Catholic Faith Space
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At Mass on Sunday morning, the entrance hymn was “Precious Lord, Take my Hand.” It’s usually impossible for me to hear the whole song without crying. The song always makes me think of funerals, and now brings me right back to my dad’s funeral, as it is one of the songs that the choir sang. So, unsurprisingly, as Mass began, not long into the song, tears filled my eyes and started streaming down my face. One of my first thoughts was, “Hopefully no one in the pews around me notices.” Then, when we got to the Gospel, it happened to be the passage that contains the shortest, yet one of the most powerful lines in scripture, “And Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
This short, very profound sentence speaks volumes about who Jesus is. Fully human and fully divine, He experienced all of the emotions that we experience. Whatever we feel, He has felt too. And this means that we are never alone. Hearing the Gospel at mass after my experience during the opening song was a sort of consolation that when tears come, it’s okay to embrace the emotion, because that’s what Jesus did. God is not some far off and distant being who is indifferent to our lives. But rather, God is a compassionate and loving Father who wants to be close to each one of us. Our God is a God who is here with us right now in this very moment and always. And that is the amazing and beautiful reality of who He is. Maybe you are going through something difficult right now or you have a family member or friend who is facing something challenging and it’s hard to see them suffer. Maybe you just feel alone or discouraged. In these times, it can be easy to ask where God is and think he is far away. The world is filled with pain, sorrow, grief, and suffering. Turn on the news for five minutes and you will see heart-wrenching stories of the day’s events. We live in an imperfect world, filled with broken people, including each one of us. But no matter what, we can still find joy because it is in the brokenness of our humanity that we are led to Jesus, the one who alone heals us and gives us peace. Jesus cares for each one of us so deeply. Our burdens are His burdens that He helps us to carry. May you always remember just how close He is. Know that tears are okay, even when you’re at Mass on a Sunday morning, because even Jesus wept.
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If you’ve ever been hiking, you know that hiking trails have roots, rocks, uneven surfaces, branches and other obstacles that can get in the way. As I was hiking a few days ago, I continually looked ahead and focused on the ground so that I didn’t stumble or fall. Our lives as Christians are the same way.
There are distractions, temptations, and rocky areas. In the world around us, there are so many things that can be obstacles in our journeys, making it challenging to live lives of faithfulness and discipleship. It is important to stay focused on Jesus as we walk along the path, because if we don’t it will be much easier for us to trip and fall and to follow the ways of the world. When we turn our gaze away from Christ, He is looking upon us with love, ready to help us get back up and continue on the path towards Him. Oftentimes when hiking, you get to a point where there are arrows pointing towards the different trails. You have to decide which direction to go and which trail to take to get to the right place. In our lives, there are many times where we find ourselves standing at a crossroads. Students going off to college have to decide if they are going to continue to practice their faith and choose Christ. They have to decide what kind of friends to hang out with and what kinds of activities to do on the weekend. Young adults finding a job have to decide what they are being called to do and how they will serve God, in whatever positions they find themselves working in. After that, we are continually faced with decisions, big and small, about which way to go in order to live out our faith as best as we can. Will we take the path toward the world or toward Christ? Life is rocky and filled with obstacles and uneven surfaces. There are many different paths we can take. May we all keep our eyes focused on Jesus each day and choose the path that takes us closer to Him. As I sat in adoration over the weekend, in a temporary chapel that was very cozy and very peaceful, I felt as if I could’ve stayed there for hours. Something that was put on my heart over and over in that time was, “it is in this place where you will never experience rejection, persecution, ridicule, or misunderstanding. But, you cannot stay in these spaces forever. You must go out into the world, taking the graces from these times as strength and encouragement for the daily journey and to those who do not have faith.”
There was a question that kept coming back to me as I sat before Jesus. “How can I be your disciple without experiencing rejection?” Jesus was rejected by the world because of the way He lived. And if we are trying to live like Him, we too will be rejected by the world. These experiences are necessary for us to unite ourselves to Christ more fully. How will we ever be able to experience the glory of the resurrection without the knowledge of suffering? To be a disciple is to share in the cross and to walk where He walked, experiencing rejection and ridicule at times. If we are truly living out our faith, the world will hate us. We all want to stay in those places hidden from the world, that are safe and secure, the places that we are loved well and understood. We want to remain in those environments, moments, and experiences where our faith is not questioned or mocked. But the reality is that we must go and keep walking through the world, ready to share the love of Christ with all we meet, including those who are hostile to our faith. If we are really living out our faith, we will experience resistance from the world around us, because our lives will not look like everyone else’s. We will not blend in. The life of a Christian is marked by joy, humility, generosity, patience, and more. These fruits and virtues are what will help us when we are being challenged or questioned. The more we fill ourselves up with prayer, time in adoration, the sacraments, retreats, and other community experiences, the easier it will be to take those experiences to our daily lives and live out our faith. Sitting in adoration, I experienced the security and comfort of being in the presence of the One who knows us and understands us better than anyone else. Spending time before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the one place where we are loved perfectly. May we all step out of the chapel to bring our faith to the world around us, knowing that Jesus is with us always. And may we be delivered from the desire of being approved. |
AuthorStriving to share hope, joy, God's love, and all of the good stuff, one blog post at a time. Categories |
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