Reflections: Trust in God
Lord, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that
I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am
actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You
does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that, if I do this, You will lead me by the right road,
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for You are ever with me,
and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Thomas Merton
Elijah's Meal
Around 850 years before Jesus, Israel was ruled by a weak king, Ahab. He had married a pagan named Jezebel. He converted to her religion, which was essentially a sex cult. Elijah, a prophet, challenged this and became an enemy of the queen. She threatened to have him killerd on sight. Elijah was broken. He began to flee to Mount Sinai to ask God for help. Along the way, he gave up and prayed for death. Instead, God sent a messenger with bread and water. This gave him the courage to continue the long journey. The bread seems to foreshadow the Eucharist and its power to keep us faithful to our personal journey to God.
Do Not Sadden the Spirit
Today's second reading is possibly the most tragic passage in the bible. Some people have the idea that the Holy Spirit is nothing but an impersonal force without feelings. This is a terrible misconception. The Spirit is equal to the Father and the Son, who both show powerful emotion. Morever, the Spirit is intimately involved in our personal lives.
This is not the characteristic of a detached "energy", but of a person. In view of this passionate interest, it is a tragedy that the Holy Spirit can be sad. Love means making another person happy even at the cost of their happiness. What could you do to make the Holy Spirit happy?
On the Life of the Blessed Virgin
The first recorded miracle of Jesus at a wedding in Cana shows how Mary was instrumental in calling Christ's attention to the need during that time. Mary was also present at the Crucifixion in Jerusalem wherein she was given into John's care. She was also with the disciples in the days before Pentecost, and it is believed that she was present at the Resurrection and Ascension.
No scriptural reference concerns Mary's last years on earth. According to tradition, she went to Ephesus where she experienced her "dormition". Another tradition states that she remained in Jerusalem. The belief that Mary's body was assumed into heaven is one of the oldest traditions of the Catholic Church.
