By Kaitlin Klein
Wonderful Adventure
“Trust in God” rolls off the tongue in Christian conversation as easily and often as butter on toast. As an overarching theme of being a follower of Jesus and believing in His great love for us, I think trusting in the Lord is often assumed, and practiced, at least in an overall way. However, I’ve been thinking about how trust plays out in my own life lately, and I’ve been trying to get to the nitty gritty of this wonderful, powerful, and adventurous ideal.
My parish priest’s homily on the gospel reading about Jesus calming the storm that was raging about his and his disciples’ boat (Mark 4:35-41) inspired me to dig deeper into what it really means to trust. Jesus was asleep when “a violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat;” and his response to being wakened was to calm the sea and ask, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” If I were in the same boat (no pun intended), I’d be terrified as well and join the disciples in wondering why the Messiah in our midst didn’t seem to care that we were in danger. And then I think again – how many times have I been in storms of varying sorts in this life and wondered why Jesus, ever present, seems to be silent?
The reality is, Jesus is always present. He always cares. He loves us as much today as He did the day He died on the cross us. He is keenly aware of the storms in our lives, and He never leaves us alone. Even if the storm ends in unexpected, frustrating ways, and even if we experience suffering in the midst of the squall, that does not change the reality of the Lord’s intense, never-failing love. These difficult times are opportunities for us to trust even more.
My priest reminded us of St. Maximilian Kolbe, who completely trusted in the Lord in his role as a priest. But yet, his great trust did not keep him from being arrested and sent to Auschwitz. It didn’t keep him from dying a painful death (he even offered to die in place of another prisoner). His trust in God did, however, allow him to offer every moment to Jesus, to accept the Lord’s will, whatever it may be. To be at peace, and to even find meaning, in his suffering. Saint Kolbe’s example was a good reminder to me that trusting in God does not mean that our prayers will be answered just how we want them to be, and that we will live a life free of pain and suffering. It means that we truly believe that God’s will is best, that He loves us, that our time on earth is “our exile” (see Hail, Holy Queen prayer), that we were made to be with God forever in heaven.
I find comfort in looking at the lives of the Saints and asking their intercession. St. John the Baptist served with all he had his entire life, to be beheaded before he could witness Jesus’ death and resurrection. St. Aloysius Gonzaga rejoiced in his opportunities to suffer and was ready to meet Jesus when he died at age 23. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati was living life to the fullest, had dreams for the future, yet died at age 24. Bl. Carlo Acutis was born in 1991 and lived a “normal,” modern life and chose to let his life be transformed by love of the Eucharist, and yet he died at age 15. We venerate these Saints not because they died at a young age, but because of their trust in God, even in the midst of trials, and their lives of service and surrender. May we also strive to trust, especially when trials come.