Anguish in life is common. In small ways, we will experience anguish each and every day. And, from time to time, we will experience the very heavy pains of a particular anguish in our lives. The entire world has been experiencing varying degrees of anguish for the last 12 weeks or so, due to Covid-19.
Does an experience of anguish mean we’re not in God’s grace? Does it mean that God has left us? Or does it mean that we’re doing something wrong? Emphatically not. All we have to do is look at the life of Jesus to see prove that. He was in constant anguish throughout His earthly life as He continually entered more deeply into the mission of His Father. Just prior to His public ministry He was in anguish for forty days in the desert (Mark 1:12-13). Throughout His public ministry, He experienced the anguish and exhaustion of His earthly life. He experienced the criticism of others, misunderstanding, ridicule, rejection, harsh treatment, and so much more. In the end, He was crucified; you really can’t get more ‘anguished’ than that.
Our Blessed Mother had the “sword of sorrow” pierce her heart (Luke 2:35). She carried a perfect love of her Son and anguished over His future as He grew. She watched many people love Him and others harass Him. She watched His sham of a trial and His Crucifixion.
But now they reign from Heaven as the glorious Queen of All Saints and the King of the Universe. They live in glory now for eternity. Their anguish has turned to perfect joy.
As I reflect on the Scripture passage from John above, I understand the promise that God makes to those who endure them with faith. If you feel as though you’ve been dealt an unfair hand or have been treated unfairly, you’re in good company. I believe the key is to walk through this life with grace and dignity. We mustn’t let the trials of this life or its pains get us down. As we remain faithful walking down the path God has set for us, the end result is that we will rejoice! This is simply a fact. We can hold on to that hope and keep our eyes on the finish line. It’s worth it in the end.
Most of us are familiar with GPS; I use it all the time, even when I’m going someplace that I’ve been to a thousand times before. It not only gives us directions, but in my case, it’s somewhat reassuring at times. “Take this road; turn here; oops, recalculating; go straight ahead; get ready to turn; avoid cliff; stay the course.” But before the GPS can give us directions, we have to tell it our destination. So, what’s our destination?
Jesus says, “I came so that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Life, abundant life. That’s our destination.
Later, in the same Gospel, Jesus says, “I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always…” (John 14:16) The Holy Spirit is called the Paraclete. Paraclete means someone “called to the side” of another to be guide, protector, comforter, counselor, and friend. In other words, the Holy Spirit is like a GPS to life, abundant life.
During these days before Pentecost we’re reminded of the role the Holy Spirit plays in our lives. If we listen carefully, we’ll hear the Holy Spirit guide us to our destination. Among other directions, the Spirit will tell us not to be afraid and to keep on spreading the Good News, as He did with Paul (Acts 18:9-18). The Spirit will lead us to “shout to God with cries of gladness” (Psalms 47:2-3, 4-5, 6-7), filled with a joy no one can take from us (John 16:22).
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