Pope: trust in God even in "dark moments" when he seems absent
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Even in "dark" moments when God seems absent when His will seems to be different from what we would like, the more totally you trust in Him, the more God enables us to live every situation of our life in peace and certainty of His faithful love. Thus is "Mary's faith," to which Benedict XVI dedicated his reflection for the general audience today.
The Pope reflected on the Annunciation, from the "Rejoice" with which the angel addresses to her. "It looks like a normal greeting", but the word "is present four times in the Greek version of the Old Testament and always as a proclamation of joy at the coming of the Messiah." "The angel's greeting to Mary is then an invitation to joy, a deep joy, announcing the end of the sadness that is in the world in front of the limits of life, suffering, death, wickedness, the darkness of evil which seems to obscure the light of the Divine goodness. It is a greeting that marks the beginning of the Gospel, the Good News. "
In the angel's greeting, Mary is called" full of grace, which in the Greek word "charis, has the same linguistic root of the word "joy." Even in this expression we further clarify the source of Mary's rejoicing: the joy comes from the grace that comes from communion with God, by having so vital a connection with Him.
But " the opening of the soul to God and His action in faith also includes the element of darkness. The relationship between human beings and God does not erase the distance between the Creator and creature." " But he who - like Mary - is completely open to God, comes to accept the will of God, even if it is mysterious, although it often does not correspond to his own will and can be a sword that pierces the soul."
" So it is with Mary, her faith lives the joy of the Annunciation, but also passes through the darkness of the Crucifixion of her Son, in order to reach the light of the Resurrection."
"It's no different in our own journey of faith: we encounters moments of light, but also passages where God seems absent, His silence weighs on our hearts and His will does not correspond to our own, to what we would like to . But the more we open ourselves to God, the more we receive the gift of faith, the more we place all our trust in Him - like Abraham and like Mary - the more He empowers us with his presence, to live every situation of life in peace and assurance of His faithfulness and His love. But this means going outside of ourselves and beyond our own projects, so that the Word of God can be a lamp to guide our thoughts and our actions. "
"Mary comes into an intimate dialogue with the Word of God that has been announced, she does not consider it superficially, but dwells on it, allows it to penetrate her, her mind and heart, to understand what the Lord wants from her, the meaning of the announcement". Another reference to the interior attitude of Mary before the action of God we find, again in the Gospel of St. Luke, at the time of the birth of Jesus, after the adoration of the shepherds. It is said that Mary "kept all these things, pondering them in her heart" (Lk 2:19), we could say that she "held them together", "placed" all the events that were happening in her heart; placed each element , every word, every fact together as a whole and pondered it, held it, recognizing that everything comes from the will of God. Mary does not stop at a first superficial understanding of what is happening in her life, but knows how to look deeper, she allows herself to be challenged by events, she processes them, discerns them, and gains the understanding that only faith can provide. This is the profound humility of Mary's obedient faith that welcomes even what it does not understand of God's action, allowing God to open her mind and heart".
"The solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord that we will soon celebrate - concluded the Pope - invites us to live this same humility and obedience of faith. The glory of God is manifested in the triumph and the power of a king, which does not shine in a famous city, in a sumptuous palace, but dwells in the womb of a virgin and is revealed in the poverty of a child. The omnipotence of God, even in our own lives, acts with the often silent strength of truth and love. Faith tells us, then, that the defenceless power of the Child, in the end, defeats the noise of the powers of the world"
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