The challenge of faith

At the present time, our church is confronted with the reality of suffering head on. Pain is the way our bodies and spirits tells us that something is wrong. The present suffering must be faced with complete honesty, integrity and responsibility — and only then will the truth be in control. As we dare to pray in Psalm ll6, “I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living.”

There are so many pain killers that can be taken. Our present issue of opioid drugs as a panacea can lead to addictive issues and never allow a person to face up to the real pain and issues that must be confronted. No one likes psychic or emotional pain. There is no easy solution for it but to face up to it and ask for the grace of God to help in bearing this cross. It is important, in faith, to know we are not alone in this pain, shock, outrage, disgrace but need to turn to the Lord. As we place all in His hands, He can assist us to face up to it and to put good works into the pain and suffering, and it will lead to new life.

Our Bishops and Our Holy Father must take up their cross and put their faith, hope and love into action as our leaders. The Prophet Isaiah accepts God’s call to prophecy, but he suffers terribly at the hands of his persecutors. St. James insists that as Christians, we are obligated to put our faith into action. To St. James, this means clothing and feeding the needy, and as a parish we strive to do that to live out Catholic Action and the Corporal Works of Mercy.

The words of Jesus are right on as He states, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” There are no excuses, no explanations or justifications or defense of an institution, but the living and the acting on truth with honesty, integrity and responsibility. Each person is responsible as a follower of Christ to imitate Christ – the Way, the Truth and the Light.

It is the basic belief of faith that what Isaiah states twice in our reading is the truth, “The Lord God is my help.” But in what way? Isaiah does not turn to God in this passage to help in defeating his enemies. Nor does he look to God to put and end to his suffering, but Isaiah puts his face to the flint to accept it and to work with the abuse he receives. Jesus tries to prepare his disciples then and now for his death, and even Peter does not accept the teaching of Jesus. Jesus is reprimanding Peter and states, “Get behind me Satan.”

Jesus knows that he is not the kind of Messiah that the disciples expect. They desired one who would lead the people to victory over the Roman government. Yet, Jesus is the one who will suffer on behalf of the people. Jesus will not flee the cross and temptation, but will put up the challenge of faith and go to Calvary. This is the challenge given to the leaders of our church at the present time, and to each of us. What is the cross that I am bearing at this time in life and I must walk ahead with the grace of God and know I am not carrying it alone?

Reflect on this little story: An 8-year-old boy went to a pet store to buy a puppy. The manager showed them little furry balls all huddled together. The boy noticed one of the litter, all by itself, over in a corner. The boy asked, “Why is that puppy all alone?”

“That puppy was born with a bad leg and will be crippled for life. We are going to have to put him to sleep,” the manager stated.

The boy sadly began petting the little puppy, and asked, “You are going to kill him?”

The manager said, “This puppy would never be able to run and play with a boy like you.”

The little boy turned to his dad and said, “I want the puppy with the bad leg.”

The manager asked, “Why do you want that one if you could have one of the healthy ones?”

The little boy bent down, pulled up his right pant leg, exposed a brace, and said, “Mister, I want this puppy because I understand what he is going through.”

That is the challenge for all of us this week to understand that all of us have a cross. We need to be kind, understanding and reach out in love, and hope others will do the same for us.