Brothers and sisters:
In the second reading today we heard…
Have no anxiety at all,
but in everything,
by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
These are words that all of us have to take to heart. They are very important words
This has been a long week.
There have been meetings every day, morning noon and night, our parish is a big family with lots of needs someone is sick someone has a problem, not to mention the administrative tasks that consume a lot of my time and the parish staff time.
Perhaps the most challenging moment this week was Linda Compochiaro’s funeral.
She was a young Mom with two beautiful kids and a loving husband.
We all know that we prayed for Linda’s complete recovery.
We prayed over and over again.
There were hundreds of people concerned and praying for Linda’s recovery and her family.
We prayed with confidence and trust like the second reading encouraged us to do.
We know that God loves Linda and her family very much because God loves all of us.
There is not a doubt in my mind that God heard our prayers but the answer was simply no.
Our faith teaches us that God is all good and all powerful and all loving.
It follows then that if God is all good..
God could never do evil
If God is all powerful In other words there is nothing good that God can’t do.
And if God is all loving the way how answers our prayers is limited only by His love for us.
In other words God must always do the most loving thing because God is love.
So at first glance it’s hard to understand why Linda or why anyone young and vibrant is not spared.
So many sincere good people asked me that question this week this week.
As we journey through life It’s so important to remember only God has the big picture only God see and understand the whole plan.
Only God can see how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.
In this case God called Linda home because somehow it must have been the most loving thing to do for her.
Last year God called another young Mom Laura Pagliaruli home because somehow it must have been the most loving thing to do for her.
The death of anyone we love is a very difficult for those of us to remain and in moments like that or any crisis often all we can hold onto is God is Good, God is Powerful, God is Love.
I don’t pretend to be always comfortable with the way God answers our prayers but I do believe in God’s love for each and everyone of us.
An old farmer here in Berlin was rushed to the hospital a couple of years ago when I first got here.
Immediately his family called up the parish and I ran up to the Hospital to anoint him.
When I saw him in bed I realized that I recognized him.
I always used to see him stopping by church all the time during the day to say a couple of prayers.
After he was anointed and received communion surrounded by his family he said to me Father please help my family.
Help them understand if God heals me and I get to stay here with my family I win.
If God does not heal me and I die to be with Him I win
I can’t lose and I am not afraid.
The funeral Director called the next day he had died that very night.
That simple man’s words and that simple man’s faith was a great comfort to his family and a great comfort to me.
Yes God asks us to pray..
God asks us to put our petitions before him with faith.
But he never promises we will get what we want or what we think is best remember we don’t know the whole picture.
Rather, God he makes us a beautiful promise,
Once we have placed our needs before him and trust in his love....
the peace of God which surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Have a good day everyone.
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