Scripture:
Romans 8:26-30
Luke 13:22-30
Reflection:
When I was ten and my sister was 12, our mother passed away from cancer. A tragedy for us and for our father. But in due time our father remarried. He married my mother’s sister. This second mother helped my sister and I get through our teen years, and was a great support to us for the rest of her life. (She died at age 93.) And from this second marriage came my step-brother and eventually his two beautiful children. What a blessing they are.
I knew a woman who was born with a birth defect. As a result she was in a wheelchair all her life. As an adult she became an unofficial counselor for me and scores of other people. We helped her and her wheelchair over curbs and she helped us over mountains of trouble in our lives. I think her handicap lead her to be a very wise, understanding, compassionate and loving person. What a blessing she was. The mother of Jesus cried her heart out at the foot of the cross as they laid his dead body on her lap. She must have wondered, "Why did this happen to one who was so good? Why is this happening to me." But Mary already knew in her heart what St. Paul was to tell the Romans, and us, "God makes all things work together for the good of those who have been called according to his decree." So Mary waited. Mary trusted. And Easter came! What a blessing for all of us.
Every day comes with its share of problems. There are personal problems, family problems, national problems, church problems and world problems. Let us wait. Let us trust. All things will work together for the good of those who are faithful.
Fr. Alan Phillip, C.P. is a member of the Passionist Community at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, California. http://www.alanphillipcp.com/