Saturday of the 3rd Week of Eastertide
Acts 9:31-42 | Psalm 115(116):12-17 | John 6:60-69
‘But there are some of you who do not believe. […] This is why I told you that no one could come to me unless the Father allows him.’ After this, many of his disciples left him and stopped going with him. (John 6:64-66)
Last night, I spent my first Holy Hour in years with the Lord. It was an exceedingly contemplative experience, with Fr. Richards leading us in pondering, via Luke’s recounting of the Annunciation and Visitation, of how our faith progresses…
from doubt (“that’s not possible!”)
to wonder (“that’s a miracle!“)
to belief (“it is the Lord, for whom all things are possible”)…
and how many Catholics end up stuck at “wonder”, marveling at all the Marian apparitions and Eucharistic miracles, but not actually taking them to heart and letting them change their lives to be closer to Christ.
It reminded me of our Eucharistic celebration this past Sunday, when he switched to the Apostles’ Creed and caught everyone off guard. Only a few of us were able to recite the words by heart, while the AV folks scrambled to put up the text on-screen for everyone else.
And yet, there was no satisfaction of remembering the Creed I pray every day as part of the rosary, only a searching question: “What, exactly, do I believe? When will the words take on real meaning for me?”
I think the painful truth for most of us is that we state the Creed like our national pledge, rather than profess our faith with both mind and heart. We say “I believe in one God,” until someone asks “what do you mean by that?” and gets instantly rebuffed with “talk to Father, he can explain better than I can” (because I can’t explain it at all).
We can do better than that, brothers and sisters. We must do better than that, for to be a true child of God, we must be able to speak the Truth.
And I think it starts with committing ourselves wholeheartedly to learning more about what we claim to believe. Progressing from doubt, to wonder, to belief, is worth setting aside sensual pastimes like TV and movies, online games and idle online chats.
And, of course, knowing must lead to doing, experiencing that faith in our loving interactions with others in our daily lives…especially those who continually give us grief.
✞ ✞ ✞ ✞ ✞
One lady broke down last night, sobbing loudly when we sang the Divine Praises at the end of the Hour, as she witnessed the Blessed Sacrament being moved to repose in the tabernacle.
As for me, when the monstrance was swung in my direction, the shifting patterns of light dancing across its rays, contrasting with the constant purity of the host within, took my breath away for a moment, and sent a shiver down my spine.
Perhaps, when God sent me the double sign of Jonah, he really meant “stop running away and spend more time with Me!”
Now that’s a message that I can have faith in.
Lord, I’m glad I came to You as You called me to. Help me to make You the center of my life, not in idle word, but in committed deed. Amen.