Be not far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is none to help.
The desperation and loneliness of these words is the desperation and loneliness of billions of voices across the ages. Yet incredibly, we find, not so much that God sits up in heaven listening to these words (though he does listen) as that he is beside us, praying these words too. For these are the words he himself prayed as he hung on the cross. The God we feared might be slow to come to us in our pain is the God who got there 2,000 years before us and has already plumbed the bottom of the worst of the worst. He is here to help and he is closer to you than your own skin.
Mark P. Shea is a popular Catholic writer and speaker. The author of numerous books, his most recent work is The Work of Mercy (Servant) and The Heart of Catholic Prayer (Our Sunday Visitor). Mark contributes numerous articles to many magazines, including his popular column “Connecting the Dots” for the National Catholic Register. Mark is known nationally for his one minute “Words of Encouragement” on Catholic radio. He also maintains the Catholic and Enjoying It blog and regularly blogs for National Catholic Register. He lives in Washington state with his wife, Janet, and their four sons.
