JPII Healing Center.  The four talks were very different, in that much was acted out, and many personal examples used to stress a point.  Inner brokenness was the healing sought, starting with establishing a relationship with God the Father.  He started everything, for a reason.  I don’t think anyone could listen to those talks and not be personally touched by the personal sufferings of the speakers, and/or God’s personal reaching out to them.  Listening in the audience, I am sure God touched many of their sufferings.

We are going through many sufferings as a country, and world, but how we react to those sufferings is unique to our personal sufferings, which made us who we are.  Whether inflected in our childhood or adult life, by a parent, sibling or acquaintance, --- or ourselves --- we have had sufferings we can never forget, or never bring to the surface to remember.  They affect us and those around us.

The retreat talks noted that “Forgiveness is the foundation of all healing”.  The talks focused on encountering God the Father, whose love is within us.  We are made in His Image.  His love is exhibited in mercy.  His Son died to forgive us.  We need to find that mercy, so we too can forgive.

It was a very good retreat.  I hope they will make those talks available for purchase by others.  It is worth the money, to find ways to know God better.

Just Love Them

 Quotes below are from The Better Part, Meditation 187 on today’s Gospel (Lk 10:25-37).

The Gospel today included the story of a man robbed and beaten on the road to Jericho.  Left in the ditch, the priest and the Levite passed him by, but the Samaritan had pity on him, and took him to the inn to be cared for.  Jesus is the Good Samaritan to us, taking pity on our situations, “entrusting us to the innkeeper of the Church, who watches over our convalescence until He comes again.”

“Jesus:  Life is short.  It is so easy to forget that.  It is so easy for you to get caught up in the stream of activities that seem so urgent but in fact are secondary.  Your primary task, the mission I have given you, is to follow in my footsteps.  Open your eyes and your heart to the people around you.  See their needs and reach out to them as I have seen yours and reached out to you.  If this is hard for you, if the stream of urgencies keeps sweeping you away, don’t worry.  Keep contemplating my example, keep thinking of the love I have for you and all that I have done and still do for you.  Little by little the weight of my love will give your stability, strength, and peace.  My wisdom will be the balm that heals your anxiety.”

Today is the feast day of St. Faustina, whom Jesus appeared to and asked that she act to create a day dedicated to His Divine Mercy.  Yesterday was the feast day of St. Francis.  Both saints acted as the Good Samaritan, living simple lives, helping those in need.  Sometimes that seems so hard for us, in part because we want to judge others: Why don’t they try harder to get out of their situation?  Why should I help?  “Don’t you have some friends or relatives who could help you?”  But the Good Samaritan never asked those questions of ones in need.  I was reminded this week that Mother Teresa of Calcutta also didn’t ask those questions either, to the ones she found in the gutter.  She just loved them.