You Can Do This!

The Monsignor spoke of a childhood experience many of us have had:  his learning to ride a bike.  He related that his father helped seat him on the two-wheeled bike, and urged hm to pedal, and his father held on so he wouldn’t fall.  “It was scary and I felt sure I’d fall,” he said, “and indeed would have if my father hadn’t been there to catch me.  But he continued to urge me on, you can do this, he said.  Focus!  And as I did, the balance became easier, and I increased my pedal speed --- checking that my father was still holding on.  And as I sped even more, my father was trotting next to me.  And, as my confidence grew, I looked back and he was running behind me.  I was riding on my own!!”

The Monsignor said that story illustrates our spiritual growth.  Perhaps the Church’s teachings seem hard to understand.  Perhaps our quiet time in the church or adoration chapel seems useless; we’re constantly distracted.  As his father told the child on the bike: Focus!  You can do this.  And we WILL go forward in faith and holiness as we focus on God and keep at it.  And, yes, in our spiritual lives we will fall.  But, our Spiritual Father is always behind us, to kiss and heal any wounds, and help us get started again --- even if more cautiously this time.  God is always ready to show us mercy when we fall.  Look at the cross, and remember how He fell!  Trust in Him!  The Father is waiting to help.

Living in faith is hard.

You can do this!

He rose from the dead!

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As I set out this morning, a band of thin clouds crossed the blue Eastern sky.  When I looked upward, the sun was totally behind those thin clouds, and they seemed to magnify it to be much, much larger than normal.  Yet, despite the size and brightness of the sun, I now could look at it directly. It was beautiful.  It gave me a great peace.  And I thought of God’s presence, big, always there, even if sometimes hidden by clouds of darkness in our lives.

It made me recall that Father who is always there story above.  Then I thought, no, the peace I felt is better described as joy.  I felt joy in those moments.  It is hard to describe joy, but it is so much more than peace, or happiness.  It is so all through me.  It is a feeling of great comfort, and confidence. Kind of like the feeling that “I can do this.”

But then, suddenly, other words came to my mind:

 

My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!

 

And as I drove in the quiet of my vehicle, I smiled, now totally filled with joy.

My life, our country, the world, is sometimes very dark, but I can do this.  The Father is with me.  And He just reminded me of that fact.