Lord, you are all we need!

VATICAN - AVE MARIA: Mgr. Luciano Alimandi -

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - For all of us life has its trials when the 'sea' on which we are sailing becomes stormy and waves threaten to submerge us and we, in the boat with the sleeping Jesus, cry out, as the apostles did, to wake Him "Master, do you not care. We are lost?" (Lk. 8, 24 and Mk 4, 38). Hearing the cry Jesus stands up and at his commands the wind and the sea are calmed. But he rebukes the apostles for their lack of faith: "Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" (Mk 4, 40).

Jesus teaches us that no one and nothing, should weaken our trust in Him, if we intend to be his disciples. And trials or tests, in pedagogy and with God, are of inestimable value because they fortify the Christian's most precious gift, faith.
Trials are an opportunity for us to demonstrate our trust in God, to show that our act of faith professed in words is an act of the heart and the will, an act of total acceptance of the providence God who does not spare us trials but turns them into grace.

To experience that we are capable of persevering if we are with Jesus, is one of the most beautiful experiences of Christian life and it prompts us to praise God who always frees us, even though sometimes the ways and means he uses are beyond our imagination: " How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. " (Sal 116, 12-17).

God always gives us more than we ever hope for. To work his miracles he starts by enlarging our heart, preparing it for the immensity of Heaven, our final destination. In times of trail God's presence is often silent and may seem absent, whereas in actual fact it in veiled behind the ineffable mystery of His almighty Love, which desires the good of those who love Him (Rom 8, 28). Only pride and arrogance can prevent God's love from working in us. Whereas humility in a believer who has complete trust in the love of the heavenly Father, makes miracles possible.

Happy the Christian who says in times of trial: Lord, I will not wake you even if everything around seems to be collapsing, because I am certain of your Presence. I am not worried about the waves and the wind, because you are with me, as you promised: "Lo, I am with you always, until the end of time " (Mt 28, 20). Yes, Lord, you are all we need!

The Blessed Virgin Mary lived with faith and complete and unconditioned trust in God, following her Son, Jesus of Nazareth, to Calvary, to Jerusalem, becoming similar to Him. In the heart of the Sorrowful Mother there was no doubt, at the foot of the Cross, amidst the tempest of history when all hell was unleashed against the Redeemer of the world to overcome Him and with Him all humanity. She did not 'cry out', she simply trusted in Jesus' promise that on the third day He would rise again (cfr. Lc 9, 22). Unlike the other women disciples, Mary did not run to the tomb, she knew it was empty. May the Mother of our faith help us never to doubt the power of the Redemption, "the power of merciful Love ". The Church teaches us to entrust ourselves to Mary, always and especially at crucial times in life:

"To you O Mother I entrust the world and all its peoples, to you, to your maternal heart, I entrust the consecration of the world.
O Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer evil rooted deeply in the hearts of men today which has immeasurable effects on the present day and threatens to close the path to the future!
Save us from famine and from war!
Save us from nuclear war, from all war, incalculable self-destruction!
Save us from sins against human life from its beginnings!
Save us from hatred and scorn for the dignity of the children of God!
Save us from all injustice, social, national and international!
Save us from trampling God's commandments!
Save us from attempts to obscure the truth of God in human hearts!
Save us from losing awareness of good and evil!
Save us from committing sins against the Holy Spirit!
Hear O Mother of Christ, the anguished cry of suffering arising from all peoples! Charged with the suffering of whole societies!
Help us to overcome, with the power of the Holy Spirit, all kinds of sin: sins of men, sins of the world, all sin.
May the infinite salvific power of the Redemption, the power of merciful Love, show itself once again! May evil stop! May hearts be converted! May your Immaculate Heart offer everyone the light of Hope!"

(John Paul II, Act of Consecration, 25 March 1984).

(Agenzia Fides 5/2/2009; righe 63, parole 955)