Thursday of the Third Week of Lent - March 16, 2023

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Jeremiah 7:23-28 Luke 11:14-23

I came from a very strict Catholic family. My grandmother Mary Rose, was devout and raised her seven boys as such. They attended and participated in daily mass, catechism every Wednesday, sat front pew every Sunday, and the youngest even became a priest. But because of this forced faithfulness and the tragic/unexpected loss of a college-aged brother, my dad felt he’d had enough structured religion. So, while I was baptized (by my uncle) and attended mass with my grandmother when we visited- religion was really left for me to explore on my own. The only conversation I even remember having with my dad about God was when I asked him “how“ to pray. He told me “to just have a conversation with Him like he’s your best friend”.

My dad was a very kind man with a deep compassion for those in need. He was always giving what he didn’t have but it was never done (at least openly) in the name of Jesus. This left me with one of the biggest struggles in my life when he died last year - where did he stand with God? I feared that because he wasn’t discernibly WITH God he must have been against him. It was only when I began to go  through his things that I found worn prayer cards, hand written prayers and the only item that he had bequeathed; my grandmother’s crucifix and sick call set - to me.

Processing the loss of my dad was unbearable and could have led me to believe that faithfulness had disappeared. But the Holy Spirit showed me my dad’s quiet, personal and unwavering belief in God. He was WITH God. I found comfort in knowing that our spiritual paths can all be different. We can’t all proclaim the word of God from the treetops. Some of us are meant to be more quiet followers of God, but that doesn’t mean faithfulness is gone.

I pray that during the lent season we can all work with God to show in our own unique ways that faithfulness has not disappeared.

Q: Who in my life seems to walk quietly WITH God, maybe even secretly? Send a little note or simple text to reach out to them today.

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