Vol. 16, No. 3, July, 2011

Put all your Trust in the Lord!
by Sr. Brigid Meierotto, S.N.C.

In this teaching, we will accept the word of God, the Scriptures, into our hearts and minds, letting them give light to us. The Scriptures are the inspired word of God which has the power to accomplish what it says, for us. Yes, for us, right here, right now.

The Scripture we are reflecting upon is Luke 18:9-14; Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18; Read these passages slowly, prayerfully.

As you read the Scripture, in your heart ask the Holy Spirit to explain to you the message that the Lord has for you personally. Do not doubt that the Lord Jesus will do this for you, because that is why he came, so that you can get to know and to love Jesus. "These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you" ( John 14:25f ). Tell the Holy Spirit what you expect from him...something like this: "Holy Spirit, Jesus said that you would teach me all things and I believe him. Teach me to always render to Jesus what is his! Teach me to love Jesus with my whole heart, giving him praise and adoration with every breath -- teach me that the love of Jesus conquers all! Thank you, 0 Holy Spirit."

The righteous person suffers at the hands of the ungodly, but the Lord has the victory! The Lord will deliver the righteous. This is a living word that has the power to accom¬plish in your life what it says.

From Sirach we see that the Lord does not have favorites, he shows no partiality -- he is a righteous judge -- he will work justice for us. What this means is that we do not have to bribe God. I don't have to think that maybe if I say a certain prayer or give up something that I enjoy (like ice cream!), that the Lord will be pleased and appeased and answer my prayer and give me what I want, or need. NO!

Sirach lists all these people who have no bargaining power, no leverage to get what they need, to have their problem taken care of:

-a poor man -- has no money to be able to pay...

-a person is wronged, cheated, his life is ruined -- he has no recourse... -an orphan -- has no family to help or care...

-a widow -- is alone without any support.

Now, let us think about our state, our position in life. We come to the Lord just as we are:

-dependent -- empty -- needy -- sinful.

In this position we are humble and our prayer pierces the clouds and continues to rise until the Lord answers, "The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds, and he will not be consoled until it reaches the Lord; he will not desist until the Most High visits him, and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment, And the Lord will not delay..." (Sirach 35:17-18a).

The Lord will not delay! We can put our faith, our trust in the Lord!

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 18, verses 9-14, Jesus tells a parable to the benefit of those of us who put our trust in ourselves instead of putting our trust in the Lord. The parable goes like this:

"Two men went to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector." Jesus says that the Pharisee put his trust in himself and that he prayed with himself like this: "I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I get. -- Thank God I'm not like the rest of men!" And his prayer stayed with himself!

The tax collector prayed: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." And his prayer pierced the clouds, reached to the Lord who heard his prayer. And he went home justified! Our faith, our trust is in the Lord!

St. Paul tells Timothy in his second letter: "Everyone deserted me, but the Lord stood by me ... he will rescue me from every evil and save me...!"

In the name of Jesus Christ, I say to the root cause of the fear, anxiety and doubt that tempts me to put my trust in anything or anyone other than Jesus, leave now, never come back; in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

Closing prayer: Thank you, Spirit of love, for teaching me to put all my trust in the love of Jesus. Continue to teach me about Jesus and about myself, my family, neighbors --teach me to trust! Thank you, 0 Holy Spirit! ." Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of that womb, Jesus! Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen!