Reflections from the Heart – March 5, 2023

Second Sunday of Lent
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.”  Trust is such a fragile and delicate thing.  We trust, we want to trust, we need to trust, we offer our trust to another, a spouse, a friend, a family member, an associate, and that trust is often shattered, smashed and betrayed.  We are left bewildered, wondering why a promise was broken, a commitment not kept or a confidence shattered at our expense and at the risk of ending a relationship, a friendship, a fellowship built to last and founded on so much hope. We cannot trust anyone, including ourselves. We also are betrayers of trust.  God has entrusted us with a message of hope, a gospel of life, a mission of love.  Have we maintained the trust that God has placed on all of us to listen to his beloved Son, Jesus?  Have you become a person of great prayer?  Has your poor heart burned with the fire of eternal love by listening to the Word of God proclaimed to you personally at Mass, in liturgy, in prayer?  Have you generously dedicated time from your busy day and schedule to know God more intimately, love him more profoundly, serve him more faithfully and minister in his name to all others?  Can you really be trusted with sharing the Good News, faithfully receiving the Eucharist, joyfully celebrating the Sacraments, extending God’s peace, mercy and forgiveness to another?  Trust is the perfect gift we can offer our Lord this Lenten Season.  God entrusted us with his Son even though he knew we would betray him and crucify him.  We continue to betray Jesus when we break our baptismal promises to renounce sin and temptation rather than believe and trust in God alone.  We say, “Jesus, I trust in you” but do we really mean or understand what we say.  Do we trust Jesus enough to care for us, provide for us, and bestow his infinite love and divine mercy upon us? Do you trust that Jesus can forgive us our trespasses?  Like yourself, I too face difficulty with trust.  Not that God cannot be trusted; God is faithful always in fidelity to covenant. It is difficult to forgive, to heal, and trust again.  Nevertheless, God gives us the remedy and the cure.  Allow God to heal the betrayal you experienced; to flood you with his love, fill you with such gratitude that you will learn to trust again.  Trust God always because he is trustworthy and never betrayed you.  Never has. Never will.