Posted on 07/29/2014 4:59:43 AM PDT by Salvation
July 29, 2014
In the first reading, Israel was experiencing a severe drought, so Jeremiah cried out to Yahweh for help on behalf of his people. He was appalled at the great suffering he witnessed and asked God for mercy and forgiveness.
There are moments in our lives when we are totally crushed by an event and we have no one else to turn but God. We go down on our knees and beg God for help. These are humbling experiences but they remind us of our mortality and we realize that only God can save us. A Christian does not curse God during times of darkness and disasters. He humbles himself before God and implores his merciful help.
This is what Martha and Mary did after the death of Lazarus when Jesus came to see them. They begged for his help and said to him that if he had come earlier, he would have been able to save Lazarus from death. Jesus told them to have faith and declared that he is the resurrection and the life. Martha did not fully understand the words of Jesus though she loved him immensely. Only when Jesus raised up Lazarus from death was she totally astounded. Surely, from that moment on her faith was greatly enhanced.
God sometimes answers our prayers with “miracles” to strengthen our faith. But when we are already a bit spiritually mature, he may send us trials which are harder to bear but which require that we firmly believe in His goodness. The martyrs had this faith and they were willing to die for God and for His Son Jesus.
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All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4
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If trees were tall and grasses short,
As in some crazy tale,
If here and there a sea were blue
Beyond the breaking pale,
If a fixed fire hung in the air
To warm me one day through,
If deep green hair grew on great hills,
I know what I should do.
In dark I lie; dreaming that there
Are great eyes cold or kind,
And twisted streets and silent doors,
And living men behind.
Let storm clouds come: better an hour,
And leave to weep and fight,
Than all the ages I have ruled
The empires of the night.
I think that if they gave me leave
Within the world to stand,
I would be good through all the day
I spent in fairyland.
They should not hear a word from me
Of selfishness or scorn,
If only I could find the door,
If only I were born.
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