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Isn’t it great when your prayers are answered exactly how you want and you feel all happy and blessed? But what about those times when it feels like all your praying was for nothing? Have you ever felt this way? Maybe it was after praying for months or years for someone who was sick, and they never got better, or they died. Maybe you prayed for someone's marriage to be healed or strengthened, and the couple filed for divorce. Maybe you lost your job, someone else got the promotion, your child got hurt, a close friend betrays you, or. . . . . (fill in your own disappointment). You may even ask yourself, "What was the point of praying for this intention? Apparently, it didn't help."
It definitely can be discouraging when it appears our prayers aren't being answered or we don't experience the outcome we had wanted. Prayer isn't a magic wand, it isn't a "To Do List" for God, and it doesn't always shield us from pain. Prayer allows us to keep in touch with God and it allows God to touch our lives. Prayer is very powerful, but often God answers in ways we may never realize. God certainly wants us to bring our needs and concerns to Him, but how He dispenses His graces and comes to our need, is out of our control. Many of us like to be in control, but often we find ourselves in circumstances that we cannot control, and we want God to fix things and follow our instructions. Prayer, however, is something much more than God granting our requests.
Prayer is an open line of communication which calls us to trust in God. We pour our heart out to God, and then we trust and allow God to act in our lives. God does answer our prayers, we just need to be more in tune with His ways. It is possible that the person we had been praying for is actually receiving graces we can't see. Outwardly the illness may still be present, but inwardly the person is feeling God's peace and love. Perhaps God is healing their soul instead of their body for something more wonderful in their future. Sometimes losing a job or a friend may be God's way of steering you in a new direction. And though we may want God to control the actions of others, He gives each one of us the incredible gift of free will. Unfortunately, many do not use this gift justly as God had intended.
I would like to suggest that the next time you may feel your prayers aren't working you remember what Jesus said to Thomas.
"...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." Believe that God hears your prayers and trust in His goodness. I hope one day God shares with us how He answered all our prayers, and we will echo Thomas' words, "My Lord, my God" how amazing is Your love!
-Susan
When I was younger it was a special treat when my mom would indulge me with one of those teen magazines. Of course inside was the latest styles and the latest teen heartthrob. Often there was some type of personality test to help you determine which heartthrob you would you most likely date, or how good you were at saving money, or whether you were sporty, intellectual, artsy, shy or outgoing, etc. There would be a list of questions and each answer had a numeric score. At the end of the test you would add up your score and determine which category best described you. Of course if you didn't like the answer at the end, you could always retake the test, choose better answers, and get the result you really wanted.
The world is full of tests that try to determine who we are. We are constantly tested at school to determine how well we understand a concept or subject. At work we may have to do competency tests to determine how well we know our job. Our health can be determined by a battery of tests and corresponding values. But what about faith? Is there a way to determine if we have enough of it? How do we know if we really trust God enough? How many good works do we have to do to get into heaven? I don't think there are any concrete answers to those questions. I think when it comes to faith there is no magic number. Our love for neighbor and God should just continue to grow with each passing day, month, and year.
I think it would be a good idea for each of us to ask ourselves some questions though. Did we do a good job loving God today? What did we allow to get in our way--emotions, circumstance, time, money, worldly pleasures, pain, regret, loss? If you could ask God for one grace that would help you love Him more, what would you ask for? Think very carefully about that. What really gets in your way of loving God? It is a question you could ask yourself every day. You may find the answer even varies from day to day, but if you can determine the answer to that question, you may begin to have a deeper understanding of your relationship with God. Also, remember to ask God for His help. His graces can help you begin a very personal, direct path to heaven. It's just like taking the personality quizzes of our youth. We all know what we want the outcome to be, so let's do our best to answer the questions correctly.
-Susan
How often do you think about your future? How far away is the future you are planning? Often when we think of the future we think in terms of our careers, investments, retirements, schooling, relationships, children, etc. There is nothing wrong with planning for that future, but that is a very finite future. We often spend a great deal of time and energy planning for a very small part of our lives. If we are lucky that "future" will last 50-90 years, but what about the rest? How many of us are planning for the part of our future that will last thousands of years?
What will my future look like in a thousand years? I think about that a lot. That's why I'm choosing God today, because you never know when today is the end and a thousand years of tomorrow begins.
-Susan
Suffering. Not my favorite subject, but a subject that can't be avoided. I recently had someone ask me, "Why do I have to keep suffering?"
I answered very honestly, "I don't have a good answer to that. I just know that it is one of the mysteries of our faith. Christ suffered on the cross, and He draws near to us when we are suffering." Most of the saints suffered. If we trust God, our sufferings can help convert sinners, shorten a soul's time in purgatory, or purify our own heart. But suffering can also be very alienating, discouraging, mentally and physically draining, and of course, painful and difficult. Trusting that our suffering could be part of God's Plan is sometimes hard to grasp. Doesn't God want us to be happy? Of course He does.
The first shall be last, whoever wants to save their life will lose it, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you are just a few examples of Jesus' teachings. Being a disciple of Jesus is a constant challenge. We have to pick up and carry our cross just like Jesus did. We have to remember that the cross is the mysterious bridge connecting heaven and earth. We weren't made to live forever on earth, we were made for heaven. We can not find the path to heaven on our own, we must follow Christ's footsteps. It is the ultimate trust walk. Over and over our hearts must declare, "Jesus I trust in you."
-Susan
Today we celebrate the fest day of solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. I would like to suggest taking a few minutes and listening to the song, "Mary Did You Know?" The whole song is beautiful, but there are two lines which really touch my heart and bring tears to my eyes. The first being "when you kiss your little baby, you kiss the face of God, Mary did you know?" The second line is "That sleeping child you're holding is the great I am, Mary did you know?" Imagine being able to hold God in your arms, feel his breath on your cheek, and have His hand wrapped around your finger. This was Mary's privilege. How amazing it must have been to hold Jesus so close to her own heart.
Today is a great day to ask Mary your own questions. What a privilege it is for us that we are able to draw so near to Mary. Let's start this new year off right by adoring Jesus in the arms of His mother.
-Susan
