3rd Easter - Walking with Trust, to Love.

The Dark Night: Stanzas of the Soul

One dark night,
fired with love’s urgent longings
— ah, the sheer grace! —
I went out unseen,
my house being now all stilled.

In darkness, and secure,
by the secret ladder, disguised,
— ah, the sheer grace! —
in darkness and concealment,
my house being now all stilled.

On that glad night,
in secret, for no one saw me,
nor did I look at anything,
with no other light or guide
than the one that burned in my heart.

This guided me
more surely than the light of noon
to where he was awaiting me
— him I knew so well —
there in a place where no one appeared.

O guiding night!
O night more lovely than the dawn!
O night that has united
the Lover with his beloved,
transforming the beloved in her Lover.

Upon my flowering breast
which I kept wholly for him alone,
there he lay sleeping,
and I caressing him
there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

When the breeze blew from the turret,
as I parted his hair,
it wounded my neck
with its gentle hand,
suspending all my senses.

I abandoned and forgot myself,
laying my face on my Beloved;
all things ceased; I went out from myself,
leaving my cares
forgotten among the lilies.

We will go through phases when it can be so difficult simply to navigate through life. We try to walk in the right direction; but we can get lost, confused, dismayed. Or we may have never been shown the correct direction to walk; so many have been raised in dysfunction and woundedness. Sometimes we get frozen in fear, and will not even take those first few steps.

If we are fortunate that difficulty to navigate is easy to correct; at other times, we can get so lost, so messed up, it becomes seemingly impossible to see a way through.

And in a society that changes very rapidly, for us who are older those guideposts that told us we were at least going in the correct general direction have been taken away, disappeared; leading to disorientation.  Whereas young persons have this degree of fluidity that can seem appealing, yet they also can lack a firm foundation from which to launch. They too will get lost.

It hurts. It can be scary. It can be disorienting. I hear it in people all the time.  I get it myself.

What do we do? Some numb it with chemicals. Others ignore it and plug along. Some will try superficial means, quick fixes; crystals, angels, conspiracies. And yet others give up and just stop.

As we read scripture and hear scripture proclaimed, sometimes it can be the little things that help us grasp a meaning, a richness. For example…

Carravagio:  Supper at Emmaus

We have two of Jesus’ disciples and they are thought to be a husband and wife. They are walking away from Jerusalem, heading back to their home. It is day time. They are confused; the person they thought would be their leader and do great things was executed. Strike 1. Then they heard this body was gone from the tomb, probably stolen. Strike 2. Then they hear this ridiculous story that he was actually alive, risen. Strike 3, let's get out of here. None of this makes sense to them. All their hopes have gone away.  Then on the way home, they encounter the Risen Jesus, who accompanies them on their journey, doing a bible study of sorts. Recounting from their own heritage how God has always been at work. We have that amazing scene in which the Eucharist is celebrated, their eyes are open and even though it is night, they race back to Jerusalem, to be with community, to share the good news.

Here is that small detail that I think makes it interesting… it is night time in which they run back to Jerusalem, to return to their community, to be in the correct place and to share the incredible news.

John of the Cross by sr marie Celeste OCD

St. John of the Cross in his powerful poem Dark Night of the Soul, which began this homily, experienced this confusion in his life; utter dismay and desolation. All that he thought was good, was right, was stripped away from him. In that desolation God spoke to him; told him he was always with him, and had never left him. God loved him. John did not need the things to have this. John did not need to have the mental reassurances. John needed to believe and trust. John’s poem captured this. Going off into the night, trusting in God’s love for him, and in that darkness finding Love.

We can get lost in life, but God never abandons us. As we grow in our discipleship of Jesus, in those moments of doubt, confusion, we are given the means by which to get going in the correct direction.

This Gospel tells us how.

We go to Scripture and reflect how God never abandoned Israel and the people: freeing them in slavery and in exile; feeding them in the desert with Manna, giving them the water that they needed; calling them away from the wrong path through the prophets again and again. God offering hope, offering chances to repent, to change direction so that they could be free in this world.

So then meditate on Scripture. Contemplate it, reflect on it, chew on it; let it sink in and let God’s grace open our minds and hearts even just a little. Not just when lost, but always, so that when we are lost, confused, we already have that resource handy and ready to go.

And we as Catholics of course come to our Sacraments, those visible signs of the Invisible reality of God, present in our lives. We especially come to our Eucharist, to remember that God never abandons us, that God always loves us, will forgive us, God will lead us to life. We give thanks for this. We come as a community, to acknowledge that we accompany each other; to support one another, to find each other when lost.

Children are making their first communions now. If I could have anything sink in to them, it is that God is with them always. We can forget this, so this is why we come to the Eucharist each week; especially when we are at our lowest to be reminded of God’s love; and when we are walking in the right direction so that we can give thanks and look to support others.

Parents feed your children with the Eucharist and with Scripture. Get them ready now for life; give them the tools in which they can open themselves to God, to Jesus, to the Spirit.

To any of us, feeling lost, feeling despondent, broken, hurt…healing is possible.

Do not give up--God has not given up on us. Maybe we have yet to recognize where God is. We can’t see yet, but once we can trust just a little; then our eyes will be opened. And we can walk forward.