St Paul tells us in the second reading that: "we
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not
disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
We do have peace to some degree in our life—but with
tribulation. Therefore, the peace attainable in this life does not consist in
the contentment of someone who wants to have no problems, but rather in the
resolute hope of someone who manages to rise above suffering and stays faithful
through endurance. Suffering is necessary for us, because it is the normal way
to grow in virtue. And it leads to joy
and happiness.
Paul teaches that acting like
Christ in the world through the Spirit, fixes our gaze, not only on the present
world, but on the future glory we will share with God. Paul knew, from the trials he underwent and in the
suffering of Christians he visited, that we would need guidance, strength and
endurance from the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Christian communities faced persecution from
their Roman oppressors and their own Jewish community. And Christians also suffered discord among
their ranks.
In the context of so much
pain, Paul is encouraging the Christians to accept their suffering and see it
as a proving ground for their faith and a sure sign that God has not abandoned
them, but is still loving them and pouring out the Holy Spirit upon them.
As some of
you know, recently our grandson Eli had a skateboarding accident and suffered a
severe concussion. When we visited him
in the hospital on the evening of the accident, he was heavily drugged and was
frequently flaying his arms and legs.
When he was awake, he just wanted to leave. Of course, the nurse told us that this was
all normal and was a good sign.
Fortunately, he is doing well now and will just have to be careful and
take it easy this summer. Your
prayers were reassuring to us and to his
parents during this crises. I'm certain
that your prayers helped him to recover quickly. Thank you for praying for him.
In the days
following Eli's accident, I reflected on my reaction to the accident. I must admit that I was afraid. I was afraid for Eli, that he might suffer some
permanent physical damage as a result of his concussion. And I was afraid of the long term impact that
this might have on our family.
Then, I
began reading "Fearless, a Catholic women's guide to spiritual
warfare". It told me not to be
afraid, to trust God, to submit to his will in all things, and that he is in
charge.
I needed to
be reminded of these things. I like to
tackle problems head on, to do something, to find a solution, to fix
things. Sometimes, I just need to let go
and let God.
In the book
Fearless, the author tells us that fear comes from the devil not from God. She tells us that fear is a matter of
spiritual warfare. But, we have a
guardian angel, the Church founded by Jesus, and the sacraments he initiated to
help us through these crises. She
encourages us to look to scripture for answers to these problems. And she mentions several instances in her
life where she did this. While I read
scripture, often I am slow to turn to it for answers when I face either
physical or spiritual crises in my family.
In the future, I plan on looking to God's word more often when I am
struggling with a crisis. And I plan to
talk to God about my fears and my worries.
To fight
fear from the evil one, we must put on the armor of God and strengthen our
faith which is the critical shield in our armor. Then, our spiritual backbone will be prepared
for the inevitable next crisis. But, if
our faith is weak, we will be vulnerable to the attacks of the devil.
The devil loves to attack families. He especially tries to get us to question our
faith because of the difficulties we are facing. It may be our physical suffering or that of
our family members. Or he may attack us
through problems that we are facing at work, in our marriage, or in raising our
children. He also attacks us through the
faith, or lack thereof, of those closest to us. He attacks us by encouraging us to worry
about problems in our nation and our church, which we have virtually no control
over.
Today is
Fathers' day. Fathers have a special
responsibility to protect their families from both physical and spiritual
harm. So, I encourage all fathers to
put on the armor of faith and to defend their families from the wickedness and
snares of the devil, namely, the lies that our society is selling, to all of us
and especially to our children. Do not
be afraid. Turn to Jesus and to his
Church. Trust that your family will find
peace and joy in Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.
