God Can Surprise Us With The Good, Bad And Ugly

[BarbTherese]

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/god-acts-and-he-surprises-us-pope-teaches-at-marian-shrine/

 

'God acts and he surprises us,' Pope teaches at Marian shrine

Aparecida, Brazil, Jul 24, 2013 / 08:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Openness to being surprised by God is an attitude which marks the life of a Christian, Pope Francis said in his homily at Brazil's Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida during his first World Youth Day Mass.

“God always surprises us, like the new wine in the Gospel we have just heard. God always saves the best for us,” Pope Francis taught at a Mass July 24, after he had venerated the shrine's image of Our Lady..........................

.....................................“But he asks us to let ourselves be surprised by his love, to accept his surprises. Let us trust God!”

Examining the Mass' reading from the book of Revelation about the woman chased by a dragon, Pope Francis said that while there are “many difficulties” in each person's life, “God never allows us to be overwhelmed by them.”

“Let us never lose hope,” he urged. Though there are “moments of discouragement” as we try to evangelize or “to embody our faith as parents within the family,” he encouraged us to “always know in your heart that God is by your side.”

God is the object of our hope, taught the Bishop of Rome, and he is “the one with the upper hand”  in the face of evil and the devil.

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[BarbTherese]

It struck me in a brief passing moment how apt the above is.  The pope speaks (The pope, Christ's representative in The Church and St Joseph is Patron of The Church) at a Marian Shrine (Mary, Queen of Discipleship, Mother of The Church) about how we can trust Jesus (Jesus, Head of The Church).in all things be they good, bad, completely lousy or completely ugly, bone crushingly ugly.

 

In this morning's Psalm I read from the Canticle of Isaiah:

 

As one whom his mother comforts,

so I will comfort you;

you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;

your bones shall flourish like the grass.

 

The Lord will send Peace flowing like a river upon Jerusalem (The New Israel, The Church)

 

It is the future tense in the Canticle of Isaiah we need to note.  We need that Faith of Abraham, our father in Faith.  God's Promises to him, he knew, would not take place in his lifetime.  Abraham truly loves his neighbour and his brother's and sisters.  He was prepared to live that God's Promises be effected outside his lifetime and his neighbour, brothers and sisters see it eventuate, as must we so be content.

 

 

Edited July 24, 2013 by BarbaraTherese