In the most difficult times of our Christian struggle, it isn’t easy to understand why God doesn’t give us what we want. In those most difficult times, we are called to a life of prayer and fasting, not to follow God’s rules, but to train our hearts to understand that God knows what we need better than we know. A life of prayer and fasting heals our hearts when we don’t get what we want from God.

When we are faced with the hard reality of struggle, we can either panic or remain focused on Christ. The storms of life push us back and forth, but when we focus on Christ, He walks with us and keeps our heads above water. When we remember that Christ is in front of us, even the worst storm is bearable.

When we allow God to use us to be His blessing to others, great things can happen. When the Disciples asked Christ to dismiss the crowd, they were acting selfish and wanted to spend their own time with Christ. Christ said, “You give them something to eat.” We are God’s hands and feet to be used for His blessings. When we allow God’s love to work through us, there will be an overabundance of God’s grace us, and for others.

When a community gathers united in Christ, healing takes place. When we bring each other closer to Christ, sins are forgiven. When Christ sees our faith as a united family, He blesses us, forgives us, and heals us.

As humans and especially as American’s we never like to admit that we are not worthy of God’s love. There is nothing we can do to make us worthy of God’s love, mercy and grace. He is the one who makes us worthy through our faith and humility. Instead of pride and arrogance, humility and faith lead us to Christ. If we want to be healed by God, we must accept the humility of our realty and ask God to make us worthy of His love.

In the Gospel of Matthew we hear Christ say, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.” What things? ALL THINGS that we need in life. If we are willing to seek God, then our food, our health, our shelter, even our minds, will all be blessed by God. If we seek the world we will be left alone when the world ends. When we seek God, we always have God.

When faced with the invitation by Christ to drop everything and following Him, the disciples immediately left everything and follow Him. As humans it is natural to wonder about the future. Will we have what we need? What will the future look like? Unknowns can create anxiety, but when we learn to trust Christ, even the unknowns are blessed. When we trust God, He will always have our back. Learn to trust God and leave anxiety behind.

We are all called to be saints. On the Sunday of All Saints Christ says, “Every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven.” If we want to be holy as Saints, then we will confess God by loving Him more than anything else in the world.

When Christ was about to be crucified, He prayed for the Church. He prayed that we might know Him. He prayed that we would have life in Him. He prayed that knowing Him as Father, Son and Holy Spirit would mean eternal life. The Church has protected that truth ever since.

On Mothers’ Day, our memories of our mothers bring us joy and love. Our mothers offer us important lessons of faith and repentance. They brought us to Church to encounter God’s mercy and forgiveness. They taught us to love God enough to confess our sins and live in His glory. May we live up to their expectations. May we live a life in faith and repentance.