Frequently throughout the Gospels, Our Lord connects faith with healing or extraordinary events. He often says to those He heals that it is done according to their faith. He tells the hemorrhaging woman, “Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace. (Luke 8:48).” This same chapter of Luke has the calming of the storm at sea when the disciples—overcome with fear—awaken Christ who then rebukes the storm besieging their boat. Afterwards He turns to His disciples and asks them, “Where is your faith? (Luke 8:25).” It is the same question that is asked of each one of us when agonies, afflictions, or torments arise in our own lives.
I found myself meditating on the connection between faith and strength in my own life. Shortly after this piece appears on CE, I am scheduled to undergo some rather unpleasant medical tests. In one case, everyone I know who has been through it has told me it is a difficult test. As is typically the case with those who find themselves in periods of illness, the tests are almost as miserable as the affliction. This heightens anxiety in what is already a time of desolation.
I was reminded in prayer that Christ strengthens us according to our faith and trust in Him. I have been asked to offer all of my suffering for a particular purpose. Since it is Our Lord who has asked me to offer all of my sufferings in this life for this particular mission, He will be the one to provide the graces I need to endure the sufferings of this life. He has ordered my sufferings to love in accordance with His divine plan for both my life and those I am called to suffer for.
In the weeks leading up to these tests, coupled with my present illness, and living with the possibility of major surgery, I had allowed fear to blind me to this truth. This is one of the many reasons Christ tells us not to be afraid. Fear leads to spiritual blindness. It can rob us of faith, hope, and charity. It weakens us and leads us to cave inward; overwhelmed by the storm.
When periods of suffering arise in our lives, we often forget to fully turn to Him. Our faith begins to falter and we become like the disciples panic-stricken in the storm tossed boat begging Our Lord to wake up and calm the storm. Even as He sleeps in the boat, He never abandons us. He is with us each step of the way, but He asks us to turn to Him. We must actually do so with our whole hearts or He can’t strengthen us and give us what we truly need. He cannot work in our souls if we are trying to maintain control or go it alone by our own strength.
It is through faith that God accomplishes wondrous deeds. He is constantly calling His followers down through the ages to give everything to Him in trust, so He can transfigure us into the saints He wants us to be and so we can lead more souls to Him. We are meant to be people of radical faith. This means every aspect of our lives should be marked by a profound faith in God and all He is doing in the world and in our own lives.
Fr. Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen in Divine Intimacy explains:
Faith ought to be the light which envelops not only our moments of prayer but our whole life as well. In prayer we say, “I believe in God, the Father almighty”; but a few minutes afterwards, in the face of some difficult task, a tiresome person, or something which upsets our plans, we forget that these have all been willed and planned by God for our good. We forget that God is our Father and therefore is more concerned about our welfare than we are ourselves. We forget that God is all-powerful and can help us in every difficulty.
It is in our darkest moments that we often waver in our faith in God. This because in our fear, pain, anguish, or grief, we forget that God loves each one of us with an infinite love that He shows us on the Cross. It is in suffering that we are strengthened in faith because God asks more of us. He asks us to keep following Him when everything seems to have gone dark. It is easy to believe in God when our lives are going well, but the good times do not strengthen us in the way we need. We need to feel the Cross heavy on our backs to truly progress in holiness. It is then that we live by faith. It is then that we come to surrender more fully to Christ.
This Advent seems much darker for many because of the global pandemic we are facing. The isolation, longer nights, and the constant flow of information about deaths and infection rates weigh on people. This is a time for growing in greater faith. The season of Advent is a season that helps us to grow in faith. We are blessed to live after the First Coming of Christ. The Israelites lived in darkness for centuries, awaiting the Messiah. Our Advent will end shortly and we will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, Our Savior. Pandemic or no pandemic, Christ Our Savior will come.
It is through the darkness of this year and this Advent season that Our Triune God seeks to strengthen our faith. Do we trust Him? Do we believe that He can heal and strengthen us? Do we believe that He can forgive our sins? Do we believe that He will give us all the graces we need to accomplish the tasks He asks of us?
There will be times we will waver. There will be moments when we will become fearful and beg for God to end the storm. With each new affliction, He will strengthen us in the measure we turn to Him. Let us turn to Him with our whole hearts, so He can pour the graces we need to persevere into our souls. He loves us and desires our ultimate good.
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