“Father of unfading glory,
Rich in grace and strong to save,
Hear our prayers and come to save us,
Keep us far from sinful ways.”
Hymn, Morning Prayer, Text by Mount Saint Bernard Abbey
As I prayed Morning Prayer today, I happened to glance at the words of the Hymn (which I usually skip when I’m praying by myself). That line, “Father of unfading glory” really struck me, reminding me of how we’re supposed to share in and reflect the glory of God, shining His light for all to see. I was brought to my knees interiorly as I realized that this past week I had been feeling rather gloomy, cynical, and judgmental — in other words, anything but light and glory-filled. This led to a second and unfortunately all-too familiar realization that, once again, I had been trying to do everything on my own strength.
So thanks to a well-timed hymn, I was able to remember that I’m not the one who’s “rich in grace” and “strong to save”: God is. (I got the memo, Lord, thanks.) And I can never be reminded of this too much! He never runs out of grace, and His strength is unending. And this is a truth to be clung to, claimed, and called to mind when life seems gray.
Because, as I so gratefully rediscovered, when we are feeling faded or beaten down by stress, fatigue, finances, spiritual struggles — whatever the world, the flesh, or the devil throw at us — there is great comfort to be found in the fact that the glory of our God never fades.
He is unchanging; He is always there; His light is eternal, even when our lights have gone dim.
He offers us unending hope, rest, and a place of refuge.
When we feel isolated, alone, forgotten, unseen, unheard, He is always with us.
The Father never forgets us, for we are His beloved children. As the hymn says, He always sees us, always hears our prayers, and comes to save us from our sinful ways whenever we turn to him.
Remembering this is like breathing an immense sigh of relief. First, in a general sense, because it means that no matter what happens in our lives, whatever joys or sorrows come our way, whatever battles we face, however we change, for good or ill, He remains the same, “yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). He is always good, always merciful, and as St. Pope John Paul II wrote, “He is always waiting for us to have recourse to Him in every need. (Dives in Misericordia).
On a deeper, more personal level, it means that nothing we ever do, whatever sins we fall into, great or small, have any effect on Who He Is. When we turn our backs on Him through our sinfulness, this hurts Him and brings Him sorrow, but it doesn’t change Him; He is still the same. He will forever be the Father God who chose each of us, loved us, gave us life, and continues to hold us in existence by that same love! (For more on this, see Secret 1 in 7 Secrets of Confession). There is no other being, human or otherwise, that can give us this amount of security and comfort. It is only in God that we find true love, complete rest, total peace, and the strength and hope to carry on.
How appropriate, then, that today we hear the psalmist cry out,
Only in God be at rest, my soul, for from him comes my hope.
He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold;
I shall not be disturbed.
Trust in him at all times, O my people!
Pour out your hearts before him;
God is our refuge!
Ps. 62:6-7, 9
And not only is God able to give us these things I mentioned above, He wants to!
“… the Lord longs to be gracious to you,
… He waits on high to have mercy on you.”
Is. 30:18
This awareness, this knowledge that God longs to be our everything, longs for us to pour out our hearts before Him, for us to take shelter in His love, should lead us to the response that helps us return to Him: trust. Even if we forget, and forget we will, it doesn’t matter as long as we make every effort to run back to Him with confidence and trust in His great mercy.
To begin this week, I encourage you to make even little acts of trust in God throughout each day. A wonderful way to do this, anytime, any place, is to stop whatever you’re doing, pause for a moment, and pray the simple prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You.” I will leave you with this quote by Fr. George Kosicki, a beautiful and humble man, and a holy priest, whose intercession I have felt strongly in my life ever since his passing. May his prayers help us to “trust even more.”
The powerful prayer of the heart “Jesus, I trust in You!” is our basic response to the question: “What’s it all about?” It’s all about trusting in Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life. In proclaiming “Jesus, I trust in You,” I proclaim Jesus as the source of all grace and light in the midst of my darkness. This proclamation helps clear the cloud of fears and anxieties within and around me. It is a battle cry that pierces the gloom, drawing our attention to the victory already won in heaven by Jesus, so that the victory may be ours on earth.
Fr. George Kosicki
Faustina, Saint for Our Times
