“We know that the whole creation has been
groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves!”
Saint Paul to the Romans 8:22
God wants to hear
us ask the questions that trouble us. Why, Lord, do You let our forests burn?
Why the floods, the tornadoes and destructive storms, the earthquakes, the
landslides, the volcano eruptions, the droughts, and the famines? Why the
quarrels and the wars? Why all the illnesses, the pain, and the suffering? Why
allow the poor to be exploited, or poor nations to be exploited by the wealthy
nations?
“We know
that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not
only the creation, but we ourselves!” Saint
Paul to the Romans 8:22
We know that birth
pains are the necessary and inevitable transition through which the pregnant
woman must pass in order to be delivered of the infant she carried in her womb
for nine months by giving birth, by pushing it into the world. The infant must
leave the security of its mother’s womb in order to pass into a world that is
much bigger, richer in possibilities, and with infinitely more space to explore
and enjoy. In this word of God received by Saint Paul, God our Creator
reassures us by declaring that we, that the whole Creation, “groans
in labour pains” because we are all compressed in the
birthing canal towards the fullness of life.
“We know
that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not
only the creation, but we ourselves!” Saint
Paul to the Romans 8:22
For the baby, the
canal through which it must pass is so narrow that it must endure terrible
compressions in order to pass through into the world. This image of the baby squeezed
in the birthing canal in its mother’s body is an image that helps us to
understand a little better the narrow passageway in which we are actually stuck
by our mortal life on this Earth. We are stuck in the passageway between our
mortal life in this world, the place of our beginning, and the place of our
destiny which is Heaven, the divine domain of the Most Holy Trinity, in the
presence of God with all his angels and all the saints from all times and
places.
“You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it!”
Our situation is far from
hopeless, because God our Creator declares: “Don’t be afraid in spite of all the
dangers which you must face.” As well, six centuries before the arrival of Jesus in this world,
God declared: “My
word, that goes out from my mouth, shall not return to me empty, but it shall
accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” God fully intends to
realize his will for us. He wants us to enjoy eternal life beginning now, because
“this is eternal life, that they
may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3 The question is,
are we nurturing within us this desire to understand the Word of God?
“You visit the earth and water it; you
greatly enrich it!”
After telling the parable,
Jesus explains it. If we receive the Word of God with no desire to understand
it, then “the
evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart” and we lose all that God wants to give us. If we don’t
cling to God with confidence in Him, then there is little soil within us, and
the Word of God “has no
root”. “When trouble or persecution arises on
account of the word, that person immediately falls away.” If we focus our attention
and our preoccupation on “the
cares of the world and the lure of wealth”, that “chokes the word, and it yields nothing.” All this means that the Word of God cannot bear fruit in
us without our free, desired, and determined participation.
“You visit the earth and water it; you
greatly enrich it!”
In order for there to be
in us “good
soil”, we must first of all make efforts, with the grace of God,
to read, study, pray with, and finally understand
the Word of God. In addition, we must cling to God with confidence
in Him; in order to hold on when “trouble
and persecution” come to us. Also, we must not let troubles or
persecution frighten us, but on the contrary turn towards the Most
Blessed Trinity and put all our confidence in God. It goes without
saying that we must accept to endure the inevitable troubles and
sufferings of life. It’s no use comparing ourselves to others; for we have no
idea of the trials and interior sufferings others are going through.
“Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord!”
It is impossible for us to understand everything of
the mysteries of God. It is enough for us to at least nurture the desire to
better understand the ways of the Lord. Jesus invites us to contemplate the
Word of God, and to carry it within us as we go through our day’s activities.
Then, with his Father and the Holy Spirit, Jesus does within us what only God
can do. For our part, we offer to the Father
all that we experience and do, and all that we endure out of love.
“Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him, says the Lord!”
“Mary
Mother of God, St. Joseph, walk with us in
the steps of Jesus. O my
Jesus, I trust in You! Thank You; You who are God, the
Father, + the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”
In silence now, the Holy
Spirit helps us to unite our offering of ourselves to that of Jesus….
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