confident-ial
Jesus “said to them, ‘Why are you so terrified? Why are you lacking in faith?’ ” —Mark 4:40
Do you have confidence in the Lord? (see Mt 9:28) Can you proclaim: “This great confidence in God is ours, through Christ” (2 Cor 3:4) and “Our hope being such, we act with full confidence”? (2 Cor 3:12) We are tempted to think that Jesus is sleeping and doesn’t care if we’re about to drown (see Mk 4:38). However, Jesus is in control. He is Lord. Therefore, “let us draw near” to Him “in utter sincerity and absolute confidence” (Heb 10:22).
Life is “a great contest of suffering” (Heb 10:32), a battle centering on our faith and confidence in the Lord. The Lord wants to increase and deepen our confidence in Him (see Lk 17:5). The evil one pressures us into surrendering our confidence in the Lord (see Heb 10:35). However, “we are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and live” (Heb 10:39).
The Lord calls us to cry out to Him in the battles and storms of life. As we come to know Him, we should no longer cry out in doubt and confusion but in great, full, unyielding, absolute confidence. We know that our Redeemer lives (Jb 19:25, RSV-CE). We know the Lord is faithful to His promises (see 1 Thes 5:24). We know He will never leave us orphans (Jn 14:18). We know He has conquered the world (Jn 16:33). Be confident in Him.
Prayer: Father, may I know that I know Your love and power. May I project confidence in You.
Promise: “The Lord on His part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die.” —2 Sm 12:13
Praise: St. Angela was moved with pity for poor, uneducated children. She received God’s grace to begin a new order of religious to help alleviate the sufferings of those children.
Reference:
Rescript: "In accord with the Code of Canon Law, I hereby grant the Nihil Obstat for the publication One Bread, One Body covering the time period from December 1, 2023, through January 31, 2024. Reverend Steve J. Angi, Chancellor, Vicar General, Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio March 17, 2023"
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.