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Thursday, July 15, 2021

Discouragement in the Face of Evil is NOT an Option

 From the Imitation of Mary with my comments in red:

My child, the thing I certainly wanted above all else was for Jesus to be known.... My zeal for His glory made me feel deeply the hardening of Jewish [read Catholic] hearts. Yet why should I have therefore lost my peace of soul? I knew that God often makes use of evil in carrying out His plans; I knew He draws good from evil. Therefore in silence I adored the infinite wisdom that at times allows wickedness to  triumph....

[W]hen you see wickedness walking happily with head held high and trampling innocence down, [as we see daily with the murder of the innocent babies cheered on by evil Catholic politicians], do not let yourself be swept along by the impulses of an embittered zeal. True religious spirit forbids such a course. [Those who work to rescue the little ones must always do so in a spirit of prayer for the conversion of the killers and their enablers.] ....

Nothing happens in our world without His permission. And everything evil as well as good serves His providential purposes. It is not granted to you now to understand His plans but the day will come when you will recognize their full justice and wisdom. [Think of your past life. Can you see how God used something evil to bring about good? Did a lapse into serious sin bring you to a deeper conversion like Mary Magdalene? The evil of Christ's crucifixion brought about our salvation. Is there a small "crucifixion" in your life that converted your heart or the heart of someone you love? I suspect everyone has experienced a good coming out of an evil: a death, a serious illness, a painful betrayal, a broken relationship.... How has God used these things to change us?]

You should not, of course, be insensible of the evils in the Church; [We certainly have plenty of those today!] it is only right that they should be a source of affliction for you; you may even weep bitterly over them, as God Himself does. But if you were to be scandalized at them so that your faith suffered or you lost your peace, that would not any longer be zeal but and abuse and an excess....Submission of mind to what God allows is compatible with genuine zeal for the glory of God. 

Fr. John Hardon, S.J. often reminded his listeners that "nothing just happens." Everything has a purpose. Sometimes we need to wait patiently to see what that purpose is. Today, I plan to "ponder in my heart" the evils in my own life and how God has used them to bring about good. He is always faithful. We have only to put our trust in Him. "My Jesus, I trust in You!"

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