By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: The Wanderer on page 1A of its April 23, 2020 issue featured an article by Fr. Richard Breton on his experience of administering the Anointing of the Sick and bestowing the Apostolic Pardon on a dying 94-year-old woman with COVID-19.
(Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He is currently the parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Colchester and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lebanon. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.
(This is the fourth of his weekly columns for The Wanderer.)
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History is bound to repeat itself! For the last two weeks we have watched intently as the world in which we live plummets into a downward spiral toward total chaos. From the sad news of the death of George Floyd, society has been hurled into displays of protests, riots, and vandalism. Sadly, however, this incident is not the only cause of our current situation. These problems find their roots in the origin of man, in particular, man’s lack of trust in God.
Lack of trust in God is nothing new. We first encounter it in the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve pass on this defect of our human nature. God gave Adam and Eve everything! All of God’s creation was a gift for them to enjoy and participate in. Sadly, through the temptation of the Serpent, Adam and Eve were convinced they did not need God. The serpent tricked them into believing they could exist and trust in themselves. Well, we know how that turned out! It left humanity with a tiny opening, a pinhole in our souls, through which the evil one would continually rob us of our trust in God.
After Adam and Eve’s fall the temptation of the Evil One continued to expand throughout the world and is still alive today. Remember the biblical story of Cain and Abel? Cain allows the temptation of sin, or jealousy, to enrage him so much that he kills his brother Abel. Cain loses his trust in the Lord because the Lord finds Abel’s offering more acceptable. All Cain had to do was trust that eventually the Lord would find his offering acceptable.
Next, in the Exodus accounts, the Israelite people turn away from the Lord and worship a Golden Calf. They let their fears and frustrations over the situation they found themselves in to, also, rob them of their trust in the Lord’s care for them.
Over and over humanity has been crippled by this fundamental lack of trust in the Lord. The Books of the Prophets are no different. Even the prophets lacked trust to do the Lord’s will. We see this in the Book of Jonah. Jonah is chosen by the Lord to go and preach against the people of Nineveh because of their wickedness. Jonah, however, decided to follow his own course and goes on a sea journey instead. Because of Jonah’s lack of trust, he is swallowed up by the whale and remained there for three days and three nights.
Soon he realizes his mistake and does what the Lord asks.
How about today? What about the world in which we live? Are there signs of a lack of trust in God?
Certainly, there are. The most prominent examples are the protests, riots, and vandalism we find ourselves in. If we really trusted in the Lord, we would not need to have public displays of division. The protests, riots, and all the horrible destruction don’t solve the problem.
What is a better way to deal with this? Why not use the tool the Lord has given us? Jesus taught His disciples how to pray! Why not Pray! Prayer is conversation with God. Imagine if we came before the Lord with our concerns and asked Him to help us with these issues. That would show our trust in God!
Recently, our President reminded us of the importance of prayer. In the midst of the protests and riots, President Trump placed his trust in the Lord. On Tuesday, June 2, the President visited the National Shrine of St. John Paul II in Washington, D.C. During his visit, the President and First Lady laid a wreath at the foot of the statue of St. John Paul II. This visit coincided with the signing of an executive order aimed at providing more safeguards for our religious liberties.
Both the President and Mrs. Trump sought out the intercession of a great saint, John Paul II, to help our nation. The President and First Lady paused for a few moments of prayer before the statue, in an effort to show their trust in the Lord for the protection of the nation during these challenging times.
What a great example of what we should all be doing! Prayer heals the soul and is a sign of putting total trust in the Lord. Sadly, many, including the archbishop of Washington, D.C., condemned the president’s visit as a mere photo-op. We place our trust in the Lord every time we pray! Why wouldn’t we praise our President for placing his trust in the Lord as he prepared to protect our religious liberties through the signing of this executive order?
I see this action as sign of the Lord working in our midst. During these confusing times, we should be thanking God that our President sees the importance of prayer as a way to seeking guidance as he serves our country.
The pinhole within our souls, through which this lack of trust flows, is part of our human condition, but it can be plugged up. What if we used our faith to combat this lack of trust in God? So many times, the Lord shows us how to do this. In the Gospels, Jesus transforms a lack of trust into true faith. The doubting St. Thomas is one example. He did not believe that the Lord had been Resurrected and appeared to the disciples. The Lord challenged him to trust and believe. St. Thomas reaches out and touches the wounds of Christ; instantly, his trust is in the Lord is restored.
What about the visions of St. Faustina? The revelations of Jesus to St. Faustina regarding the Divine Mercy clearly show there is a lack of trust in the Lord. Jesus instructs St. Faustina to inscribe the words: Jesus, I Trust in You, on to the image of His Divine Mercy. Through the image of Divine Mercy, Jesus clearly reveals to us His desire for us to trust in Him.
How do we move forward during these difficult times? How do we strengthen our trust in the Lord Jesus? One way is by renewing our belief in the Most Holy Eucharist. On June 14, 2020 we celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi. It was St. Thomas Aquinas, doctor of the Church, who approached Pope Urban IV and pleaded before him the necessity of a day to show true reverence to the Most Holy Eucharist.
On the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, we reflect on the importance of the Eucharist in our lives. So many have lost a sense of reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Many have forgotten who Jesus is!
Sadly, in August of 2019 there was a survey done by the Pew Research Firm, in which sixty-nine percent of self-identified Catholics said they do not believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist. Of the sixty-nine percent who don’t believe, the Eucharist for them was just a “symbol” or a piece of bread! For them, it wasn’t really Jesus! This is a problem!
There have been generations of Catholics not catechized properly in the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence of Jesus. Many bishops are aware of this and see the destruction this has caused and have established Holy Years dedicated to the Eucharist. This year, on the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Archdiocese of Boston began a Holy Year dedicated to the Eucharist. His Eminence Sean Patrick Cardinal O’Malley, OFM Cap., as archbishop of Boston, saw the need to re-catechize the faithful in the Church’s longstanding teaching regarding the Holy Eucharist.
Remember the pinhole of our souls mentioned above? If we renew and re-establish a clear and sound belief in the Eucharist, then the pinhole will slowly begin to close. Eventually, we will see Catholics trusting more and we will once again be able to see the light of our faith penetrating through the darkness of our times.
Through the Eucharist, we can re-establish trust in the Lord. The trust forfeited in the Garden of Eden.
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