Salesian Sunday Reflection
Twenty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time
August 21, 2022
Today’s Gospel reminds us that to enter the kingdom of God, we will need the strength that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had to trust in God’s goodness. Here are a few of Saint Francis de Sales’ thoughts on developing the confidence to trust in God’s goodness:
Trust in God is the life of the soul. To develop trust in God we must learn to love God’s goodness. We can experience God’s goodness if we open up our hearts and allow God to enter. We must learn to speak to God and hear God speak to us in the depths of our hearts. It is here that we begin to acquire affection for the things of God.
It seems we lack the strength and confidence to trust in God in times of trial. When we feel this way, we must say to Our Lord, ‘even though I feel no confidence in you, I know that you are my God, I place myself completely in your hands, and hope in your goodness.’ While this is difficult to say, it is not impossible. The more we recognize ourselves as lacking the strength to trust in God, the greater reason we have to confidently trust in God’s goodness and mercy. In your soul, you are bringing forth Jesus Christ. Until He is born in you, you cannot help suffering from your labor. Yet, God is as gentle and merciful when we are weak and imperfect as when we are strong and perfect.
When our strength and confidence to love the things of God increases, we let go of our lesser loves that are not of God. Seeking only the kingdom of God and desiring to witness our trust in God’s goodness to others become life-giving. When we trust in God, we will always reap the fruits of our confidence in God’s goodness. Like mariners, who arrive at the port they are bound for, look at the sky above them rather than down on the sea on which they sail, so you ought to look to God. God will work with you, in you, and for you. As a result, your confidence to trust in God’s goodness will be strengthened.
(Adapted from the writings of St. Francis de Sales)
