“Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows” (Mt 10:29-31).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
We live in a world full of fear. Just turn on the telly or open the paper and what do we discover? War, economic uncertainty, political factionalism, corruption in society, decline of decency, and manners, the waning influence of Christianity in the public sphere…I could go on.
In our personal lives too, there are reasons to fear: health concerns, fearing the loss of a friend or loved one, the difficulties of change in our parish or ministry, deteriorating family relations, or regretting past actions. If we’re not careful, we can get caught in a cycle and spiral of doom, where we turn to individuals or talking heads who agree with us, but then make us feel even more downhearted than before.
But God does not want us to fear, but to hope! He is holding and guiding all things in His Providential care, working not only the good but the best good for us and for the world. As difficult as it is, we need to ignore the negatives and instead focus on the positives.
As the author of The Imitation of Christ says, “If your soul is well disposed and disciplined, you will not be surprised or disturbed by the perverse conduct of others. You will be hindered and distracted to the extent that you are taken up with worldly matters” (Imitation of Christ, Bk 2, Ch 1).
This doesn’t mean that we ignore everything entirely. It means that we do what needs to be done, while realizing that we can only do so much and that the rest is beyond our control. And if something is beyond our control, we need to let go and not worry about it. We need to let go and let God take care of it.
Easier said than done, I know, but through prayer and practice, all of us (myself included) can do it. After all, as the Prophet Jeremiah reminds us, we have no need to be afraid. The Lord is with us!
This week, bring a person or problem to the Lord in prayer every day, and ask Him to help you let go of your feelings of fear and desire to control involving that particular situation. Step by step, little by little, we can hand over all things to the Lord. When we do so, we’ll see that He knows how to deal with these things far better than we ever could.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
