Dear Parishioners,
When we were kids, we often asked why things were the way they were. Just like in life. Many times we don't understand why things are big, small or medium-sized in our life. Why life doesn't fit. With sickness. Or money problems. Or relationships gone askew. Why does God allow pain? Why doesn't He let my life fit? Doesn't He care?
The answer is the cross. Folly to the Jews. It didn't make sense at all. It doesn't sit well with their idea of a king or a savior. The cross is the ultimate symbol of defeat. Throne is the Cross. Crown is of thorns. No army. Poor. Everything that a King is not supposed to be. Question: Doesn't God care at all?
He does. Very much. In fact, that is why He doesn't make your life fit. I was at a funeral, and the person who gave the eulogy said: “Do not end a sentence with a question mark where God already put a period.”
Our faith tells us to look at the cross and on Him who hangs upon it, not for an answer for the mind so much but for the strength and courage of the heart. Paul Claudel said: “God didn’t come to take away suffering. He didn’t even come to explain it. He came to fill it with His presence.” This is greater than the sum of all our fears.
This Palm Sunday, or formally, the Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, look at the mirror of God's eyes — and that is the cross. And soon, you will see the big and the small fit into your life.
Like magic. But it's not. It's faith. Have faith. Keep it.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Lito