“Jesus, I trust in You!”
St. Faustina
October 5th is a special day for me, because today the Church celebrates a powerhouse saint who also happens to be my patroness and the first saint of the new millennium, St. Faustina. If you don’t know much about Faustina, read her Diary — you will be hooked on page one and it will change your life. The short version of who she was and what she was all about can be summed up in two words: mercy & trust. Faustina’s whole mission was to make known to the world the great mercy of God, both through prayer and action. And despite much suffering and trial, she lived this mission faithfully by her continual trust in God.
And this is why Faustina is such an amazing saint. Not because she accomplished great things here on earth, but because she was an incredible example of living trust in daily life. Along with her unceasing witness to the mercy of God, that model of trust is her legacy to us and is still so relevant to our lives now.
Think about how easy it is in our day-to-day lives for things to creep in like anxiety, stress, world-weariness, fear, anger, resentment, frustration, impatience … I’m sure you could add a few of your own to the list. And those are just the “little” struggles. Taking also into account deep suffering, illness, and the atrocities that happen every day on a global scale, it often seems impossible to move; we can get “stuck” in a place of sadness, apathy, or despair, leaving ourselves without hope for the future. Because of all of this, it is so tempting to allow ourselves to become emotionally numb, to “anesthetize our hearts” as Pope Francis recently said, in the hustle and bustle of just trying to live our lives and survive in the world.
Thankfully, there is a remedy: Jesus. What we all need, more than anything else, is to focus daily on God and His mercy, remind ourselves daily how much we need that mercy, choose to trust daily, and let that mercy pick us up off our faces and help us to move forward.
But sometimes that’s easier said than done. In fact, most times! This is not a cause for discouragement, however, but rather, an occasion to practice humility and “spiritual light-heartedness.” When we find ourselves inevitably distracted, harried, strung-out, or just tired and in need of grace, we can simply repeat the formula:
– Refocus on God’s mercy.
– Accept our need.
– Make an act of trust.
It’s as easy as this:
“Lord, I messed up again, I’m so sorry. I feel terrible about it. But instead of getting discouraged and focusing on myself, I’m gonna choose to focus on You and Your mercy. I’m gonna laugh at myself and at just how weak I am, and even though I wish I wouldn’t mess up so much, I trust that You love me anyway, You are just waiting to forgive me, and You are ready to pour out all Your mercy into this poor, broken heart of mine. Jesus, I trust in You.”
Or you don’t have to use any words at all. A friend of mine said something to me a few weeks ago that I haven’t been able to get out of my mind, and it’s the perfect way to refocus, accept, and trust. I was sharing some of the little frustrations of everyday life and he said, “Just take a second to be still and listen to the steady rhythm of the Sacred Heart beating underneath all your activities, all your thoughts, all your stress.”
The steady rhythm of the Sacred Heart. When he said those words, I caught my breath and said, “Can you repeat that, please?!” And as he said it again, it was like breathing peace deep into my soul: “Be still and listen to the beating of His Heart… it’s always there, you just need to tune in.”
This beautiful and oh so simple phrase has made such a difference. Almost every day, I catch myself getting caught up in something silly or about to react poorly to a situation, and then I remember, “… wait, His Heart is still beating, still keeping that steady rhythm under all of this. I don’t need to be anxious, annoyed, fearful, or anything else, because He is here with me.”
So whether we use words or not, when we consciously and consistently cultivate a deep confidence in God’s mercy by refocusing on Him and humbly accepting our spiritual dependence, we can live trust, as Faustina did. And there is something very calming and hopeful about this, because it is, in essence, a letting go and allowing God to be in control.
Make an act of trust today. Make more than one if you can. Even if all you do is pray, “Jesus, I trust in You” over and over again, even if you only “tune in” a couple times to listen to His Sacred Heart beating in the stillness underneath it all, that is more than enough if done with love and a desire to refocus on Him. Through the intercession of St. Faustina, may we grow in trust today, each day this week, and every day of our lives! And in doing so, may we, like her, be faithful witnesses to the unfathomable mercy of God.
“Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless, look kindly upon us,
and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments,
we might not despair, nor become despondent, but with great confidence,
submit ourselves to your holy will, which is love and mercy itself.”St. Faustina
