How good and all-knowing our God is! Some months, I ask Him, “What is going on?” Some months, I say, “Ohhhh, I see what You may have been doing there”. His ways are not our ways! We do not always understand the whys and whens and hows, but every now and then, we have an “ah-ha moment” of how vital the crosses we carry and all our other prayers and good works are to the Body of Christ and His glorious Kingdom – that begins HERE AND NOW.
During an out of state trip in the fall of 2019, I became aware of a public black mass held in Houston. It was being held on the feast of Christ the King. Could not a battle so great and so public need many of its prayer warriors to carry such heavy crosses and offer them up for the upcoming and ongoing battle?
Now, we all KNOW there is a battle, but we do not always grasp it- at least I do not. My human mind cannot always wrap itself around the reality of it. But God…is God. He has His ways of reminding us of His reality.
I found out about the horrendous event as I was traveling out of state. For a brief moment, I felt helpless, a sure sign of the enemy. I was among a few Catholics on our get away, and we just could not seem to organize something to battle this together. But, BUT, BUT… God has His ways. My family and another were able to attend a vigil Mass. Our family had the chance to get to the church early enough to participate in the Rosary before Mass. I offered it up. Then Mass began… and I came to the realization of what feast day it was. But then… God shook my socks off. This priest’s homily was incredibly timely. Now remember, we are states away. This priest had no idea what was going on in Houston. His homily was all about choosing between the two kingdoms! Every choice we make is a choice made for or against one of the kingdoms. He urged all to participate fully in the Kingdom of God and reminded us that it begins NOW.
We are NOT guaranteed a life of ease. We are told repeatedly that we must pick up our crosses DAILY. But that is our part of the battle. We must OFFER IT UP! We must fully participate in the Kingdom of God. We are the Church Militant. We are expected to fight; we know how the war ends. Keep on keeping on… we are not in this alone.
Author: Monica Hebert
Photo by Romain Dancre on Unsplash
