Our Divine Longing for Trust

January 9, 2024



Hi! How is each and every one?  Happy feast days!!! We started the year with one feast day after another.  Divine Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Holy Name of Jesus, Epiphany of Our Lord, Baptism of Our Lord, and today the Black Nazarene, and birthday anniversary of St. Josemaria, the Saint of the Ordinary, founder of Opus Dei Prelature. There is really nothing new; the above feast days always start every year. Let us always give thanks to the Lord for these feast days which we believe bring with them a lot of blessings and graces when we celebrate them and make them present in our activities throughout the day. Let us take advantage and keep on following Jesus, Mary and Joseph keeping Him with us in our journey through everyday life.

Following is the next excerpt on our divine longing for trust (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 2).

 

 

 

 

 

Divine Mercy

Greed, the fifth of the capital sins

Greed is a distortion of the divine longing for trust, the desire to feel certain that both we and what we have are enough to face the challenges life hurls at us.  In this life, the divine longing for trust propels us to overcome our fears.  Beyond this, Scripture tells us that our divinization depends on our capacity for trust:  “To those who trust in his name he has given the privilege of being children of God” (Jn 1:12).

Aleteia, The power to become children of God

 

SeekGrowLove.com

Greed distorts this call to trust because it leads us to give in to our fears and tells us that the only security we can count on is what we can accumulate for ourselves.  We know that everything can be taken away from us in one fell swoop.  One turn of bad fortune. One bout of serious illness. One bad storm.  One bad day and all of our security can evaporate.  Our greed tells us that the only way to gain any sense of security is by stocking up more, gathering more, achieving more.  Greed makes us believe that only if we can buy enough land, sow enough seed, and harvest our crops fast enough, we might just manage to stay ahead of the locusts. 

 

The divine longing for trust can be satisfied only by practicing the heavenly virtue of generosity.  Generosity (aka charity) is the ability to share what we have, both as an act of faith and as a sign of our hope in God’s Providence.  When we practice generosity, we trust that God will supply all that we need and that there is nothing to fear.

 



“We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28). Awareness of God as Father helps us see all the events of our life as orchestrated by the lovable Will of God.  Our Father gives us what is best for us and expects us to discover his paternal love in adverse as well as in favorable events.  “Notice”, St Bernard points out, “that he does not say that things suit our whims but that they work for our good.  They serve not caprice but usefulness; not pleasure but salvation; not what we desire but what is good for us.  In that sense everything works for our good, even death itself, even sin […]. Is it not the case that sins do good to him who on their account becomes more humble, more fervent, more solicitous, more on guard, more prudent?” (De fallacia et brevitate vitae, 6). If we have this optimistic, hopeful attitude, we will overcome every difficulty we meet:  “The whole work seems to be coming down on top of you.  Whichever way you turn you find no way out.  This time, it is impossible to overcome the difficulties.

“But, have you again forgotten that God is your Father?—all powerful, infinitely wise, full of mercy.  He would never send you anything evil.  That thing that is worrying you is good for you, even though those earthbound eyes of yours may not be able to see it now.

“Omnia in bonum! Lord, once again and always, may your most wise Will be done!” (Bl. J. EScriva, The Way of the Cross, IX, 4).


Wow!  That is a good challenge, a workable worthwhile resolution.  What a good way to show gratitude to God for  His all time great love for you and me this New Year of hope that we have just started.  Do you agree? This year may you and I work on a more intimate and deeply sincere relationship with Jesus, the Emmanuel who is always with us. Live in His presence.  Put Him there where you are.  Talk to Him there at any moment. He is more available to you and me more than anybody in our social media groups.

See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

Affectionately,                    

Guadalupinky   

 

 


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