March 15th, Monday, Fourth Week of Lent

Isaiah 65: 17-21, Psalm 30: 2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b, John 4: 43-54

In today's readings we are instructed to have faith, hope and trust in what is to come. The Lord will deliver His people – do not be afraid. Jesus rewarded the Roman official for his trust with the cure of his son. We too must exercise faith and trust in the Lord and know that he loves us beyond our imagination. As Jesus took the journey to Galilee, we too engage in a journey of faith.

Nearly 13 years ago we were blessed to receive an active gift of faith by God. Previous to that time, while we were faithful Catholics, attending Sunday mass and following church rules, we often felt that we were just going through the motions and began to question the depth of our faith. It didn't feel as though we were moving forward. We trusted in God's plan and soon our journey led us to St. Raymond's parish. You could say that is when we started the conversion in our faith journey. It seemed the Holy Spirit was guiding us daily. We began to actively participate in ministries within the parish. We discovered the Eucharistic chapel and the Sacrament of Reconciliation became very important to us. Reading spiritual materials, listening to tapes and attending weekend retreats became very much a part of our lives. We also participated in two religious pilgrimages to Medjugorje in Bosnia. All the while the Holy Spirit was directing us to new experiences. Emotionally, we were rewarded by the “fire within”. As time went on the emotional high was less frequent but by then we had a strong commitment to our faith even though at times it seemed that God wasn't with us as frequently. Mark Link S.J. writes that “God lets a “dry period” set in to force our prayer roots to grow to the faith level rather than stay on the surface at the feeling level”. This seems to be what St. John of the Cross, St. Theresa of Avilla, Mother Teresa and many others experienced and wrote about when they did not seem to be in frequent contact with God.

We realize our faith is not a private blessing. Good deeds and loving actions reveal God's presence in all of us. We need to reach out to others through our words and actions. What matters is that we take steps of faith and watch our Lord work His wonders.

Ron and Bev Glovetski, retired, and parents of four children and grandparents of eleven.