Walking in His Footsteps in Word and Truth

We know that God is in control of our lives, our families, our nation and our planet. We know that He has promised to come and take us to a place where there is no death, where we will look upon the glorious face of the Most High God.

We know that Christ is returning. In the last book of Sacred Scripture, the Word of God tells us, “Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was called Faithful and True” (Revelation 19:11).

This is why I work on the White Horse Ranch. Yes, we do have white horses. However, the name of the ranch points to the Word. We live our lives pointing to the Word who is called here, “Faithful and True.”

The Word Himself

Christ is faithful. Christ is true. We do not look to the left or to the right. We do not focus our attention on the waves and the winds that rock the boat, threatening to destroy it. We look always to Him who is faithful, to Him who is true. We believe that what He said in the Word of God will come to pass. We do not know when that will be, however we know that it will be.

In the Gospel of John, the holy writer states that Christ is the Word of God. He was in the beginning with God, and He was God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us (John 1:1, 14). Because He is true, His Word is true.

For some of us today, I write to you as one who believes and says, “Fear not, for our Lord and God will not abandon us. He will not leave us orphans, but will come, and take us to Himself.”

Let us stand on that word, the promise of God. If you hurt, if you are worried or sad, and you find yourself shaking your head more often than before, stop and breathe deeply. Take three full breaths of life-giving air and thank God for the ability to breathe. Thank Him for His promise.

The Woman of the Word

Next, say three Hail Marys out loud and slowly. Let each of the words come forth from your mouth and enter your ears as if you have never heard that prayer before. You know that the first half of the prayer is Scripture, coming from the mouth of Mary’s relative Elizabeth. The Word says, “… and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, ‘Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb’” (Luke 1:41-42).

By calling on the Mother of God to “Pray for us now,” we are asking the most precious of requests. “Pray for us now,” O Holy Mother of God.

The Promise of Scripture

In Second Chronicles, it is recorded that the Lord God appeared to Solomon the night he completed building the Temple of the Lord and the royal palace. God spoke to Solomon and said:

If my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land. (2 Chronicles 7: 14)

The Word from Second Chronicles is also a promise. Humble ourselves, it says, and pray. The Word invites us to “seek [His] presence and turn.” The word repent also means to turn. It is time for all to repent and seek Him as we never have.

Wise Counsel from a Saint

St. John of the Cross wrote a short paper entitled, “Counsels to a Religious on How to Reach Perfection.” In it he declares that if one follows four wise “counsels”, he will achieve great spiritual consolations and “the delight of the Holy Spirit.” One of the counsels is resignation.

St. John writes:

… concerning resignation, you should live in the monastery as though no one else were in it. And thus you should never, by word or by thought, meddle in things that happen in the community nor with individuals in it desiring not to notice their good or bad qualities or their conduct. And in order to preserve your tranquility of soul, even if the whole world crumbles, you should not desire to advert to this or interfere, remembering Lot’s wife who was changed into hard stone because she turned her head to look at those who in the midst of much clamor and noise were perishing (Genesis 19:26). [Kavanaugh, Collected Works, 662.]

In this time of great agitation, St. John of the Cross invites us to find the path that leads to perfection and to begin the trek toward grace.

Although we may in time, God willing, meet together to celebrate Holy Mass and to fill our souls and spirits with the Body and Blood of Christ, we can live now, separated from Holy Mass, with our eyes fixed on Jesus, “the leader and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2), knowing all the while that “without faith it is impossible to please him…” (Hebrews 11:6).

In the end, we realize that it is never about other people, but only ourselves and Jesus Christ, our ultimate goal.