Beating the Blues

Raising her clenched fist skyward, she shouted, "Where are you God, when I need you the most ? Does this sound familiar to you? Well it does to me. Then, sobbing she slumped in her chair, a portrait of lonliness.

How often do we feel this alone? We yearn for someone to listen, to hear our anguish, but no one seems to care. Abandoned by friends, by loved ones, even by God, we understand Mother Teresa of Calcutta's words when she called these achingly lonely moments "the great hunger of the western world." St. Francis De Sales offers surprising words of comfort for these sad moments. For it is when our "great hunger" for compassion and conpanionships is at its lowest that God is the closest. De Sales suggests that we "shake off our blues" with the awareness of God's vital presence.

He urges this prayer: "Even though I have no feeling of confidence in you, I know that you are my God, that I am totally yours and have no hope except in your goodness; therfore I abandon myself entirely into your hands". It is a prayer of pleading, but it also expresses our faithfulness. We hurt, but we still believe that the Lord can help. It points to a glimmer, a light, despite the mounting darkness.

Right now, we are in God's presence, and more importantly God is in ours. De Sales spiritually insist that God wants to be here because he delights in our company. He literally enjoys us. Realizing that the afflicted may find this hard to believe, Francis writes of our created world. "There is no place in this world where God is not truly present."

In this post 9/11 world, it is easy to lose sight of God in the details of everyday living. We can easily sink under the many distractions that plague our daily routine. Are we safe? Can we survive these turbulent times? Will we be delivered from our distressing despair? Just because we don't imeediately see God, doesn't mean God is not present. God is neither out of sight, nor out of mind. He has not abandoned us for some distant galaxy. God is here, whether we are at the bedside of a loved one gasping for her last breath, or in the delivery room smiling at the cries of a new baby being born. In fact, there is no place God cannot be. God is at home in the oval office and the recreation room of your mother's nursing home. De Sales is constantly reminding us that there is no place outside of God's reach or interest.

To help us grasp this wonderful concept, Francis De Sales urges us to practice greeting God in all we do. "Bring God near and welcome Him", he encourages. Learning this may present the same thrill of recognition that Jacob experienced, when he exclaimed, "Truly the Lord is in this place and I didn't know it" !

Another favorite dwelling place for the Lord is in our hearts . In Salesian Sprituality the heart is the hearth, which keeps our desires for God aflame. St. Francis De Sales writes: "May God live in my heart for that is what it's made for". For Francis the heart is the "seat of love" where the divine image of God is most clearly reflected.

I once heard someone say, "Your hearts a holy place, because it is there God knows you best." There is no doubt that from the heart we lift up the holiness of our humanity to God, and God in turn touches us with the sacrament of his holiness. Jesus will indeed live in us in the good times and in the bad. He will always be near us.

Realizing this, isin't it evident that Jesus understands the pangs of our human heart? Didn't we hear our humanity? didn't He bear the stinging pain of suffering and the delight of a joyous moment? Indeed He did, for Jesus was born a man. In life, he laughed. He wept. He endured great lonliness, and He died an agonizing death. Jesus certaintly knew humanity, and because he did, we can depend on Him to be our closest friend. In fact who can know us better than a God who is like us in all things but sin.

Therefore, De Sales invites us to avoid filling our hearts with the frills that distract us from God's presence, and instead find ways to acknowledge Him and the love He wants to share.

If we spent time knowing Him in life and making Him welcome, won't He do the same when we visit Him on the last day? Thus, we have no need to raise our fist an lament our lonliness. For with our hand grasping the Lord's we can surely beat our blues away!

Have a blessed Day !!!!