Monday, October 16, 2023

Saint Hedwig, Religious

Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin

Rom 1:1-7;

Ps 97;

Lk 11:29-32

Walking on mountain trails, in inaccessible areas when visibility is reduced due to sudden bad weather, it becomes imperative to be “faithful” to the markings placed along the path, lest we lose our bearings and end up in dangerous situations. There are situations in life that require, indeed “demand” the presence of signs. Even on the level of faith, of relationship with God, something similar happens. In the face of danger, when calamity strikes, when critical situations frighten us, it comes naturally to invoke God’s help: Lord help me! A positive response to this invocation confirms and strengthens faith in God, otherwise the relationship with God comes out wounded and weakened. Why did the Lord not listen to me? How could he allow this? Questions like these appear after asking for something from the Lord that He did not grant. These complaints are often described in the Bible as lack of faith in God. Rather than demands here one should speak of claims. To understand the issue and try to resolve it, it is necessary to find the correspondence between what we ask for and what God offers us. In fact, these plans are on the same level.

God knows what we really need better than we ourselves can ask. Every grace and gift is given to us through his Son Jesus Christ, the Father’s envoy. To him we turn our gaze, to him we ask for every grace, and from him we learn humility and service to render to our brothers and sisters near and far. Jesus is the sign God has given us, the greatest and closest sign we can imagine. What people have a God as close as ours?