Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter

My reflection today is about TRUST. Trust is the firm belief or the complete confidence in the honesty and reliability of another. Trust is necessary in order to have a healthy, loving relationship with someone. Spouses need to trust one another; parents need to trust their children and children their parents; trust is needed in our friendships. But the most important relationship is between God and ourselves. God is our creator and has our best interests at heart. We must trust the Lord with our lives. If we do, we will make better life decisions and have more inner joy and peace.

Now let's reflect on Acts of the Apostles 18:9-18. Here Paul has a vision of the Lord saying, "Do not be afraid. Go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you. No one will attack and harm you, for I have many people in this city". Did Paul trust the Lord? Yes, he did! The story goes on to tell us, "He settled there (in Corinth) for a year and a half and taught the word of God among them". And God does indeed take care of Paul, as He promised, even when some of the Jews rise up against Paul.

We might want to reflect on the following:

Do I trust God enough to listen to His Word and live a righteous life walking down His path?

Or do I prefer to disregard the Lord and follow my own path or the paths of others? Which shall it be?

In the Gospel of John 16:20-23, Jesus tells His disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy". In this life we will experience pain and suffering. When we die and go to heaven, we will have eternal life with God. The pain and suffering will be gone. Then joy, peace and the love of God will be all that we know. It will be so wondrous, that we can't even imagine!

Let us reflect:

Do I trust in God, that He will give me the strength to

live through this life?

Or do I blame Him for my suffering?

Do I have faith and hope in the Lord, that I will one day

be with Him in heaven?

Or do I live a "worldly" life without considering the

consequences?

Will I trust the Lord or not?

I will pray for the grace to do so.

Marie Perrone