Posted by The WORD in other words (2022) by Fr Marlon Bobier Vargas SVD – Madrid Spain
Friday 6th Week of Easter
Despite the risk of COVID19, a grandmother was one among a few parishioners who attended our daily masses. On one occasion, I invited a few faithful to say their personal petitions. She offered a prayer that her family members have a change of heart and turn their lives to God.
Her anguish struck my heart. I learned that her family was the main reason why she was attending the Eucharistic celebration faithfully. She explained briefly about her suffering from the pain of separation from her family who sadly lost their faith in God.
I found her as a woman of wisdom and joy. She strives to bear witness to the truth of what Jesus says in the gospel, “When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.” (John 16, 21)
For her, the truth that God never abandons her amid many sufferings and challenges in life gives her profound and lasting joy. Her experience as a mother, a wife, and a grandmother has deepened and strengthened her faith.
Whenever I see her participating in the Eucharist, she radiates a sense of joy and gratitude for the love of God that she believes is what sustains and nourishes her throughout her life journey. She attends daily mass to meditate on God’s words and receive Holy Communion. Instead of giving up her faith, she seeks unceasingly the grace of God for her to remain in Christ always through the Eucharist, where the Risen Christ is present through the sacred bread and wine.
The Resurrection of Christ is God’s love for us. It is a mystery that invites us to be close to Christ with a passionate heart. We are called to love others by giving, and by being with, and for, the one we love. We wait patiently until we realize that God has found us in our tribulations.
Saint Arnold Janssen, the founder of the Society of the Divine Word, inspires us with these words, “We know that we cannot solve all problems with the strength we now possess, but we hope that the dear God will grant us all that is necessary for us to do so. For we know God is there, and we always know where we can find God, where God allows himself to be found and is waiting for us.”
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