In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a man is left half-dead as people pass him by. Perhaps the man had to lie in wait so that the Samaritan could have the opportunity to choose to help him. Which begs the question, how well do I lie in wait of God’s providence?
The book of Job, which we’ve been hearing in daily mass readings, is one of the wisdom books. It is through Job that we can embrace the magnanimous power of our Creator, our God, as He reminds Job that He truly is in charge: “where were you when I founded the earth?” (Job 38:4) etc.
Most people live with some sort of inner turmoil. They may think, “but Job was a righteous man” while voices in their mind pester of their own unrighteousness…
“To consider God equally good in things that are petty and ordinary as in those that are great and uncommon is to have a faith that is not ordinary, but great and extraordinary. (Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade)
God has designed complementarity across personalities and purposes that serve to bring order and harmony in the cosmos. All of this is His plan for Divine Providence, His infinite wisdom of His Divine Mind exhibited only in us who are created in His image.
Thus, if you did not exist, there would something of the wisdom of God that the world would never know, hidden from the entire cosmos. Every life matters, including yours.
For the Christian seeking to grow closer to God, the difficulty in decision making isn’t in choosing something good. It is in making the right choice, the better-good choice. Part of the discernment process should be a test to find where love is in your heart vs. where focus is on yourself and your needs…
It is said that a mother is only as happy as her least-happy child. But no mother sorrows alone; Mary suffers with us. The sword that pierced your heart also pierces hers. And when Mary holds your child, she holds Jesus in your child’s heart. Just as nothing can separate her heart from His, neither can her heart be separated from your child.