Jesus exhorts us to trust Him in the Gospel reading. It is ironic that He is saying this to the Apostles literally hours before He will be betrayed, denied, and abandoned by these same men.
In a way, I guess that can be a source of comfort for us. If the Apostles had difficulty trusting as He walked in their midst, I guess it should be of no surprise that we will sometimes have difficulty trusting as we carry our crosses in this life.
Think about it. We're told to walk by faith, not by sight. We're told to eat flesh we can't see and drink blood we can't taste. We're told we have to be reborn by water and spirit... spirit that exists beyond our five senses. We're told to confess our sins, confess in a way that goes against the prideful currents of human nature.
It seems to me that it takes a tremendous amount of trust in the Lord to believe these things that remain unseen. At the same time, how often do we direct that trust to something else, to something more tangible? Perhaps even an easier or softer way to live?
Are there times when we are tempted to trust the government more than the Church? Do we find ourselves more reliant on and more pursuant of material goods such as wealth, power, pleasure, and honor compared to the spiritual gifts of Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord?
When we have free time, do we try to fill it with things of God or do we turn to things of the world.
For me, it brings to mind one of the warnings of the prophet Jeremiah: "Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD." (Jer 17:5)
That said, there will certainly be times we are tempted to doubt, to not trust, to deny, or to even outright reject.
We must always remember that at the time Jesus instituted the Eucharist, for all intents and purposes, He established the Sacramental life of the Church. In doing so, He tells the Apostles that He is the way, the truth, and the life.
As Jesus said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him." (John 6:56)
On a separate, but related note: 134 years ago, Leo XIII wrote an encyclical called Rerum Novarum. Among other things, this encyclical served as a manifesto for human dignity within the sacramental life in contrast to the commodity of human capital within the industrial revolution. It formed a line of demarcation between God's plan for mankind's fulfillment in the sacramental life and the secular movement acting to isolate mankind from God. It served as the dividing line between trusting in God or trusting in human beings.
Today, Leo XIV reminds us of a similar temptation, a similar danger, a similar decision that must be made in the face of the revolution of artificial intelligence that is upon us. The temptation to treat each other as just another expendable cog in the wheel, as opposed to an invaluable member of the body of Christ. The temptation to care more about politicians and politics, than how the Holy Spirit is trying to lead us through the bishops. The temptation to focus more on our own ambition and the temptation to rate life through the gauge of material goods as opposed to love of neighbor.
We are so privileged, as Catholics, that as we fully live the Sacramental life of the Church...as we are fortified with the Sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ on a regular basis...receiving the grace of the Sacraments with faith and trust, then we are truly thriving in the way, the truth, and the life.
Thanks be to God!
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