Come, hide yourself in Me, be still, and know that I am God

The Lord is still GOD in the midst of the storms and tumults.

We feel insecure, shaken, afraid;

He abides in ultimate power and security.

"Come, hide yourself in Me, be still, and know that I am God."

The shouting of wicked voices fills our hearing and the threats of violence makes us ready to spring and defend ourselves.

Yet the Lord remains unshaken, almighty, sovereign.

On top of all the threats from without we are accused within.

The vile seducer whispers guilt and blame into our souls.

We often listen intently to him as he counsels fear and anxiety.

Yet this is not the voice of the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep, lost though they may be.

"Hath no one condemned thee? Neither do I. Go, and sin no more."

Chaos, confusion, darkness surrounds us; winds of change and lightning bolts of the apocalypse frighten us.

Yet the Holy One of Israel changes not.

He is ever reliable, faithful, kind, patient, understanding, compassionate, just and slow to anger, plenteous in mercy.

Oh, my soul! Put down your anchor here!

Moor yourself to this holy Rock of all the ages!

Hide yourself in the wounds of the Crucified.

He cannot be moved. 

He cannot fail.

He cannot deceive.

He calls you: come, my child. Come home. I am your exceedingly great reward; I am your destiny and your ultimate end.

Oh the words I long to hear from Thee, my God:

"You are mine."

Fighting our Crosses

One of the most miserable pitfalls of the Christian life is when the believer fights those crosses which God has imposed on us for the good of our soul, even as a necessity to attain salvation. Difficult relationships, stressful circumstances, poor health, even persecution are crosses which God in His mysterious Providence has allowed to afflict us to bring about the fruits of the life in Christ. We make ourselves exceedingly unhappy when we cannot see God's part and focus only on defeating people and having our own way. The voice of faith speaks this way: God has allowed this cross to afflict me; therefore He is providing the grace for me to accept it with resignation to His will and to bring forth good fruits by cooperating with His Spirit and bearing it with patience.

Originally posted 15 June 2018

Prayer in anguish

O Good Master, Who has loved me since I was a drop of blood in my mother's womb; receive my brokenness, my wounded spirit, and the rejection that is crushing my soul. Please take my tears and this agony and unite them with that divine intention with which You praised God while on earth; may my misery which I richly deserve because of all my sins be a pleasing sacrifice acceptable to Your Father. Please do not punish me as my iniquities require, but in Your vast ocean of mercy hear my prayer for purification, perfect contrition, and growth in virtue. No suffering that is offered to God through You our Redeemer and Good Shepherd is wasted. Grant me to suffer in union with Your own cruel torments, that through a modest share in your cross I may merit eternal life. Amen. 

Originally posted 20 May, 2021

Look to the Crucified

During the times when the demon and his accusers threaten us with floods, we must with calm trust in the promises of Christ resist him by looking not at our works or worthiness, but at the wounds of Jesus, pierced for us sinners.  The priestly sacrifice of our Lord on the cross must absorb our gaze, and we must relinquish all hope in ourselves, lest we despair of the waves of condemnation launched at us by the accuser of the brethren.  Our own sufferings, however light and modest, we must join to this holy and pleasing sacrifice which the Father accepts, and determine in ourselves to suffer abuse and rejection with Christ, Whom this world hates.  Thereby our weaknesses become strengths in Him who justifies the wicked, and upholds the powerless in the face of their tormentors. 

Originally posted 12 December 2011

Rejection, betrayal, and abandonment

The three injuries that wound the spirit are rejection, betrayal, and abandonment. These cannot be healed by any psychological methods; they are wounds in the essence of our being. 

Neither can their debilitating effects be mitigated by favorable circumstances in our lives, even if we recognize these favors as coming from divine providence. As salutary as these blessings and consolations may be, they do not penetrate the depths of our souls where the wounds lay. These wounds bring unexpected waves of grief and sorrow, even in the midst of blessing.

