Thursday .....

Today is Thursday, January 16, 2014.

Good Morning.

A thought for the day:
Faith has been defined as a conviction of things not seen.


The Church’s 1st reading: 1 Samuel chapter 4 verses 1-11

The Philistines gathered for an attack on Israel.
Israel went out to engage them in battle and camped at Ebenezer,
while the Philistines camped at Aphek.
The Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel.
After a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines,
who slew about four thousand men on the battlefield.
When the troops retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said,
“Why has the LORD permitted us to be defeated today
by the Philistines?
Let us fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh
that it may go into battle among us
and save us from the grasp of our enemies.”

So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there
the ark of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim.
The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God.
When the ark of the LORD arrived in the camp,
all Israel shouted so loudly that the earth resounded.
The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting, asked,
“What can this loud shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?”
On learning that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp,
the Philistines were frightened.
They said, “Gods have come to their camp.”
They said also, “Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us!
Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods?
These are the gods that struck the Egyptians
with various plagues and with pestilence.
Take courage and be manly, Philistines;
otherwise you will become slaves to the Hebrews,
as they were your slaves.
So fight manfully!”
The Philistines fought and Israel was defeated;
every man fled to his own tent.
It was a disastrous defeat,
in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.
The ark of God was captured,
and Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were among the dead.

* * *

For several months the pastor had been making calls on a lady in his parish who was waging a losing battle against cancer. She was the mother of four small children. She was a faithful believer, both in the profession of her faith and in the manner by which she lived it. The calm, quiet air of assurance which she always maintained had led many of her friends to declare that she possessed that perfect faith in God which results in simple trust.

A few days before her death her pastor stood by her bedside. As he made conversation about ordinary things, a look of eager longing came into her eyes. "Tell me," she pleaded, "where is God now that I need God the most?"

No one knew: she was faced with the challenge of how to remain faithful when it seemed that God had moved and left no forwarding address. To be sure, this is the challenge which faces many of us in the midst of any crisis in life.

It is a challenge which tempts us to ask: Where is God? What is God doing?

Have you ever asked that question?


God bless,
Father Pat


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