Turn our mourning into gladness
“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.”
It seems that perhaps never has there been a more chaotic time in our lives than what is being experienced today. Headlines reveal one shocking event after another, evil seems to abound everywhere, war is around the corner, simple daily life has become a new episode of “Fear Factor.” Our ministries face greater demand, threatened funding, more intense scrutiny and the list goes on. How much more can we possibly bear?
Today’s first reading tells the story of the discernment of Queen Esther, who recognizes that to save her people drastic action is needed. She literally goes to the mat, praying to God the entire day to help her save her people. She pleads that he would “Save us from the hand of our enemies; turn our mourning into gladness and our sorrows into wholeness.”
God’s word is timeless — Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. The psalm reminds us that when we call on the Lord, he answers and builds up strength within us. Notice how we don’t read about Queen Esther telling the Lord what she wants him to do. She simply asks him to save them. He does. He promises to do the same for us.
Far too often we struggle with chaos and challenges because we want control and we cry in anguish when we don’t have it. In this penitential season, perhaps we should model what today’s readings promote — call on the Lord and he will answer. “For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Intensify your prayer life, deepen your dialogue with the Lord and trust in him in all things. I pray that this will truly be a Lent that sees the world repent and seek his face.
Deacon Gary Tester is president of Catholic Charities of Central Florida.