What makes it possible, when all is chaos around us, when war is present, when the virus persists, when corruption abounds…to cling firmly in faith? We are told we are to trust. What makes it possible for us to do this?
The sacred texts this month will speak of perseverance to the very end. We will be remembering our loved ones who have gone on into a type of life beyond our present experience. In the face of the losses that death inflicts upon us, what will prevent us from scattering like a flock of frightened sheep?
One thing only…the assurance given us by the enduring presence of the Word. We are told to grab hold of him, to hide our frightened faces in his tunic, near to his heart. We are told to take refuge in the reality of a mystery many of us spend a good part of our lives trying to absorb.
He will be with us, he says, until the end of the age. “You in me, and I in you,” he says. What would happen in my life if this day, this week, this month, I took that with utter seriousness? Yes, you feel it too…first, we would calm down. It’s called the peace of assurance. It’s his Easter gift. We can’t create it. It’s what his presence brings. All the outer noise dims. His presence is pure power. Wherever he is, there is a stillness, a sacred quiet. This is my call during this final month of the liturgical year. Walking amidst the chaos and remembering those who have entered eternal life, I am to school myself in the fact of his presence. In this faith-fact I am to walk.
My fear would send me into a panic attack…No, you say?
Instead, “Come to me…I am always at home…with you,” you say.
“Live on in me…come home.”