Only frequent and sober reflection on the goodness of God in Christ crucified can bring healing. Entering into the rejection, betrayal, and abandonment of Christ touches where no psychological or circumstantial benefits can; submersion into His undeserved wounds alone can heal. 

In the Redeemer's wounds we find not the soothing of our broken hearts, but the validation of both our existence and our suffering. He wills us, both to live and to suffer, not as tormenting punishment, but as the only way of escaping the corruption of sin in our souls. If there were another way, how immediately would this loving Savior apply it to us!

Jesus Christ crucified is the ultimate message of love, and only divine charity can heal the wounds caused by rejection, betrayal, and abandonment. This is a profound mystery inaccessible to our intellects unaided by supernatural grace. Yet with even a minimum of faith in our blessed Lord's sacrifice on our behalf, heaven is opened and the grace of God's unfathomable love for us is poured upon us.

"He came to His own, and His own received Him not (St. John 1,11); His own disciple betrayed Him; on the cross He cried out, "My God, my God - why have You abandoned me?" This innocent Victim suffered for US; His wounds were propitiatory, substituting for the condemnation our sins and misdeeds rightly deserved. He alone felt the depths of grief, sorrow, agony, torments, loneliness, and fear that is ours. He alone can touch the deepest recesses of our spirit. Even if all else in our lives failed, this divine touch can heal us inwardly and equip us to face everything that life can throw at us, including the final crisis of death.

No, the love we need to address the wounds of rejection, betrayal, and abandonment will not be found in favorable circumstances, renewed thinking or happy times. It is only to be found on Golgotha's bloody mountain, where in the mystery of God's love for us all is justified, sanctified, and healed.

O Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the living God be merciful to me, a sinner.  

Prayer in severe trial

O Lord, hide me in Thy precious wounds; I am unable to bear the battering winds of the calamity come upon me. My confidence is devastated; my strength collapsed. Unless You deliver me, I am without hope. 

Look not upon my sins which destroy all hope of Thy mercies; my transgressions are piled up to heaven. Break through the hardness of my heart, the stubbornness of my pride, the dullness of my carnal mind. 

In the day of my distress I called upon Thee alone; I did not resort to man nor his counsels, but to my God, my Creator, my Redeemer, my only hope.

Surely Thou art a God of compassion and fatherly goodness; Thou takest no delight in the despair and futility of Thy creatures which Thou hast conceived in love.

Make me to know that no matter how engulfed I am in darkness and misery, I have a Father in heaven Who loves me and will save me, even from myself.

Originally posted 29 June 2020

Abandonment and the Faithfulness of God

The soul that feels abandoned may seek for consolation, acceptance, and security from other souls that apart from good intention, may never be able to fill the awful void left by the experiences of abandonment. 

The Saints and mystics bid us to abandon ourselves to the divine will, trusting in the goodness and providence of our Creator and Redeemer. Yet for those with the awful experiences of abandonment, this type of trust can be elusive and even frightening. 

True security is not the mere *feeling* of security, which even for the most fortunate of us is fleeting. True security comes from the decision to believe that God will never abandon us. For wounded souls, this decision may have to be made a thousand times a day, each time as an act of faith in the goodness of God. 

Our Blessed Lord knows the desolation of abandonment as He cried out pitifully on the cross, Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani (my God, my God, why hast Thou abandoned me?). But this abandonment was for us, for our benefit, for our salvation, for our desperate need for ultimate security. The divine Son experienced abandonment so that He could perfectly understand it with a human mind, a human heart, and a human soul. And He understands our abandonment, our fear of rejection, our great need for trusting faith in the all-good God Who created us and sent His only Son to save us.

Baby steps are acceptable in the journey of trust. God can restore our willingness and ability to trust in Him, regardless of our personal experiences of being abandoned by men.

To Thee O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
In Thee O my God, I put my trust.
Let me not be ashamed.
Psalm 24:1

Originally posted 4 September 2015