Praise be Jesus Christ! His is the Name above all Names, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. To Him be the glory! He is almighty, all – powerful, all – knowing. His Kingdom has no end.
Thank You, God, for all thy benefits! Thank You for Your holy saints, Your Blessed Mother, Your Holy Church. Thank You for the suffering we experience united with Our Lord Christ Jesus.
Forgive us, Lord, for our sins. Forgive us our laziness, our pride, our shortsightedness and forgetfulness. Forgive us when we place ourselves as God – especially when we rely on our own understanding and wavering feelings instead of You.
It is a strange season for me right now. I am experiencing joy and suffering, doubt and faith, contentment and uneasiness – all at the same time. I am living the paradox of our faith, or maybe, it is just becoming real to me.
The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain – Padre Pio
I have been meditating on this quote for some time now. I do not know why I continually react with such surprise at pain and suffering in this world if that is how our souls flower and grow in perfection. This is why we should LOVE THE CROSS. This is why IT IS ALL JOY. Words do not do this season of life justice, but Padre Pio’s words and my meditation on them capture a snapshot.
It has also been a season of planning for me – every summer is, and I am a natural planner. I have learned through many many years of experience, though, to pray through the planning, and expect to make adjustments and changes. I have learned to pray while I plan for the Lord to guide me, to ask for His help in prioritizing, and to beg His protection from moving outside or beyond His will! Some of our suffering is grief caused by the “would have been’s”, “if-only’s”, “could have’s” – or as it is called at my house – “the coulda, shoulda, woulda’s”. It has been a lesson of “…unexpected by us; planned by God…”
I have learned not only to pray through it all, but to be thankful for it all. I read recently that to stop anxiety in its tracks, be thankful. From experience, I totally agree! It also helps to remember that our sanctification is a process; therefore, we must never stop praying through it! I often hear in my imagination “Just keep praying; just keep praying” in the voice of Dory from Finding Nemo!
Once a week, I sit and spend time listening for the “still small voice” of a very mighty God. A few weeks ago, I sensed the following words when bringing my busy-ness and overwhelming feelings to Him who loves me:
Only do what you only can do. I have a plan and it requires sacrifice, but My grace is sufficient for you. Count it all joy so you feel lightly burdened.
I pray we all remember that it is only through our suffering that our souls will flower beautifully, but that the grace from, through, with, and in Our Lord that allows us to experience joy in the suffering and feel lightly burdened.
If you are living the paradox of our faith, share your experience with others. You have no idea how this will encourage others to “just keep praying; just keep praying!”
Photo by Karl Raymund Catabas on Unsplash
