Researchers have discovered that eagles live in cliffs of the mountainous Sinai region in which the Lord spoke the above words to Moses. To teach their young to fly, the eagles nudge their young nestlings out of the nest, causing them to free-fall off the side of the cliff. If the baby eagle isn't able to discover how to fly in the pressure of the moment, the mother eagle swoops downward and "catches" the young eagle on her extended wings. She then flies around with her young offspring to give it the sensation of flying. This process is repeated until the young eagle learns how to fly.

Moses declares of God: "As an eagle incites its nestlings forth by hovering over its brood, so He spread His wings to receive them and bore them up on His pinions" (Dt 32:11). God didn't create us to stay in the safety of the nest. He nudges us out of our comfort zone, personally bears us up on His wings when we fall (Ex 19:4), and assures us of His loving care (1 Pt 5:7). Though this constant divine nudging might seem stressful or even unbearable, the Lord uses it to renew us rather than exhaust us (Ps 103:5).

An eagle can't fly by being scared stiff. It must relax and flow with the wind. Likewise, we must relax, let it be done to us, and let the wind of the Spirit carry us wherever God wills (Jn 3:8). When we abandon ourselves to God's nudges, we discover that instead of stressing out, we learn to fly. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" (Prv 3:5). "Soar as with eagles' wings" (Is 40:31).

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, January 4, 2008

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