Believing in and Trusting the Lord Jesus!

Today's first reading, Acts 16: 22-34, recounts the attack on Paul and Silas, who were beaten with rods and thrown into the "innermost cell" of the prison and their feet secured to a stake.  Around midnight Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns to the Lord when suddenly a severe earthquake shakes the foundation of the jail. "All the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose."   Awakened, the jailer thought that everyone escaped and was about to  kill himself when Paul shouted: "Do no harm to yourself; we are all here."  The jailer rushed  in to where Paul and Silas were and said: "'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.'"   

What do you, what do I do, when things go terribly wrong?  Pray and sing hymns to the Lord? Paul and Silas were totally into God, so to speak!  They certainly were not feeling sorry for  themselves and, in no way, took on the victim role.  Their faith in God remained unshaken!  They remained focused on Jesus and His resurrection; they faced their sufferings as Jesus Himself faced the crucifixion, believing in the Father's power over evil!  "All the doors flew open, and the chains of all were pulled loose."

What about us?  Right now, during this coronavirus crisis and the restrictions imposed upon us, do we find a reason to praise and give thanks to God?  Are we reaching out to the Lord for strength to endure and to grow in our faith and trust? Do we believe that God is seeing us through this crisis and that we will come through this as stronger individuals, our faith and trust unshaken? Or are we blistering mad because we cannot do what we would like to be doing and are we into seeking someone or something to blame?   If we choose to remain focused on Jesus and believe in His Presence among us, we will witness to the fact that God takes us by the hand and walks with us through this maze.  Furthermore, the door of our hearts will remain open to grace and the chains of hopelessness and frustration will not have a grip on us.

Focus and its Power

In today’s first reading, Acts 11: 19-26, we are witnesses to the power of Jesus at work in those who dedicate their lives to the Gospel. People are scattered all over by the persecution. Stephen has been stoned to death for preaching in Jesus’ name.  Those strong in the faith  move on and continue “proclaiming the Lord Jesus.”  What if you and I, in the midst of all that throws people into confusion in our day, keep our eyes on Christ Jesus, continue “proclaiming” our faith in Christ Jesus.  I ask myself: Upon what or whom, Dorothy Ann, are you focused? I have the option of focusing on my confusion or on the confusion around me or on Jesus. Focusing my that which if troublesome to me will not give me stability. Only Jesus will! With my focus on Jesus and on seeking the Lord above all in my own poverty, I will stand firm, even when those around me are shaken, upset, or angry. In those moments, I also need to move on, knowing that the “hand of the Lord [is] with [those]…who [believe and turn] to the Lord (compare Acts: 11-1-21)!

Living by Faith in Christ Jesus

"...the one who is righteous by faith will live," St. Paul tells us in today's first reading, Galatians 3: 7-14, and reminds us that "Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us."
For years in my spiritual life I believed that the law would save  me.  I believed what I heard so often: "Keep the rule and the rule will keep you," a principle taught by directors of spiritual formation in the late 50s. The truth of the matter was that the rule did not keep me, did not save me. Jesus did. I had to unlearn that teaching and learn to put my faith in the Lord, not in any rule.  To this very day, when I fall flat, when I am disappointed, left down, it is because I believed in some rule to be operative: that of justice,  of fairness,  of generosity, and of genuine caring. The principles I think are functioning, and to which I often cling for "salvation," are not functioning in many circumstances of life. Over and over again,  I need to learn to focus on Jesus, to cling to Jesus, to trust in the Lord. The Lord alone saves me from myself, from succumbing to my frustration, from losing my peace. In Christ Jesus, in looking to Him alone, in believing in Jesus and His promises,  I "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Gal 3: 14).  That promise is the saving graces I need to be a true disciple of Christ, to be clothed in Christ, to give birth to Christ in a godless world, in a world that glorifies  humanity instead of God and, if I am clinging to it, am likely to glorify myself in a spirit of grandiosity and not the humility of Jesus.