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August 18, 2020I don’t think it is very controversial to say we live in challenging times. Our country is struggling and no matter who you vote for this fall, neither can completely solve the mess we have fallen into. It just takes time. Maybe, like me, this has filled you with worries. Personally, I worry about our government crashing during my lifetime. I worry about socialism leading to communism. I worry about our religious freedoms slowly being taken away and being martyred for my Faith much like what happened in Mexico in 1925. I worry if things will ever return to normal after COVID, and how the world will be affected. Basically, I worry.
Whether these are your worries or not, the simple fact is we all worry about something. Let’s face it, without God, our simple human minds have a lot to worry about. We aren’t in control, but God is. Giving up control is one of the most difficult things to do, but it always brings us more peace in the end.
It was during daily Mass, in what seemed only a fraction of a second, that all these worries came into my thoughts. They were an accumulation of what I’d already been feeling for weeks. It would have been easy to dwell on them, to let it completely distract me from the great prayer of the Mass, but instead, God filled my heart with peace and an answer. As I watched Fr. Stephen raise the Host high, I just knew that no matter what happened, it was going to be ok.
If Priests were taken away like in the French revolution and we had no one to offer Mass for us, it would be ok. If I never received the Eucharist again until the day I died, it would be ok. I am not underestimating the Eucharist, but correctly allowing God to work His grace no matter what happens in this life. Heaven is real and we can always look forward to that great union.
Many are already facing this reality as they are unable to return to Church after months without the Eucharist. To you I say, it is going to be ok. God may be working in your soul even more deeply than in mine, because He knows how much you need Him. Great Saints like John Vianney have risen from times when the Eucharist was scarce. Of course, it isn’t what we want, but we should never underestimate God.
If God should call me to become a martyr tomorrow, I shouldn’t worry about it, but trust God that in that moment He would give me the courage and joy that accompanied all His saints. If our government collapsed, it would be ok. I can continue worshipping God however I am able, and what else truly matters in this life? If I even had to hide underground to practice my Faith like Saint John Paul II, it would be ok, God will give me the grace the moment that I need it.
Whatever your worries are, give them to God. Imagine the worst case scenario, but imagine Jesus there in it. Should any of the worst of our fears come to light, we still have our Faith. We still have the hope of Heaven. And with that perspective in mind, nothing on this earth can truly harm us. Trust God. No matter what happens, it’s going to be ok.