Second reflection of the second week of Lent
In the second week of Lent, we allow ourselves to be challenged by the meditations of Father Lorenzo Baldella. Reflections that… cannot leave us indifferent:
«“Abba! Father! Everything is possible for you: take this cup away from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want” (Mk 14:36).
The trial is real. Pain exists. Pain is a mystery. Why does God allow it? Why did he allow it for his Son? Even the deepest arguments are not enough to solve the enigma of pain. They can give us only some faint explanation to help us become accustomed to it, but no more. Pain is a mystery! A person who is in pain can do nothing but ask God to bring them out of it, as Jesus did, placing complete trust in the Father. Praying to God to take pain away from us can rightly have its place in our lives.
Man was created for happiness. Yet, throughout the time that pain torments him, he must repeat, like Jesus: “Your will be done.” Little by little, he may perhaps understand that, in God’s mysterious plan, pain cannot be useless. Jesus did not suffer in vain. His suffering cleansed humanity of its sins. Our pain, if united with his, will have infinite meaning and value. It will be fruitful. The mystery of a negative reality transformed into something positive through the Passion of Jesus. In times of trial, the torch of faith must remain lit and held high, above our struggles. And faith is joined by the hope that a new and better day will dawn.”
In times of pain, can I surrender myself to the Father’s arms without demanding to understand, but placing my trust in him?
I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow morning to continue reflecting together!
