Saturday, October 5, 2024: Memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska
Readings: Job 42:1-3; 5-6; 12-17, Psalm 119:66,71,75,91,125,130, Luke 10:17-24
Theme: THE STORMS OF LIFE, A TEST OF OUR FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD.
It was early in 1994 when the late Dr. Abel Rwendeire visited St. Paul’s seminary as an old boy and he was given an opportunity to talk to us as young Seminarians. He said; “life is a series of struggles, it is about problem solving”. Human beings make an effort to solve daily struggles using their wisdom and energy. On some issues they succeed while on others they fail completely and give up sometimes. This points to lack of faith in God otherwise one with faith offers all he or she does to God. If you truly want to know the Lord’s will in your decisions, try to look beyond the immediate selfish choice to the effects that this choice will have.
We conclude the readings from the book of Job today and good enough we see his position in relation to the awesomeness of God. God’s ways are not ours, and His plans are without defect. We may make plans, but God has the last word.We plan but God judges our motives and blesses them to be successful (cf. Proverbs 16:1-3).
Job confessed his ignorance with humility and God blessed him more and restored to him in double fold all that he had lost including his children. Therefore:
1. How do we react to the different storms of life we encounter daily?
2. Do you allow these storms to trouble and disorient you?
3. Do you see the storms that come your way in life as passing phases of your life and entrust everything to God as Job did?
Job praised God for whatever happened to him (Job 1:20-22). This is echoed in today’s gospel that the truest prayer is praise. Jesus shows the disciples how to direct their joy to the praise of the Father. The style of Jesus’ own prayer is a joyful Praise of the Father.
Praise is the most expanding form of communication. An attitude of praise, of appreciation, of outgoing love is the healthiest for both persons in communication. Praise takes many forms, even silence or song. The song of praise opens us to God and the deepest feelings about Him. Jesus is our model to emulate to praise God our heavenly Father for His Providence to us His creatures (Luke 10:21). There are many prayers of praise in the Bible which in a way is God’s prayer book and many of them are songs (Psalms 71:6, 68:19, Jeremiah 20:13, Daniel 2:20, Luke 1:68).
It is good to enjoy singing, it is a marvelous creation of God. Prayer-singing is communicating with the Lord, telling Him how we feel about Him, telling Him what it is that makes us love Him and thank Him and trust Him and make Him the centre of our life. Prayer is much wiser when it is expressed in form of praise. It teaches us how to turn everything into a blessing for your life.
What lessons do we take home from the book of Job?
1. To be faithful and humble before God as Job was in order to succeed in life.
2. To give inheritance to our daughters as we do to the boys as Job did. This promotes family stability as all children are equally valuable. This is a challenge to most African countries where women are denied the right of inheritance.
3. Commitment to God amidst any trials in life (cf. Romans 8:31-39).
4. Suffering is a sweet Cross to bear with patience an eventuality that leads to victory (John 16:33).
Finally today is the optional memorial of Sister Faustina. She was a young, uneducated, nun in a convent of the congregation of sisters of our Lady of Mercy in Poland during the 1930s. She received extraordinary revelations on God’s loving message of Divine Mercy.
St. Faustina’s revelations are a constant reminder of the message to trust in Jesus’ endless mercy, and to live life mercifully towards others.
“Lord Jesus,may you grant each one of us the grace of humility in our Christian journey”. Amen.
Fr. Kwehangana Bagubwa Mathias