Hajja Salesjana

Photo by Slava Auchynnikau - Unsplash.com God has been there, giving his grace and help. Often right at the last minute, but always just in time . It also helps that this job loss happened at the end of Pascha (Easter) season. Having just witnessed the Resurrection of Christ after journeying through the terrible events of Holy Week, I cannot help but have joy, hope, and confidence that Christ has destroyed death and all will be well. Of course I have temptations to anger, worry and despair. When I do, I ask myself, “When has God let you down before? When have any of us gone hungry?” I think of the birds and the lilies of the field, (Mt 6: 25-34) and the ten heads of hair in my family, and how our Father in Heaven knows just how many hairs there are on each (Mt. 10: 29-31).  I know He will not abandon us or cease caring for us. This doesn’t mean I believe in a health and wealth gospel. When reflecting on Jesus’ life and His mother’s, one can never imagine Jesus came to make us a rich church! I recently read Dorothy Day’s autobiography,  The Long Loneliness . She made me ponder on Christ being poor, about Holy Poverty. Dorothy Day said, “When we meditate on our Lord’s life we are meditating on our own. God is to be found in what appears to be the little and the unimportant. Don’t look back 1900 years. Look around us today.” Any trials that I must endure are not done alone, but with Jesus Christ who has already born all suffering . I’m sure it was providence that I read Dorothy Day just before my husband was laid off. Oh how funny God can be! Dorothy made me question the standards that I have, what I think is success, what I long for and trust in. Many times in my life, my measurements have been closer to the world’s standards then to our Lord’s who said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6: 19-21). As Christians we cannot say we believe this life is passing quickly and is only a preparation for eternity and then live like this world is all we have. Or say we believe God is a loving Father who will provide for our needs and then worry when life is not going as we want. We cannot live in the moment with God and also in the future; in a state of worrisome doubt. We cannot pray for God’s will to be done and then, when our will isn’t done, freak out! 13 Ottubru-Diċembru 2024 hajja