By
Beth DeCristofaro
Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the LORD
pronounces over you, over the whole family that I brought up from the land of
Egypt: You alone have I favored, more than all the families of
the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes. (Amos 3:1-2)
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little
faith?” Then he got up, rebuked the
winds and the sea, and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this, whom even the
winds and the sea obey?” (Matthew 8:26-27)
Piety
Oh, God, Giver of all Life, “I do
believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
Study
Acceptance is a virtue I struggle
to practice especially when I am afraid, angry, overwhelmed and, often, when I
am not in control. I remember when my
father was very ill I was frustrated at the “lack of answers” the doctors gave
us. When my mother-in-law developed
dementia I was impatient (in my exalted opinion) with less-than-satisfactory response by my
in-laws. The disorganization of the work
world can irritate me into an ineffective and judgmental irritation. Looking back, I can see God’s presence in
each of these difficult times even if at the moment I can still struggle to do
so.
And I can find myself impatient
with God that answers are not given in the manner and time in which I want
them. I have trouble realizing that God loves me and God loves the world so
much that God will always be present and work good out of any crisis, horror or
misfortune that I and the world might experience. The Northern Kingdom of Judah did not abide
in God’s unique relationship with them and Amos warned them of the
consequences.
In his work Interior Freedom, Fr. Jacques Philippe says that we do not need to
be caged by our own weakness but by accepting that God loves us so immensely,
we are freed up to be more than we are, to be holy. “Even if we fall everyday, if we get up
again and say ‘Lord thank you because I am sure you can make me a saint’ we give
immense pleasure to God and sooner or later will receive from him what we hope
for.” He goes on to explain that
our acquiescence to the reality that God’s work will be accomplished even in
suffering shortens the exile, brightens the darkness, smoothes out the
whitecaps we encounter.
Action
Look back on some of the most
difficult moments of your life. What got
you though those moments? If you didn’t
get through “well” why not? In what ways
was God present, smoothing the waves – friends? Prayer? Blind trust?
Advisors? Perseverance? Give thanks to God for bringing you back from
the exile of fear, pain, sadness, dependency or whatever it was. Sit with God recognizing God’s strength for
you and accept it once again.
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