34.3 F
Saint Paul
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Deacon: God gives us what we need to get through difficult times

Susan Klemond for The Catholic Spirit
Michalak
Deacon Joseph Michalak

We shouldn’t be surprised when God allows us to experience trials. Instead, we should turn to him humbly and continue living our faith as well or better than we do in good times, Deacon Joseph Michalak said at a Feb. 19 presentation, “Crisis and Difficulty: A Time for Growth.”

The talk was part of the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute’s Learn & Live Series.

“There’s a mystery here that God our Father will allow things to happen to us that we might not expect, that we might not want, that we might not anticipate,” Deacon Michalak said to attendees at Holy Spirit in St. Paul. “We might not even be able to imagine that he would allow it in his will, his providence, which sees all in order to bring us closer to him.”

The Scriptures capture the depth of anguish we sometimes experience in our own difficulties and in problems like those the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis is facing related to some of its priests, said Deacon Michalak, who is diaconate formation director for the archdiocese.

When tempted to get angry and throw off our faith, we need to humble ourselves, surrender to God’s will, love him and others, and praise him, he said.

- Advertisement -

“God’s not waiting for us to get our act together before he comes to us,” Deacon Michalak said. “He enters where we are right now if we just receive him.”

In Luke 22, Jesus’ prayer is not that the apostles would avoid trials, but that they would have the strength to endure them. The Bible also says we should continue to love during difficult times even when we’re tempted to sin in other areas of life, he said.

“Often when we experience difficulty, crisis, temptation, suffering and life challenge, the first response is anger, rebellion, ‘why me?’” Deacon Michalak said.

Throughout any crisis, we should pray, and God will reward us with his presence, he said.

A practical step is to pray even more than when things are going well.

He suggested praying all the Psalms, which begin with following God’s law in Psalm 1, then offer accounts of many struggles, and end with praising God.

Surrendering to God

Only God knows all about our situation, which is why we should surrender to him, said Jeanne Barron, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist in New Brighton and second-year student at the Catechetical Institute.

“God sees all,” she said. “We’re only seeing our perspective. We need to surrender to him because he sees more.”

When we’re struggling through a trial, we need to allow ourselves to grieve through it, said Karena Johnson of Holy Family in St. Louis Park. “It’s a chance to let the Lord love you through it.”

In the Church, we have everything we need to live a godly life. And even in times of difficulty, we need to pass on this truth to the next generation, said Jeff Cavins, the institute’s director. “We’ve been given everything we need to stand in very difficult times.”

A program of the St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute offers a two-year course for Catholic adults seeking deeper knowledge of their faith and spiritual formation through studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Since welcoming its first class in 2008, the institute has graduated 600 people, Cavins said.

For more information about the Archbishop Harry J. Flynn Catechetical Institute, visit http://www.cistudent.com.

 


Related Articles

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Trending

- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
12,743FansLike
1,478FollowersFollow
6,479FollowersFollow
35,922FollowersFollow
583SubscribersSubscribe
- Advertisement -