Will He Find Faith? A.K.A. What’s Next?

We all survived our Irish pilgrimage — hip, hip, hooray — but the transition back has had it’s challenges.

Not going to lie, I am also missing Ireland a bit — I wasn’t expecting to miss it like I do.

It was a grace-filled time,  and when a time of grace comes to an end, it is challenging to enter into “ordinary life” again — whatever that is.

Honestly, I knew it would be beautiful and we would have fun as a family, but I was worried that the faith would be missing from our trip to Ireland.

I wondered if all the priests would just be going through the motions and the light would be missing from the Churches — and then we walked into the Franciscan Monastery in Killarney on our first day and were blown away by the powerful homily and the faith of the people present.

It was a beautiful thing to experience.  True, many have abandoned the faith in Ireland — but clearly God has not abandoned them!

I mean, how could He abandon a people who have been persecuted throughout the centuries for their faith and even made the ultimate sacrifice to keep it?

No, God is alive and well in Ireland and we were blessed to witness that in the Masses we attended and in the people we encountered throughout our pilgrimage.

If I’m being honest, I was blown away by the faith of the people we encountered.  It was evident that the same Spirit was inspiring and forming these people and there was an immediate feeling of closeness and connection with them.

I have to admit, though,  that I cheated a bit.  That’s right, for ten months before we left, we prayed one decade of the rosary for our pilgrimage.

We asked Mary to take care of all the little details — as every mother is so good at doing — and we asked that she send us good people to help us and lead us.  Gotta say, she delivered.

We may have seen the very best of Ireland and perhaps my assessment of the faith is a bit skewed — but nonetheless,  it taught me a valuable lesson:  Sometimes you just need to know where to look for God.

If you look in the right places,  you will find that God is alive and well in Ireland.  Now that is good news worth sharing.

Which brings me back to a scripture that’s been tugging at my heart lately.  The scripture comes from Luke 18:

 ^“And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? ⁸Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

If you actually read this scripture in context, it comes directly after the parable of the annoying widow who keeps bothering the judge, until he finally answers in her favor — more out of fear of that widow than out of the desire to deliver justice.

She is a model for us Christians.

That image of the widow has put a fire in my heart to persist in the demand for justice and greater transparency — and maybe even a wakeup call that we need to stop making idols of the leaders in our Church.

They are just men after all — sinful men like the rest of us.  The past few weeks have made that abundantly clear.

After returning from Ireland, I immersed myself in all the posts, the podcasts, and articles that I could get my hands on regarding the scandals of our time.

I felt like I needed to understand what we are really up against with the current scandals.  I needed to see the evil for what it was, no sugar-coating.

I think it was a good and necessary thing, but I’m feeling like I need to put my focus back on the life around me.

I believe there is a special call that God is placing on certain people’s hearts to be the “watchdogs” and push this subject until justice is delivered.

Shout out to all of those watchdogs, especially those I’ve witnessed first-hand (Janet Smith, I salute you!  Fight on, brave warrior!)

For me, though, I know God doesn’t intend for me to stand in this place too much longer.  He wants me to pray and sacrifice and to do my part to right the wrongs.

I am more convinced than ever that you don’t leave the Church because of Judas.  You stay because of Jesus.  Jesus is in the Catholic Church and He is heart-broken about the evils and cover-ups, too.

He wants us to decide that where there is wreckage and rubble, that we will try our best to plant something beautiful.

It reminds me of the many ruins in Ireland — beautiful flowers spontaneously grow out of the rubble and rock.  It is quite striking.

At this point, I think my job is to pray for justice and further cleansing to take place — like, really pray and sacrifice for it — and then to keep my eyes on my work in His Church.

If I’m being honest, it’s time to stop “clicking” on those articles on a regular basis.

I’m not saying I will never think of these things again — just that unless some new and important information comes out, I have to keep focused on my little part in planting something beautiful in the wreckage.

I need to trust that God will bring justice here, and in many ways, all of this ugliness is proof that He is doing just that — in His perfect timing.

This is where the second part of that verse in Luke has convinced me I need to take this ugly moment as motivation to change my own heart. “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth”.

It’s time to get serious about becoming a Saint.  It’s time to get serious about looking to the Saints to be our model.

I mean, look at St. Francis if you are wondering what is next after all these scandals:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace
Where there is hatred let me sow love
Where there is injury, pardon
Where there is doubt, faith
Where there is despair, hope
Where there is darkness, light
And where there is sadness, joy

We must allow love to have the final word over the evil and ugliness that has taken place.  We must allow God to transform us in these days to become the Saints the world desperately needs now.

You and I were made for a time such as this — let us not lose the grace that He is pouring out on us at this critical time in the Church.

The ultimate revenge is to become a Saint” — and I know it’s not about revenge, people — but still, the ultimate revenge against Satan and his “puppets” is to become a Saint.

If we want to squelch evil — become a Saint.  If we want to right the wrongs — become a Saint.

We need to look to the Saints, who always began with prayer — and that prayer almost always led to concrete actions that addressed the evils around them in unspeakably powerful ways.

So let us allow God to make us Saints in these critical times — the world needs a few good Saints right now.

If you’re like me, you might be thinking “I am just a sinner myself.  What good could I do?”

He has given us the answer to that objection, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

Allow God to transform your heart and soul into that of a Saint.  Allow His power to be made perfect in your weakness.

All you need to say is “yes” — throughout your day and throughout your life — until He slowly transforms that weak little person into a fearsome thing to behold.

So today, let’s begin with a simple prayer of “yes” and and then let’s do what He is asking of us.

Within that simple prayer is contained the power to squelch evil in our own lives and in the life of our Church.

More than anything, the devil fears that “yes”.

If we only knew the power of that simple “Yes”.   We would say it over and over again, and we would mean it.

So let’s begin today to say yes — and let’s prepare ourselves to be amazed at what one “yes” can do in this world.

 

 

Sharing over at Kelly’s