Today’s readings reflect a question that many people will ask: “As more and more people turn away from God, why doesn’t God act and show his power and authority?” This same attitude was expressed by the prophet Habakkuk in his day. In the first reading, Habakkuk is lamenting that he sees great corruption, people are turned from God and are following their own way and Habakkuk asks why God has not acted. We learn of their crimes they include corrupt judges, people who lend money at huge interest, embezzling, extortion, the adulterers, the drunkards, the idolaters. So we have a picture of a troubled nation with no desire to turn back. God predicts to Habakkuk that this will not last, that indeed his wrath will fall and it will be a comprehensive destruction and it is.

Then we learn of the righteous one in the future who will live by faith. He calls Habakkuk to wait for that time. Of course, it is not a literal waiting for the prediction is of the coming of Jesus.

Then we learn from Luke of an attitude of patient service. But look closely at it. What the Lord is calling us to do is to serve Him in our daily life patiently living our faith knowing that the time is coming when those who put their hopes in what is not of God will find the foundation of their hope to crumble in total destruction. He is calling us to make sure our hope is in Christ and to live that hope in patient expectation.

What is important here is that again we live in a time when we see a world that turns from God. When people turn from God and turn in on their own guidance they walk down a path that seems to bring them autonomy and happiness but soon leads them into a world of destruction. We have a calling to be patient in our living our faith as signs to others of the right road to go. However, this calling to live our faith is not without its own signs and wonders for us.

There is a great need for us to be good Catholics, that means to be people who not only pray, but are intensely influenced by our prayer, who not only go to mass, but are intensely influenced by our mass attendance, who not only practice our faith, but are intensely influenced by the practice of our faith. This is a communal experience where God is at the center. But it also means to expect that God is supporting us and is bringing us to His Kingdom. How does he do this. He calls us to be people who ask for signs of his presence, see them and use them. Pray for God to intervene in your life and expect it to happen.

Many times we may seek miracles to happen and we think that they do not, but find that they happen in ways we do not expect them, but they do happen.

One of my favorite stories is one of the woman who went to a famous priest healer at a healing service. She prayed for healing in her back, it was giving her great pain and this after back surgery. He did pray over her and immediately her back got worse. She had not choice but to see a doctor right away. After examination and an x-ray, they found a problem in her back surgery that needed to be fixed. It was and her back pain ended. She got what she prayed for, but not in the way she expected.

When our faith is made stronger, we can serve God better. We can do this by praying for God’s intervention. Expect an answer to your prayers, do not expect the method of that answer.

We need to be people of prayer in all we do praying for our community, ourselves, communing with God and growing in wisdom. We must be people of prayer and we can share the results of that prayer with others that their faith may be built up. Sometimes it may seem that our prayer is not answered, yet, in time you will that what appeared to be silence was indeed, God’s response in a way that you did not expect. However, be people of prayer. The more we pray, the greater is our experience with God which is so necessary in a time so disconnected with God. We need to be people of prayer.

I was approached this week by a group who want to help us evangelize. I will be speaking with them next week. They go door to door inviting people to mass and they organize retreats for those who have been away from the Church. The group is close to the Cardinal although he did not send them. Go back to our parish prayer, is this not the kind of things that we pray for in that prayer? We need to to pray so that God can encourage us in our service to Him.

We wait in patient service to God, while God works with us to continue our work in a world that has turned its back. Some because of us will turn back, others will try to silence us, but our patient service to God must continue.

God bless you,

Fr. Robert J Carr

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