The Trials in which Truth Speaks

In the Liturgy of the Hours and in the psalms, the truth and glory of God are compared to the pounding of the ocean surf. In morning prayer on this Third Sunday of Lent, part of the antiphon for the first psalm tells us, "your truth is more powerful than the roaring of the seas." And then, as we pray through Psalm 93, we declare, "Greater than the roar of mighty waters, more glorious than the surgings of the sea, the Lord is glorious on high."

I picture terrific swells crashing into the coastline of a soul, the resounding clash spraying splash and mist. This is what happens when a faithful soul suddenly finds itself overwhelmed by its own weakness, even to the point of discouragement. It sees the hardness of heart that, like a rocky coastline, does not seem to change. It wants results that it is not getting. A soul in this state, at least for a moment, has lost sight of the magnificent ocean of truth and glory. The temptation is to keep one's gaze down on the rocks instead of lifting one's eyes to the love that is rushing in.

Here is the point: the voice of the Lord resounds in those places of heart that seem hardest to bear, those places we want to ignore and turn away from. In his great mercy, because He wants us to know his voice, He will sometimes make it so that we can not ignore those places any more. He wants us to go there to hear His voice - so He brings us to what would seem most discouraging to finally be able to speak to us. To enter such a place is the whole reason we pray, fast and give alms during Lent.

If they embrace these ascetical practices with enough fervor and faith, a very holy person can sometimes find themselves bewildered by their lack of progress. This is very good. The Risen Lord is speaking in what appears to be those unsurmountable spiritual obstacles. He has something powerful to say in the discouragement and misery that afflicts the soul. Not to condemn, not to chide, not to shame - but to reveal the love of the Father that makes all things new. He convicts us of sin only so that we can let go of our own judgments about ourselves, others and life (this is called repentance - a new way of thinking) and in letting go of those false opinions to which we have bound ourselves, we discover space enough in our hearts for His Judgments (this is to put on the mind of Christ). Abiding in this divine judgment we find a new intensity and freedom to love - to love even with His own love that is in us.

This possibility of faith suggests a course of action for the discouraged soul. When we find ourselves discouraged, it is already time to give thanks. The discouragement itself is a sign that God is working in a powerful way and that we can trust Him. What if the discouragement comes from a psycho-somatic source or else a diabolical one? Those are only secondary causes. Once we choose to live by faith, even the merely psycho-somatic has divine meaning and every diabolic force is rendered into one more tool of divine providence the more it is resisted.

So it is that thanksgiving becomes a powerful and appropriate response to discouragement. We are disposed to offering a prayer something like, "Lord you have allowed me to enter into this difficult place where my own courage is failing me. I thank you for being the Good Shepherd who always guides me, even through this valley of death. Why would you lead me to such a place unless you were going to reveal the power of the truth and glory in a new way? Thank you for bringing me to the brink, to the very edge of this rocky shore where I might behold this wonder! I trust in you."

This is why our Morning Prayer in the Liturgy of the Church on this Third Sunday of Lent concludes with having us pray together, " When we are discouraged by our weakness, give us confidence in your love."